The 2012 Hong Kong Sevens will be the IRB Series toughest tournament this season.

This comes after the draw was released this morning with the cup competition featuring the current 12 Sevens World Series core teams, who were drawn in three pools - A, B and C.

The cup winner, runner-up and third-place finisher at the recent USA Sevens   Samoa, New Zealand and Fiji   are seeded top of pools A, B and C, while the remaining nine core teams were grouped into three bands based on the current World Series standings, and drawn into the three pools.

Following the draw, Pool A comprises Samoa, England, Argentina and Kenya.

Pool B features Series leaders New Zealand, South Africa, Wales and USA.

Pool C features Fiji, Australia, France and Scotland.

The Sevens World Series qualification tournament features 12 teams, including Regional champions from all six IRB regions, who will play for three additional core team places in the 2012/13 World Series.

These 12 nations were grouped based on their performances on the World Series and at other IRB Sevens events over the past two years, and drawn into pools D, E and F but will not take part for the cup competition.

The Hong Kong Sevens is scheduled for the 23rd to 25th of March.


Story by: Dreu Vukailagi