It has been confirmed that the rankings from the 2020/21 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series and 2019 Oceania Rugby Sevens Championship will be used to determine the men’s and women’s Oceania Rugby qualification for Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022 and the Commonwealth Games 2022.
This comes as ongoing logistical challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic forced organisers to cancel a qualification tournament scheduled for April 2022.
As a result for Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022, which will be hosted in Cape Town, South Africa on 9-11 September, Australia, Samoa and Tonga will join New Zealand and Fiji in the men’s competition with Fiji joining Australia and New Zealand in the women’s event.
These teams will join the nine men’s and 12 women’s teams that have so far qualified for Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022 where Cape Town will host three days of non-stop rugby sevens action.
The decision will see Tonga join Australia, Samoa, Fiji and New Zealand in the men’s event and Fiji join Australia and New Zealand in the women’s event at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, on 29-31 July.