George gears up for showpiece

The City of George is gearing itself to play host the annual South African Sevens, the second leg on the International Rugby Board (IRB) Sevens circuit, which visits the Southern Cape capital for the third time.

The tournament will take place in the picturesque setting of Outeniqua Park on December 10 and 11.

This year again sees a quality field lining up in George. It includes the defending SA Sevens champions England and current IRB Sevens series title holders New Zealand, as well as all other leading contenders in South Africa, Argentina, Australia, France, Fiji and Samoa.

The field of 16 teams is completed by Portugal, Kenya, Scotland, Canada, Namibia, Arabian Gulf, Ireland and Tunisia.

Teams are divided into four pools of four, with round robin matches played on the Friday, December 10. The knock-out rounds are played on the Saturday, with the day culminating with the finals in the Shield, Bowl, Plate and Cup sections.

"This is a very high quality field that will ensure that this event lives up to its international stature," said SA Rugby MD, Johan Prinsloo.

"Planning is well underway for the event and we are looking forward to great support from local and international fans over the two days of the event."

The South African Sevens tournament has been part of the IRB Sevens since its inception in 1999. During this time the tournament has grown in stature and spectator numbers have steadily increased.

The inaugural South African event took place in Stellenbosch in 1999. In 2000 and 2001 the event was held in Durban, and in 2002 a decision was taken to relocate the tournament to George where, with the backing of the city and its tourism arm, as well as the influx of new commercial partners, it has flourished over the past few years.