Photo: HSBC Canada Sevens
Get ready as Vancouver will once again play host to the annual HSBC Canada Sevens rugby series tournament for the eighth time at BC Place Stadium in an expanded three-day long event being held from March 3-5.
This year marks the very first time that the tournament will feature both women’s and men’s competitions with the world’s top men’s and women’s Sevens teams matching up as part of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series.
Jack Thiel, Photo: HSBC Canada Sevens
Sevens Rugby, a fast-paced and shorter version of traditional rugby with only seven players per side, has built up a massive international audience that attracts large crowds across the globe.
With the move to a combined Women’s and Men’s Canada Sevens, the tournament has now been extended to three days, Friday through Sunday.
Phil Berna, Photo: HSBC Canada Sevens
Rubgy Canada is striving to provide an equal platform for the Women’s and Men’s games as the City of Langford had previously hosted the separate HSBC Canada Women’s Sevens at Starlight Stadium since 2015. Langford remains the home of Rugby Canada.
It was also recently announced by World Rugby that a remodelled Sevens World Series will kick off in December 2023, and will be a fully combined and equal women’s and men’s Series, with seven festival-style events, in seven iconic global destinations, across seven months, featuring the best 12 women’s and 12 men’s teams.
Keyara Wardley, Photo: HSBC Canada Sevens
Three Days – Bigger, Better, Fancier
On Friday, March 3, each team will play two pool play matches. The morning session, which will be open exclusively to kids and school groups, starts at 9:15am. Gates will open for the afternoon session at 3pm with kick-off at 3pm. The last match of the day will end at 9:25pm.
Saturday, March 4 will feature the remaining pool play matches with gates opening at 9:30am and kick-off at 10am. The knockout rounds will start at 3:28pm with quarter-finals as well as ninth-place quarter-finals and semi-finals. The last match of the day will end at 9:25pm.
Sunday March 5 will start with semi-finals and finals determining fifth to thirteenth place, with gates opening at 8:30am and kick-off at 9am. The women’s bronze match will take place at 5:07pm and the men’s bronze match will take place at 5:29pm. The tournament concludes with back-to-back gold matches: the women’s game at 5:56pm and the men’s at 6:26pm.
All medal presentations will take place following the men’s gold match.
Photo: HSBC Canada Sevens
Check out the complete schedule for full event details. Pools and team-specific schedules will be announced closer to the start of the tournament.
Both single-day tickets and tournament passes (access to all three days) are on sale now. One tournament pass includes three separate tickets, one for each day (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday), which are fully transferable, and can also be donated to Kids Up Front. It will also be available to stream live on CBC Gem.
