The latest round of the 2022/23 World Rugby Sevens Series will be held in Singapore on the 8th and 9th of April. New Zealand, which leads the standings, won again in Hong Kong and will be the favourite to win the eighth leg on the men’s circuit this season. Fiji, the Olympic winners and beaten finalists in Hong Kong will try to extend their resurgence and reduce the gap in the second place, with Manueli Maisamoa set to confuse opposing defences once more with his spectacular offloading.
We look at the Singapore 2023 schedule and how to watch the event live below.
How to watch World Rugby Sevens Series Singapore 2023 Live:
Viewers around the world can watch the action live on the following channels and here for free:
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Live Broadcast: World Rugby Sevens Series Singapore 2023 Live
Rugby Sevens Series Singapore 2023 Preview:
The HSBC Singapore Rugby Sevens resumes on April 8-9.
With a tournament victory this weekend, series leaders New Zealand can officially qualify for Paris 2024.
The HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2023 is the most competitive in history, with Olympic qualification for Paris 2024 as the prize for the top four teams.
Argentina now holds that position and will be seeking to rebound after a disappointing early exit last time out. France, as host of the Olympic Games Paris 2024, is now in fourth place, with the top four finishers receiving berths at the Games. With Samoa attempting to break into the top four, expect Vaa Apelu Maliko, this season’s leading try-scorer, to put on another all-action performance. Dietrich Roache, Australia’s playmaker, has been one of the season’s most consistent performances and will be crucial to his team’s attempts once again.
Saturday’s action begins at 09:30 local time (GMT+8), with the finals on Sunday.
The team captains convened on Wednesday at Lau Pa Sat, Singapore’s most iconic Hawker Market in the city’s centre, ahead of the highly anticipated HSBC Singapore Rugby Sevens, which kicks off on Saturday at the National Stadium.
The world’s 16 top men’s teams have arrived in Singapore for the ninth round of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2023, as the fight for Paris 2024 Olympic qualification begins to take form with only three events remaining.
New Zealand leads the Series standings with 142 points and can become the first nation other than hosts France to officially qualify for Paris 2024 if they hoist the trophy on Sunday.
Winners in Hamilton and Vancouver Argentina (121) is second after New Zealand, with 113 points, followed by Hong Kong runners-up Fiji, with 112 points, and South Africa, with 101 points.
Through the first eight tournaments, the men’s Series has seen five different winners (Australia, Samoa, South Africa, Argentina, and New Zealand).
After a 10-year break, the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series triumphantly returned to Singapore in 2016, a site that previously hosted stops in 2002, 2004, and 2006. Since then, four different nations have been named winners, including first-ever triumphs for Kenya over Fiji in 2016 and Canada against their North American rivals, USA, in 2017.
Fiji is the only country to have won many times, most recently in 2018 against Australia and again in 2022 against arch rivals, New Zealand. South Africa won the 2019 World Cup after defeating Fiji 19-0.
The 2023 Series remains the most competitive in history, with the top four women’s and men’s teams in the standings competing for Olympic Games Paris 2024 qualification. The men of hosts France have pre-qualified for next year’s premier event in the country’s capital.
This season, the stakes couldn’t be higher at the bottom of the men’s Series.
Following the penultimate event in Toulouse, the 15th placed team will be relegated, while the 12th through 14th ranked teams will compete for the 12th and final position on the 2024 Series against the winner of the Sevens Challenger Series 2023.
Japan currently has the lowest standing among core teams (11 points), while Canada (22), Kenya (30), Uruguay (39) and Spain (40) will be vying for points during the next two tournaments.
Pool A features Series leaders New Zealand, Dubai champions South Africa, Hong Kong (round one) champions Australia, and the invited side Hong Kong China.
Hong Kong finished second. Fiji is in Pool B with Spain, Samoa, and Canada, while France is in Pool C with the United States, Uruguay, and Kenya.
The United Kingdom, which barely lost in the bronze medal match in Hong Kong, will compete in Pool D alongside Argentina, Ireland, and Japan.
Argentina takes against Ireland at 09:30 local time (GMT+8) on Saturday, with the concluding match of day one beginning at 19:33 when Fiji takes on Spain.
The ninth place quarter-finals and the gold medal final are planned for 19:28 on finals day on Sunday.
Schedule for World Rugby Sevens Series 2022/2023 event in Singapore
All times are local (UTC+8)
Men’s Singapore Sevens Series 2023/23 schedule
Saturday, 8 April 2023
- 09:30 – 19:40 – Group matches
Sunday, 9 April 2023
- 10:50 – 19:40 – Placing matches / Knockout matches
For a more detailed schedule check here.
