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Ireland take to the pitch at the 2019 Hong Kong Sevens. Yu Chun Christopher Wong/INPHO

Sevens events postponed by World Rugby due to coronavirus fears

The Hong Kong and Singapore Sevens will now be played in October,

THE HONG KONG and Singapore rounds of the World Rugby Sevens Series have been postponed due to health and safety concerns surrounding the coronarvirus outbreak.

The tournaments are the latest major sporting events to be postponed due to conoravirus, which has been declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organisation.

On Wednesday, Formula 1′s governing body, the FIA, announced the decision to postpone April’s Chinese Grand Prix.

The World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing, scheduled for 13-15 March, have also been cancelled, along with various tennis, football and golf events.

World Rugby released a statement to confirm that the Hong Kong and Singapore sevens tournaments would be rescheduled for October as a result of the outbreak.

The Hong Kong leg has been pushed back from 3-5 April to 16-18 of October, while the Singapore tournament, which was due to take place on 11-12 April, will take place on 10-11 October.

“World Rugby, the Hong Kong Rugby Union and Sport Singapore have taken the decision to reschedule the Hong Kong and Singapore rounds of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2020 in response to continued health concerns relating to the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak,” the statement read.

“The health and safety of our players, fans and everyone working on the event is always our highest priority. This prudent decision has been taken in order to help protect the global rugby community and the wider public and was taken based on the World Health Organisation and relevant public authority travel and health guidelines. The decision is fully supported by stakeholders, including unions and commercial partners.

“Both events will be rescheduled to conclude the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2020 with the HSBC Singapore Sevens now taking place on 10-11 October and the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens completing the series on 16-18 October.

“Hong Kong and Singapore will host HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2021 tournaments as per usual in April.

“Fans who have purchased tickets for Singapore and Hong Kong via official channels are advised that their tickets will be honoured for the rescheduled events and a full refund will be provided in the event fans are unable to attend the rescheduled events.”

The death toll from the new strain of coronavirus, named COVID-19, jumped to 1,367 on Thursday, with almost 60,000 people reportedly infected with the virus in China alone.

Bernard Jackman joins Garry Doyle and Gavan Casey for a big chat about Men’s, Women’s and U20s Six Nations, while Andrew Conway gives an update on his uncertain future


The42 Rugby Weekly / SoundCloud

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