No Antoine Dupont but Dubai still set to launch new era for sevens

Antoine Dupont, rugby union's world player of the year in 2021, is about to put XVs on hold and switch to sevens.

Unfortunately, it won’t be soon enough for him to appear at the Emirates Dubai Sevens.

After his bid for glory in a home World Cup faltered at the quarter-final stage last month, the France scrum-half is eyeing another major event on home soil.

He is set to join Les Bleus on the sevens series from January onwards, as part of their push for gold at the Paris Olympics in the summer of 2024.

Even if one of the world’s leading players will be absent, fans at The Sevens will still be witness to something entirely new.

Dubai has become established as the first leg of the World Sevens Series down the years. This time around it is the first port of call for a newly remodelled series format.

As well as fewer vowels, the rebranded HSBC SVNS series will have fewer teams. In the past, there have been four groups of four teams at men’s World Series events.

Now there will be 12 teams in each of the men’s and women’s tournaments, divided into three groups of four.

It is said to be part of the bid “to drive equality and progress”. Each of the male and female teams will receive equal participation fees.

The series will also visit two new cities, Perth and Madrid, with the latter hosting its grand final.

World Rugby say the new format will provide more drama and jeopardy.

The top eight placed teams, based on cumulative series points, at the conclusion of the penultimate tournament in Singapore will compete in winner-takes-all final leg in Madrid.

The competition in the Spanish capital will also feature a relegation play-off competition where teams ranked ninth to 12th will join the top four teams from the World Rugby Sevens