South Africa Sevens altered to weekend format

Newlands, Cape Town, South Africa (4E Sports) – The South African Rugby Union has moved the Nelson Mandela Bay South Africa Sevens to a weekend format to give more fans a chance to watch world-class rugby action in the two-day tournament.

With the revised schedule, the tournament will be played Dec. 8-9 at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth.

The tournament serves as the third round of the HSBC Sevens World Series 2012/13 and features the 16 best Sevens rugby teams in the world.

According to Andy Marinos, SARU GM for Commercial and Marketing, the move was made after thorough research among followers.

“Research amongst all our stakeholders has shown a strong preference for Saturday and Sunday play,” Marinos said. “We’re delighted to announce the tournament will move from a Friday, Saturday format to a weekend date.

“The rescheduling is in line with most of the other popular Series tournaments. We are confident that the new dates will allow even more fans to attend and enjoy the thrilling international Sevens action,” he added.

Last year, the inaugural Nelson Mandela Bay SA Sevens tournament was a huge success, with more than 11,000 fans watching the first day and 30,000 the next day.

This year, Marinos said fans will be in for another exceptional rugby action, aside from several other attractions that SARU has prepared.

“SARU have partnered again with Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism to package a number of attractive events for the week of the tournament,” Marinos said. “Some of the main attractions include a music concert on the Saturday night and the PE Tens tournament, which we believe will add considerable value to the fans’ overall experience.”

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