This archive report was first published on 19 December 2019.
On November 8, 2019, Kenya's Johnstone Olindi showcased his skills during the Africa Sevens tournament in Johannesburg, which also served as a 2020 Tokyo Olympics qualifier.
Rugby Africa is confident that the continent will have three teams competing in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. With Kenya and South Africa already securing their spots, Uganda has a good chance of joining them in Japan in August.
Uganda will join other teams, including Brazil, Chile, Hong Kong of China, Jamaica, Mexico, Tonga, and Zimbabwe, in the Olympic repechage in June 2020. The repechage is a crucial tournament that will determine which teams will secure their places in Tokyo.
World Rugby has introduced the Sevens Challenger Series, an international rugby sevens competition that will be launched in February 2020. The series will feature 13 core teams from the six World Rugby regions, competing alongside three invitational teams.
The top eight core teams will then compete in the final playoff tournament for a spot in the premier World Rugby Sevens Series. This promotion and relegation system will provide a clear development pathway for teams ready to shine at the highest level of rugby sevens.
The inaugural World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series will be played in two legs: in Vina del Mar, Chile on February 15 and 16, and Montevideo, Uruguay on February 22 and 23. Thirteen teams have earned their place in the Challenger Series by finishing top-ranked at their respective regional sevens competitions in 2019.
The teams competing in the 2020 World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series are Brazil, Chile, Germany, Hong Kong of China, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Papua New Guinea, Portugal, Tonga, Uganda, Uruguay, and Zimbabwe. They will be joined by three invitational teams from the Americas in Colombia, Mexico, and Paraguay.
