New for 2012 in the IRB Sevens schedule is Tokyo Japan. This brings the total rounds to 9 and introduces a new host and opportunities for new teams. Japan will obveously appear as hosts, along with Hong Kong, Portugal and Russia. The full list was announced by the IRB and Japan Rugby Football Union (JRFU) and it is: New Zealand, South Africa, England, Fiji, Samoa, Australia, Wales, Argentina, Kenya, France, Scotland, USA, Japan, Hong Kong, Portugal and Russia.
Mr. Tatsuzo Yabe, Chairman of the JRFU said: “It is a great honour that we host the Tokyo Sevens 2012 as a part of the prestigious HSBC Sevens World Series, through 44 matches of the world’s best Rugby Sevens, we will bring Japanese rugby fans and sports lovers a whole new experience of Rugby Sevens. It is essential for us to accumulate the valuable experience of managing tournaments like the Tokyo Sevens, which is one of the highest profile sports tournaments, for the success of the Rugby World Cup 2019.”