S’pore to bid for 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens

SINGAPORE — The Singapore Rugby Union (SRU) is attempting to bring back top-class international rugby sevens action to the Republic in a big way.

At a press conference yesterday, the national sports association announced that it will be making a bid to the International Rugby Board (IRB) to host the 2018 Rugby World Cup (RWC) Sevens at the 55,000-seat National Stadium at the Sports Hub.

That is not all — the SRU will also be submitting a bid to host a leg of the next five-year cycle of the IRB Sevens World Series, which begins in 2016.

If the SRU succeeds in its bid, the RWC Sevens could become the most high-profile international tournament to be staged at the Sports Hub to date.

So far, the two biggest world events that Singapore has snagged the hosting rights to are the 2015 FINA World Junior Swimming Championships and 2014 Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Championships.

There is also the possibility of the Republic, as host nation, fielding teams for both competitions without having to go through the initial qualifying rounds.

SRU Business Manager Douglas Danapal said: “It is still early days to say now on the status of the bidding as the tender document from the IRB will only be out in November this year, and that is only when we will know which other countries are competing for the hosting rights, too.

“However, Singapore’s good sporting infrastructure, with the completion of the Sports Hub, and our strategic location in Asia, will be the two selling points we will use to play up our chances of winning the bid.

“The facilities at the Sports Hub will be just perfect to host such a large-scale event.”

Inaugurated in 1993, the RWC Sevens is held every four years. In 2009, a Women’s RWC Sevens tournament was started alongside the men’s competition.

This year’s tournament in Moscow, from June 28 to 30, was the sixth edition. It featured 24 countries for the men’s World Cup and 16 countries for the women’s competition.

SRU Technical Director and Head Coach Inoke Afeaki added: “The IRB have said previously they want something big in Asia for the sport — and they want to hold it within our region too. So I think the likelihood of us getting it is very good.”

The SRU is also hoping to return as one of the host countries for the IRB Sevens World Series when the next hosting cycle begins in 2016.

Singapore last hosted a leg of the annual tournament, then known as the Standard Chartered Singapore Sevens, at the former National Stadium between 2002 and 2007 before it was replaced by Australia.

Former national rugby skipper and SRU General Manager Terrence Khoo said the Sports Hub will be a major trump card in bidding for both tournaments.

“When we had the Singapore Sevens at the old stadium, spectators had to sit for several hours on uncomfortable wooden benches, and be exposed to either the heat or the rain,” said the Managing Director of regional sports marketing company Enterprise Sports Group.

“Compared to the old National Stadium, the Sports Hub’s state-of-the-art sports and hospitality facilities will definitely increase the fan experience by 100 per cent, It’s a major factor in the SRU’s favour.”