Monaco, April 24, 2024: China and Hong Kong China will be the Asian contenders in both the men’s and women’s competitions for World Rugby Sevens Repechage in Monaco from June 21-23.
The pools were drawn by World Rugby last Saturday, April 20, in Monaco, ahead of the crucial final qualification tournament to decide the last remaining men’s and women’s teams to compete in rugby sevens at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
The three-day Repechage event at Stade Louis II in Monaco will feature 12 men’s and 12 women’s teams fighting for the sole berth in Paris.
China, winners of the women's gold medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games, and men's champions Hong Kong China will be the Asian teams contesting in both the men’s and women’s events.
The men’s competition will also feature Brazil, Canada, Chile, Great Britain, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, South Africa, Spain, Tonga and Uganda. The South African Blitzboks are the strong favourites.
The women’s competition will also include Argentina, Czechia, Kenya, Jamaica, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Poland, Samoa and Uganda. Czechia are making their Repechage debut.
All six World Rugby regions are represented among the 11 men’s and 11 women’s teams that have already secured their spots in Paris.
In the men’s event, hosts France are joined by New Zealand, Argentina, Fiji and Australia, who booked their berth in Paris by ranking in the top four of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2023, along with six regional qualification tournament winners in Uruguay (South America), Ireland (Europe), USA (North America), Kenya (Africa), Samoa (Oceania) and Japan (Asia).
Fiji has won the men’s gold medal at both Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.
The women’s Olympic line-up includes New Zealand, Australia, Ireland and the USA as the top four qualifiers through the 2023 World Series, along with hosts France. They have been joined by Brazil, Canada, Great Britain, South Africa, Fiji and Japan as the regional winners.
New Zealand are the reigning women’s Olympic champions. Australia won the inaugural Olympic gold medal in Rio 2016.
POOLS
Men’s
Pool A: South Africa, Chile, Tonga, Mexico
Pool B: Great Britain, Canada, Uganda, China
Pool C: Spain, Hong Kong China, Papua New Guinea, Brazil
Women’s
Pool A: Argentina, Kenya, Papua New Guinea, Samoa
Pool B: Uganda, Hong Kong China, Paraguay, Jamaica
Pool C: China, Poland, Czechia, Mexico
