Euro Sevens Grand Prix

From the IRB.com website:

European teams now have another leg up on the Americans.  And in this sense, the Americans refers to the nations in North and South America and not just the USA.  They have established their FIRA European Sevens ‘Grand Prix’ and it is set to kick off this weekend in Lyon, France.

Here is a breakdown of the circuits dates:

FIRA Sevens Grand Prix circuit

1. Lyon, France 18-19 June
2. Moscow, Russia 25-26 June
3. Barcelona, Spain 9-10 July
4. Bucharest, Romania 16-17 July 

 

And I am not sure if the following is only the teams for Round 1, or the teams that will be in the circuit for all four rounds.  But the round 1 pools are as follows:

Round 1 - Lyon, France

Pool A                               Pool B
Portugal                             France
Spain                                 Russia
Georgia                             England
Romaina                            Wales
Ukraine                             Italy
Netherlands                       Moldova

This provides stout competition for the sevens circuit regulars like France, England and Wales and provides the opportunity for more play time for growing nations like Georgia, Romania, Ukraine, Netherlands and Moldova.  What a great concept this is.  With the growth of the Sevens version of rugby, this is truly something that will not only make these teams better but get more fans accustomed to the game.  The latter benefit may not be a necessity in UK or France, but it would certainly benefit nations without the strong pedigree in Rugby Union.

This is something that we should be looking at replicating in the Americas.  And Americas Sevens Series with 3 to 4 dates needs to be organized ASAP.  Minimum 3 dates with one each in the USA, Canada and Argentina.  and a fourth to be played somewhere else, but between Mexico, the Caribbean, Brazil or other Central/South American nations there should be plenty of options.  This is most crucial for the Canadians and the Americans.  Argentina's rugby is vastly superior than its North American neighbors.  Well in 15s at least.  At time Canada and the Eagles have both been able to shine in 7s.  However for the Eagles it hasn't been nearly as often as would be desired.

The problem as it always has been and always will be is the acquisition of sponsorship dollars and investors to organize such an event.  This should be bolstered by the success in the USA of not only the USA Sevens Tournament but also the 2-year-old Collegiate Rugby Championships, both of which have seen improvement in 2011.  Having the event in the Americas makes it easier for all the teams to get involved, the distance isn't so great and they are in very similar timezones.  But the reality is that if American countries want to be able to compete in the HSBC Sevens World Series and in the Olympic Sevens beginning in 2016, they will need more competition opportunities.  This tournament from Europe definitely needs to be replicated in the Americas.