Port Elizabeth and Nelson Mandela Bay today celebrate winning the bid to host the South African leg of the fast-paced HSBC Sevens World Series rugby tournament for the next five years, after an announcement by the South African Rugby Union (SARU) this afternoon.
The inaugural event will take place in early December this year. SARU said that Nelson Mandela Bay went the extra mile to compile a bid that outshone the other cities.
“We received some outstanding bids, but the panel came to the unanimous conclusion that the tender provided by the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality and Eastern Province Kings was a clear winner,” said Jurie Roux, SARU chief executive. “They not only satisfied the standards that we expected from all the bidders, they went the extra mile to research exactly what players, spectators and other stakeholders require and provided innovative solutions for each one. The Panel was convinced Nelson Mandela Bay would produce an absolutely outstanding tournament, based on this document.”
A strong quadrant of city role-players collaborated in putting the bid together, including the municipality, Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism (NMBT), Eastern Province Rugby Union (EPRU) and the Nelson Mandela Bay stadium (which is owned by the municipality and operated by Access Management). All indications are that it was this united front that was a major factor in winning the city the bid, according to SARU.
In the 2010/11 Sevens series, currently being played, South Africa are lying 4th after New Zealand, England and Samoa. 14 countries are currently contesting the HSBC Sevens Tournament.
The Sevens Tournament is played in eight countries over 6 months. The Dubai, South Africa, New Zealand, USA, Hong Kong and Australian legs have been completed for this season and the final two legs in England (21 to 22 May 2011) and Scotland (28 to 29 May 2011) will decide the final victors.
Sevens Rugby will become an Olympic sport in 2016.
EP Kings Captain, Mzwandile Stick is an ex-Sevens Rugby Springbok.
Fact File:
- South Africa hosted the first tournament of the inaugural Sevens World Series in 1999 at the Danie Craven Stadium in Stellenbosch
- Durban was the venue for the following two SA Sevens events in 2000 & 2001
- Outeniqua Park in George played host to the popular event for the first time in 2002 and went on to stage the tournament for nine consecutive years
- Port Elizabeth will be the fourth SA venue to host the international tournament
- New Zealand has won the SA Sevens tournament seven times
- The Kiwi’s won both Durban-based tournaments in 2001 & 2002 and achieved their first of five George victories in 2004
- South Africa’s only home success came in 2008, the season they won their first Sevens World Series title
Past host venues and winners of the SA Sevens tournament:
- 2010: George – New Zealand
- 2009: George – New Zealand
- 2008: George – South Africa
- 2007: George – New Zealand
- 2006: George – New Zealand
- 2005: George – Fiji
- 2004: George – New Zealand
- 2003: George – England
- 2002: George – Fiji
- 2001: Durban – New Zealand
- 2000: Durban – New Zealand
- 1999: Stellenbosch – Fiji
Earlier today, the IRB and Australian Rugby Union (ARU) together announced that the Gold Coast will become the new home for the Australian leg of the HSBC Sevens World Series for the next four years, and will kick off the 2011/12 World Series.
IRB Sevens Web Site | SA Sevens.
Alan Straton
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