By Netani Rika
NEW Zealand Rugby has indicated that it could host a World Sevens Series event in Fiji.
This after NZ Rugby beat Fiji in the World Cup Sevens Semi-final in San Francisco on Monday and then won the bid to retain hosting rights until
2021.
The New Zealand Herald reports that NZ Rugby won its bid to retain hosting rights for a World Series Sevens event and is believed to be
planning to alternate the venue between Hamilton and Fiji.
Fiji has had some success with hosting Super Rugby matches at the ANZ Stadium in Suva for three years.
New Zealand’s existing agreement with World Rugby was to have ended after the Hamilton event in January 2019 and the international body of
rugby opened a competitive tender process, inviting interested parties to bid for the hosting rights for 2020 and beyond.
Fiji submitted a tender but was unsuccessful.
The Herald reported that NZ Rugby was believed to have won a tender to extend its hosting licence beyond 2019 and has floated the idea of not using Hamilton as the venue every year – but instead alternating with Suva.
New Zealand now effectively has the right to continue to host a World Series Sevens event in 2020 and 2021 and possibly for longer depending
on the length of the contract agreed in the tender.
Under its licence NZ Rugby is free to host the event where they choose as long as World Rugby agrees.
Source: NZ Herald