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Premier Rugby Sevens is expanding to three events this year. The professional competition announced on Thursday that it will hold tournaments in San Jose, Washington DC, and Austin in July. It builds on their pilot event held this past October in Memphis.
Eight teams will compete at the events, four each in the men’s and women’s brackets. The teams will be divided into four franchises – Experts, Headliners, Loggerheads, and Loonies. An overall champion will be determined combining points earned by both the men’s and women’s sides across the three tournaments.
The organization has strategically selected mid-sized venues with capacities around 20,000. PayPal Park in San Jose, DC’s Audi Field, and Austin’s Q2 Stadium will host on July 9, July 16, and July 30 respectively.
It remains to be seen which players commit to the series this season. There are no World Sevens Series events scheduled for July thought the Commonwealth Games takes place at the end of the month which likely rules out the bulk of Canada’s best players. Some Major League Rugby athletes could choose to participate though the top six teams will still be involved in the playoffs.
Open trials were recently held in Victoria, San Clemente, and Charlotte under the watch of General Manager Mike Tolkin and Head of Scouting Richie Walker. Men’s Eagles coach Mike Friday expressed his support for the events on social media.
…This is a great pathway opportunity towards becoming a @USARugby Dawg. We will definitely be there scouting 🧐 #DawgsLyf https://t.co/mXV3r5lXUQ
— Mike Friday (@MikeFriday09) March 31, 2022
Tolkin says players interested in competing can submit their CV’s via PlayWize.
