The IRB Women's Sevens World Series will return next season after a hugely successful finish to the inaugural event, which culminated in Amsterdam over a week ago.
New Zealand's women lifted the trophy after dominating for much of the series but were pushed close during an enthralling final game against a Canadian side that impressed throughout the competition.
New Zealand finished on 74 points, followed by England on 60 points and a strong performance by Canada in Amsterdam saw them finish the series in third place on 52 points.
The IRB Women's Sevens World Series was the first such event for women's Rugby, realising the aim of giving leading female players across six continents the chance to experience elite level, high performance competition.
The series took place in four destinations, UAE (Dubai), USA (Houston), China (Guangzhou) and Netherlands (Amsterdam), underlining the IRB's commitment to the ongoing growth and development of women's Rugby around the world and is another significant step in the journey to the Olympic Games in Rio 2016.
This year’s series mirrored the men's version, with each 12-team event featuring six core teams (Australia, Canada, England, Netherlands, New Zealand and USA) who played across all four events, and six teams who were invited based on regional Sevens rankings.
The series saw massive interest from fans worldwide, with a large number of broadcasters showing the games in territories all across the world. The last leg of the series in Amsterdam was shown in 107 countries with a broadcast reach of over 250 million homes across the world.
Thousands of fans also flocked to wsws.irb.com, where the games were streamed live online from the four venues during the Series.
For next season, the International Rugby Board has confirmed that the top eight ranked teams from the IRB Rugby World Cup Sevens in Moscow (June 28-30) will qualify as core teams for the 2013/14 IRB Women's Sevens World Series.
"The first ever IRB Women's Sevens World Series was an extraordinary success, and provided these elite athletes with a platform to display and improve their skills," said IRB Head of Competition and Performance Mark Egan.
"The quality of Rugby on display throughout the series was magnificent and culminated in a spectacular cup final between Canada and New Zealand at the Amsterdam tournament on the last weekend."
"The fact that the top eight teams from the IRB Rugby World Cup Sevens in Moscow will qualify as core teams next season will add a significant competitive edge to the tournament, and provide a huge focus for the players."
"I congratulate New Zealand on winning the first ever IRB Women's Sevens World Series trophy but I expect the competition will be even tougher next season as those teams who benefitted so much from this year's series bring the skill levels and intensity up a notch," said Egan.
The venues and dates for next year's IRB Women's Sevens World Series will be announced later this year but with just over a week since the inaugural event finished, there has already been strong expressions of interest received from a number of countries in hosting a round of the series.
With the WSWS quickly becoming one of the most dynamic international women's sporting events on the global calendar, countries appreciate the value of playing host to this exciting competition, which is a key milestone in the ongoing development of both the competitive standards and the professionalism of the women’s Game.
For more information contact: Eoin McHugh, IRB Tournament Communications Manager, +353-86-0212-196, email eoin.mchugh@irb.com
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