Rugby World Cup Sevens qualifiers announced

According to an article on the IRB.COM website, Rugby World Cup Limited has confirmed the locations and the dates for the remaining Rugby World Cup Sevens 2009 Qualifying Tournaments. Brazil was the first team to qualify for the women’s World Cup after winning the South America qualifier that was held in Uruguay in January this year. 15 more teams are left to qualify for the inaugural women’s competition. In addition to Brazil, two qualifiers will come from Africa, two from North America, three from Asia, six from Europe and two from Oceania.
• Europe - Limoges, France, June 14/15
• Oceania – Samoa, July 25/26
• Africa - Uganda, September 20/21
• Asia - Hong Kong, October 4/5
• North America and Caribbean - Bahamas, October 25/26

Meanwhile 10 teams have been invited to compete in the African qualifier:

South Africa
Uganda
Tunisia
Kenya
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Madagascar
Cote d’Ivoire
Botswana
Nigeria

Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi will not participate in the qualifiers as they are not IRB members.

In other news, Uganda pulled out of the CAR North tournament that is being held this Easter weekend in Tunisia due to financial constraints. This was a blow to the team as it was probably its only chance to play decent opposition before the World Cup qualifiers.