DUBLIN: The rugby sevens world series has been revamped to give any team a chance of qualifying on the road to the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
Promotion and relegation will feature at the end of the coming series for the 15 core teams who compete in all nine legs.
The Hong Kong Sevens in March will involve 28 teams, up from 24, in two distinct competitions: The 15 core teams and the Asian series champion will play for the main silverware, while the other 12 — two qualifiers from each region — will compete for berths in the core team qualifier in the last leg in London, in May.
The 20-team London event will also be split in two: The top 12 after the preceding tournament in Glasgow, Scotland, will play for the London title, and the bottom three core teams and the five qualifiers from Hong Kong will compete for three core spots in the 2013-2014 sevens world series.
“As we enter our first four-year Olympic cycle for rugby sevens and build toward Rio 2016, it is important that the opportunity exists for all nations to progress to series core team status if they are good enough,” International Rugby Board chairman Bernard Lapasset said in a statement on Wednesday.
“We are confident that this new system provides every nation competing in their regional qualifying tournament with a direct chance to gain core team status and compete on every round of the world series.”
Canada, Portugal and Spain qualified for core status for the upcoming series, which starts on Oct. 13-14 on Australia’s Gold Coast.
7s world series revamped so anyone can qualify
7s world series revamped so anyone can qualify
Morocco coach warns of trap as they face Tanzania
RABAT: Africa Cup of Nations hosts Morocco have been warned not to get too confident about their chances in Sunday’s last-16 clash against underdogs Tanzania, with coach Walid Regragui saying lack of humility has cost them in the past.
Morocco are the top-ranked team at the tournament and runaway favorites and look to have an easy passage into the quarterfinals at the expense of Tanzania, who squeezed into the knockout stage among the four best third-placed finishers.
They did so without winning a game and their two-point haul from three Group C matches is the lowest tally of points in tournament history for a team advancing out of the first round and into the last-16.
“We hear that we are the overwhelming favorites, that we should win easily, and everyone says that if Morocco do not win, it is a failure, that if Morocco does not win easily, it is a failure,” Regragui said on Saturday.
“My job and the job of the staff and the senior players is to keep our feet on the ground and remember why Morocco has not won the Cup of Nations in 50 years.
“We have not won it because I think that at some point, we lacked humility in every competition, and we must not fall into that trap.”
Morocco’s only previous Cup of Nations success was in 1976 and in recent editions they have crashed out to unfancied opposition.
“We will keep our feet on the ground, we will respect this Tanzanian team,” the coach added.
“They are a team that is growing, they are developing their infrastructure, they are developing their league with two big clubs, and they have very good local players.
“It won’t be an easy match. We will play to our strengths so as not to give them any hope of causing an upset. There are always surprises, and it is up to us to make sure that tomorrow there is no chance for this team,” he said.
Tanzania are competing at only a fourth Cup of Nations tournament and are yet to win in 12 matches played since they first appeared at the 1980 finals.
