- All 24 men’s and 16 women’s teams confirm squad line-ups
- Seven women’s and six men’s players to compete in third Rugby World Cup Sevens
- The action gets underway at 10:00 local time on Friday 20 July (GMT-7)
The final squads have been confirmed by all 40 teams ahead of the hotly anticipated Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018, which kicks off on Friday at the AT&T Park in San Francisco with over 95,000 fans expected through the turnstiles over three days of action.
Asia Top Rugby Referees Matt Rodden (Hong Kong) and Sakurako Kawasaki (Japan) will be officiating at the World Rugby Sevens World Cup 2018
Japan and Hong Kong men’s and the Japanese and Chinese women’s team will be will be flying the flag for Asia in this tournament.
Asia Rugby member Unions Previous Rugby World Cup sevens Participation
Mens 7s
| Team | 1993 | 1997 | 2001 | 2005 | 2009 | 2013 | 2018 |
| Arabian Gulf | x | ||||||
| Chinese Taipei | x | x | x | ||||
| Hong Kong | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
| Japan | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
| South Korea | x | x | x | x | |||
| Philippines | x |
Women’s 7s
| Team | 2009 | 2013 | 2018 |
| China | x | x | x |
| Japan | x | x | x |
| Thailand | x |
As reigning champions in both the men’s and women’s events New Zealand have named strong squads for San Francisco. The women’s team will be looking to the inspirational Portia Woodman to continue her unstoppable form from the HSBC Women’s World Rugby Sevens Series where she led the scoring charts with 43 tries and 215 points overall in the 2018 season.
In the men’s competition, hosts the United States welcome back speedster Perry Baker who amassed 37 tries during the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series before missing the last two legs through injury and will form an exciting attacking partnership with dangerman Carlin Isles, who was the top try scorer for the 2018 season with 49 tries.
Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018 represents the third edition of the women’s competition and the seventh of the men’s, which was first held at Murrayfield, Scotland, in 1993.
Seven women’s players from five countries will enter the pitch in San Francisco to make their third Rugby World Cup Sevens appearance: Beatrice Muhlbauer (Brazil), Claire Allan and Heather Fisher (England), Fanny Horta (France), Zenay Jordaan (South Africa) and Marina Bravo and Barbara Pla (Spain).
Meanwhile six men’s players will be appearing at the Rugby World Cup Sevens for the third time: James Rodwell (England), Manoel Dall Igna (France), Collins Injera (Kenya), Alatasi Tupou (Samoa), Scott Riddell (Scotland) and Philip Snyman (South Africa).
Retired Fijian legend Waisale Serevi is the only player to have appeared in four Rugby World Cup Sevens tournaments and he is also the record points scorer with 297 points to his name.
VIEW FINAL WOMEN’S SQUADS HERE >>
VIEW FINAL MEN’S SQUADS HERE >>
While the players have been putting the final touches to their physical and mental preparation in the Golden City, the iconic AT&T Park has undergone a transformation from one of the world’s most famous baseball diamonds to a spectacular rugby sevens venue.
Rugby World Cup Sevens will see the introduction of an innovative new ‘knock-out’ style format meaning that teams will have to win every match to be crowned World Cup winners in both the men’s and women’s competitions.
VIEW FULL MATCH DAY SCHEDULE HERE >>
The action gets underway at 10:00 local time on Friday 20 July (GMT-7) with Fiji taking on Spain in the women’s competition. The men’s tournament also kicks off on day one with Kenya facing Tonga in the first game of the preliminary round at 13:01 local time (GMT -7).
Single day tickets are still available, for more information visit www.rwcsevens.com/tickets. To follow all the action download the official Rugby World Cup Sevens App here or @WorldRugby7s on Twitter and Facebook.
