The pools and schedule have been confirmed for the HSBC Los Angeles Sevens at the Dignity Health Sports Park from 29 February to 1 March 2020.
Viewers in the US will be able to watch live coverage of the tournament on the NBCSN channel, with coverage beginning on Saturday, February 29 from 8:00 PM ET / 5:00 PM PT to 12 AM ET / 9 PM PT, and extended coverage of finals day from 11:30 AM ET / 08:30 AM PT to 8 PM ET / 5:00 PM PT on Sunday, March 1. Meanwhile, viewers can watch every match live across the weekend on NBC Sports Gold.
Fans around the rest of the world should check the ‘where to watch’ page to find out where to catch the action from Los Angeles.
The USA will be aiming to win their third straight title on home soil having been victorious in thrilling finals at both the 2018 and 2019 series in Las Vegas.
Hosts USA will enter the Los Angeles tournament with confidence following earning bronze at the Sydney Sevens, their first podium finish of the 2020 Series. The USA Eagles Sevens are in Pool C and will face Samoa and Scotland before their final pool match against Australia in the final match of day one which kicks off at 20:03 local time.
The Los Angeles event is the fifth round on the men’s HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2020. The tournament will kick off with series leaders New Zealand against Wales in a Pool D at 09:45 local time (GMT-8) on 29 February. Fourth-placed England and Spain join the All Blacks Sevens in Pool D.
South Africa is in second place in the series standings with one gold and two silver finishes and will play Ireland, Canada, and Kenya in Pool B.
Pool A sees Fiji, who won gold in Sydney, facing third-place France, Argentina, and Korea who are the invitational team in Los Angeles.
The top two teams in each pool will qualify for the quarter-finals on 1 March, followed by the semi-finals and finals with the gold medal match with the event concluding at 16:26. Teams finishing in the bottom two places in the groups will play for positions nine to 16 on day two of the tournament.
World Rugby CEO Brett Gosper said: “Following an outstandingly successful and record-breaking Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018 in San Francisco, there is great excitement to see the best rugby sevens players in the world return to California and entertain what we expect to be a very engaged and international crowd at the Dignity Health Sports Park.”
“Rugby sevens is experiencing exponential global growth and as well as producing an incredible spectacle on the pitch, the men’s and women’s HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series reached all-time high fan engagement figures in 2019 with over 198 million video views, marking a 65 percent increase on 2018.
“The USA is at the heart of the success story and their teams have made very strong progress in recent years with both men and women finishing runner-s up in the 2019 series. The USA teams will certainly be medal contenders at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, which are now less than six months away. We look forward to working closely with Los Angeles, a future Olympic host city, as rugby sevens continue to win new fans and go from strength to strength.”
The USA Sevens moved from the previous host Las Vegas to Dignity Health Sports Park in California, the home stadium of the LA Galaxy (MLS) and the LA Chargers (NFL), and the same venue that is scheduled to host rugby sevens in the LA 2028 Olympic Games.
The HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2020 serves as a build-up to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics as rugby sevens prepare to make its second appearance in the Olympic Games program following its successful introduction in Rio 2016, which attracted 30 million new fans to the shortened format of the game worldwide.
Single-day tickets, weekend passes, and VIP packages are on sale now starting at only $80 without fees and can be purchased at http://www.lasevensrugby.com/tickets. A family package is also available with single-day and weekend options.
When not at the stadium, all the action over LA Sevens weekend will be taking place at The Rugby Hub, located in the South Bay, featuring oceanfront dining, shopping, entertainment and hotels, only minutes from LAX and the stadium. More details on The Rugby Hub can be found at https://lasevensrugby.com/the-rugby-hub.
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