Sydney Sevens
Sydney will be the fourth Australian city to host a leg of an IRB (now World Rugby) Sevens World Series when the carnival heads back to these shores on the weekend of 6/7 February 2016.
The Harbour City follows in the rather large footsteps of Brisbane, Adelaide and the Gold Coast as fans of all different cultures and allegiances from across the globe descend on Sydney.
Ballymore Stadium in Brisbane hosted Australia’s first-ever World Series leg in February 2000, the hosts only pipped by a magical try from Fijian legend Waisale Serevi in the dying moments as the Pacific Islanders won the Cup Final.
After a one-year hiatus, Ballymore once again hosted a World Series leg, this time in February 2002. Richard Graham and Cameron Pither were among the try scorers as the Aussies defeated trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand for what is still the green and golds solitary triumph on home soil.
Ballymore hosted a leg once again a year later before the a three-year gap which then saw the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) take the round to Adelaide, hosted at the iconic Adelaide Oval.
It was in South Australia that the event remained for five years (2006-2010) before the Australian leg headed north to Queensland once again and the glitter strip of the Gold Coast. Robina Stadium was home to the Australian leg of the Sevens World Series for four years between 2011-2014, the home side’s best performance being a runners-up berth in October 2013.
The ARU confirmed its decision to move the Sevens to Sydney in March 2015, to be hosted at the 45,500 capacity Allianz Stadium.