Has the 2019-20 WR Sevens Series a new format?

[victorsra Profile Website]

Looking at Dubai fixtures, things changed! But AFAIK nothing was officialy anounced yet.

https://www.world.rugby/sevens-series/s ... 4/fixtures

The tournament only has QFs for the Cup.

Teams that finished 3rd and 4th in groups phase will play only 1 more match. There is a 15th place match, a 13th place match, 11th place match and 9th place match. So probably 2 best 3rds play for 9th and so on.

And no 5th or 7th place matches.

How the table points will be distributed after the tournament?

[FLIDTA RISXVA Profile Website]

This proves once again that WR is a secretive lounge

No word about changes neither here
https://www.world.rugby/sevens-series/series-info
nor there https://www.world.rugby/sevens-series/news/514148

So, what WR achieved by culling 9 games -- holding just 36 instead of 45 ?

And stretching schedule over three days? 8 + 16 + 12

I do NOT know -- just changing for the sake of change

:::

[Armchair Fan Profile]

So, what WR achieved by culling 9 games -- holding just 36 instead of 45 ?

Shorter competition days (some teams complained about spending 10 hours on some venues) and space for women's tournaments at the same venues.

Not that I agree with that, it's utterly stupid to make teams travel around the world to play even less matches, but that's probably the reasoning.

[victorsra Profile Website]

But Dubai had women's tournament before. Surely it is not because of that...

BTW, the women's format also changed. It is shorter too.

[FLIDTA RISXVA Profile Website]

Keeping the trend, WR may
shorten XV games as well, say to 60 minutes
and shrink match squad to 20 players

Then make PRO rugby 12-a-side game, and on and on

[rey200 Profile]

11 on 11, no hands allowed except of one player in a certain area and brand new offside rules. Get rid of the goal posts too, just make it a goal. Voila, global game and billions of dollars of revenue. Brilliant.
SCNR

[sk 88 Profile Website]

Scotland have also picked someone from England's squad last year, because apparently eligibility laws randomly don't apply until you are 20 in the World Series now despite being at 18 with seemingly no problems since forever.
Anyone know when that rule changed?

[victorsra Profile Website]

Honestly, I always found realy boring 5th place, 9th place and 13th place playoffs. Cut the 9th place QFs is a good thing. But for the rest SFs are necessary, although boring, otherwise it is unfair.

[Armchair Fan Profile]

But Dubai had women's tournament before. Surely it is not because of that...

BTW, the women's format also changed. It is shorter too.

Women's format was already cut last year. Some tournaments already held both series, but others are adding women now. And format needs to be more or less the same for everybody.

[Armchair Fan Profile]

Scotland have also picked someone from England's squad last year, because apparently eligibility laws randomly don't apply until you are 20 in the World Series now despite being at 18 with seemingly no problems since forever.
Anyone know when that rule changed?

Some months ago.

Honestly, I always found realy boring 5th place, 9th place and 13th place playoffs. Cut the 9th place QFs is a good thing. But for the rest SFs are necessary, although boring, otherwise it is unfair.

They may be, but at the same time they are key when fighting for some positions overall...

[victorsra Profile Website]

But Dubai had women's tournament before. Surely it is not because of that...

BTW, the women's format also changed. It is shorter too.

Women's format was already cut last year. Some tournaments already held both series, but others are adding women now. And format needs to be more or less the same for everybody.

I believe it was only cut now, in Glendale. It runned unchanged in the 2018-19 season.

They may be, but at the same time they are key when fighting for some positions overall...

Yes, I agree. But the QFs for 9th were cuttable (is this a word? )

[mulu Profile]

But Dubai had women's tournament before. Surely it is not because of that...

BTW, the women's format also changed. It is shorter too.

the change in format happened indeed to accommodate the women. In the past the women played only a couple of games in the main stadium in Dubai, now all women’s games will be played in the main stadium. Which is why the men finals were cut despite all teams now having incredible long days.

To make it an absolute mockery only combined events will be played in the new format, the single events will still played in the old format.

Also all informations about the new 7s challenger series are still embargoed by world rugby making it practically impossible to plan, attract additional sponsorship or get support by local NOCs.

[thatrugbyguy Profile]

Oh for crying out loud. The girls deserve their own tournaments of course, but not at the expense of the mens tournament. This is the type of nonsensical compromises that is going to screw things up for both men and women. How the hell can WR be this stupid? You've got 9 fewer matches, that's about 4 hours less TV viewing time. And how the hell are series points suppose to be decided especially if each tournament has a different format? This is ridiculous.

[victorsra Profile Website]

I don't see how this makes sense as less important men's matches could anyway be moved to field 2. If this is the reason, it is stupid.

[FLIDTA RISXVA Profile Website]

rey200

HOW did we miss this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZ6gQpt8yJs

Why X is obsessed with multiples of 5
when no other scoring is possible

Why USA were deprived their chance to tie 1-on-1

[mulu Profile]

I don't see how this makes sense as less important men's matches could anyway be moved to field 2. If this is the reason, it is stupid.

For Dubai yes, but not at every combined event there are two pitches. I’m all for equality in sports, but this move can potentially ruin the series as the women’s competition (all combined world series events and the 7s world cup being the latest examples) failed to attract substantial crowds.

[victorsra Profile Website]

But the former model of the men's tournaments had 44 matches.

The former women's model had 34 matches.

Together they make 78 matches.

Split by 3 days, you can have 14 matches (1st round of both genders) on Friday (5 hours, like 5 to 10pm). And 32 matches in each other day. About 11h (10am to 9pm on Saturday, 9am to 8pm on Sunday).
It is not a big issue, as it already happens in HK or Dubai.

[FLIDTA RISXVA Profile Website]

45 MATCHES = 24 in POOLS + 8 QF + 8 SF + 5 Finals

[victorsra Profile Website]

Yes, but the maths are almost the same.

I would be for a cut in the 9th place QFs, with 3rds going directly to 9th SFs and 4th to 13th SFs. 4 matches less.

[thatrugbyguy Profile]

Which is about 2 hours less TV time. The issue isn't just the number of matches, the TV audience is going to tune out when the women come on. That's the reality. Less viewers tuning in to see the women, means less are going to wait around for the mens programme, less people watching means less TV money in the future, meaning less money for Sevens as a whole. This is the stupidity of the entire compromise. You are sacrificing the integrity of both the mens and womens programs in a misguided attempt to give the women equal billing. It's a decisions that in the long term will prove disastrous.

[victorsra Profile Website]

Seriously, sevens is a TV problem. The number of hours doesn't impact nothing in terms of audiencia and money. 10, 11, 12.... is the same. In fact, it is too much and in most countries it isn't fully broadcasted on TV, with part of the broadcast going to live streaming. Too many ours prevent other sports - other commercial deals - and is not anymore an advantage, specialy because rugby sevens is not a blockbuster.

Zero commercial difference between 10 or 11 hours. Zero.

The audience already tunes out when it is matches that doesn't involved the title run and doesn't involve your own country. And even for most fans when your country is playing the 9th place or below they are already gone, doing something better. No one would miss 9th place QFs. No one.

[victorsra Profile Website]

BTW, isn't World Rugby supposed to anounce the new World Rugby Sevens Challenge, the 2nd division series? It is supposed to kick off in January.

[Armchair Fan Profile]

mulu said it all details are embargoed.

[victorsra Profile Website]

It might not happen?

[RugbyLiebe Profile]

On other notes, DAZN won't show the World Series in Germany anymore.

Wild guess: this has nothing to do with Germany apparently being denied their two well deserved stints at the World Series as the European champions