The City of Cape Town has one more honour to add to its already growing collection. A week ago, the former World Design Capital of 2014 was officially named as the new host for the South African leg of the exciting rugby event, the HSBC Sevens World Series for 2015/2016. From December onwards, the South African leg of the Sevens World Series will take place in the stunning Cape Town Stadium and will continue in this manner for four years.

The background to this information

This news may come as a surprise to some fans of the sport since before the last host city of Port Elizabeth began hosting the event in 2011, the city of George was granted 9 years to host the event. What happens usually is that a city may host the Sevens World Series for a period of four years, after which it may be considered for renewal by SARU (the South African Rugby Union).  This time, SARU decided not to renew Port Elizabeth’s contract. The CEO of SARU, Jurie Roux, stated that World Rugby sought global destinations that could “showcase the new Olympic sport of rugby sevens and a world-class stadium, in a world-class city in the shadow of a world heritage site in Table Mountain provides exactly that”.

Sevens rugby explained

If perhaps, you don’t know what sevens rugby is and how it differs from the traditional rugby that will take the world stage later this year in England, the first difference to note is that each team is only seven men, instead of fifteen. Not only are the teams smaller in number, but the duration of each match is shorter as well at 7 or 10 minutes per half. The matches are played on the same field size as that of regular 15-man rugby. Since the teams are smaller, the amount of space is greater and more running is possible. Often sevens rugby games have higher scores at the end.

It might confuse you to know that there is more than one trophy in the World Sevens Series. In descending order according to rank, they are the Cup (awarded to the tournament winner), Plate, Bowl and Shield. A simple explanation of how a team can play for a trophy: In the group stages, the respective teams play for points. The amount of points a team has determines what trophy competition they will progress to. In other words, the teams with the highest points progress to the Cup competition. In certain cases, the rules for how the teams progress to the respective trophy competitions changes, as is the case with the current tournament, the Hong Kong Sevens.

The spotlight falls on Cape Town yet again

The City of Cape Town seems to be enjoying growing popularity lately. Last year, the city was the World Design Capital and twice was it named as a top destination, by the New York Times and the UK’s Telegraph respectively. With the iconic Table Mountain nearby and its ideal positioning, granting locals and visitors a convenient distance to travel to access many of the Cape’s top attractions, it’s not really a surprise.

Green Point will be busier this December, so be prepared

There is a chance that traffic will be heavy around the area of Green Point on the days when matches will take place. If that thought worries you, there is always the option of renting accommodation in Green Point, which would put you within walking distance of the Cape Town Stadium.

This December, the already alluring area of Green Point will have a great increase in the amount of visitors it usually gets. With the coast a short distance away in the areas of Sea Point and Camps Bay, and plenty of restaurants, bars, cafés and stores as well as many other attractions in and around Green Point, sevens rugby fans will have much to do before and after enjoying an action-packed match.

Get ready Cape Town, the world of sevens rugby is coming to you soon!