Cape Town Sevens cancelled for second straight year due to COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc with the global sporting calendar over the last 19 months and the cancelation is another big blow for SA Rugby financially, who had to host the recently concluded British and Irish Lions series without fans.
FILE: The Blitzboks in action during the Cape Town leg of the World Sevens Series. Picture: @BlitzBokke/Twitter
CAPE TOWN – For the second consecutive year, World Rugby and SA Rugby have called off the popular Cape Town Sevens leg of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The same goes for the Dubai leg, which was paired with the Mother City tournament as the first two legs of the 10-tournament series.
The decisions were taken in line with relevant government and international public health authority advice and with the health and wellbeing of the rugby community and the wider public taking precedence. Cape Town – and Dubai – are due to return to a full world series schedule in 2022.
Sad news – the 2021 HSBC Cape Town Sevens has been called off
There were simply too many insurmountable challenges
More here: https://t.co/ENVDPPJYOkHSBC Cape Town 7s (@CapeTown7s) September 3, 2021
In a statement, SA Rugby CEO Jurie Roux said:
“The HSBC Cape Town Sevens is a highly complex, international event that involves 28 men’s and women’s teams travelling from all the corners of the globe and considering the progress of the pandemic, both here and around the world, the prospects of being able to deliver our normal spectacular were extremely slim.”
Roux went on to say: “The opening of air borders remains uncertain; the requirements of quarantining and the need for preparation time for teams really left us no choice. And even if we had been able to fly in 28 teams, the likelihood is that we would have had to play behind closed doors, which held little appeal considering the unique nature of the event.
“Over and above all of that, the health of players and fans was of paramount importance and with the current uncertainties in that regard, all parties agreed on the need to cancel this year’s event.”
The decision follows the recently announced conclusion of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, with New Zealand confirmed as both men’s and women’s champions.
The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc with the global sporting calendar over the last 19 months and the cancelation is another big blow for SA Rugby financially, who had to host the recently concluded British and Irish Lions series without fans.
Download the Eyewitness News app to your iOS or Android device.
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
