Shujaa, Lionesses learn opponents as Challenger series pools are unveiled

Kenya rugby women's national team; the Lionesses have been placed in Pool B of the upcoming Challenger Series penciled for Dubai, United Arab Emirates from January 12-14.

The Challenger Series is the pathway teams use to qualify for the World Seven Series and will be played in Dubai, Uruguay and Poland in the first part of next year.

Shujaa will face regional rivals Uganda, Germany and Mexico in Pool C of the men’s competition while the Lionesses will square off with China, Czechia, and Mexico.

They will be looking to emerge victorious and qualify for HSBC SVNS 2025.

In Pool A, Belgium will lock horns with Thailand, Papua New Guinea, and Uganda. Poland, Hong Kong, Paraguay, and Argentina have been placed in Pool C.

The top four teams are set to qualify for the high-stakes promotion and relegation competition at the Grand Final in Madrid with a chance to qualify for HSBC SVNS 2025.

The 2024 edition runs from January to May and features combined men’s and women’s events in Dubai, UAE, and Montevideo, Uruguay before standalone events in Germany and Poland for men and women respectively.

About the Challenger Series

The Sevens Challenger was introduced in February 2020 to boost the development of rugby sevens globally and provide a clear promotion pathway to reach the top level of global rugby sevens.

The tournaments replicate the Olympic Games competition format, with the 12 teams drawn into three pools of four. The top two from each and the best third-placed finishers will qualify for the knockout stages with quarter-finals and semifinals leading to the third-place and gold medal matches.

Japan were the inaugural men’s champions after topping the cumulative rankings from the two rounds hosted in Chile and Uruguay in 2020. The first women’s competition was scheduled to take place in Stellenbosch in March 2020 but had to be canceled due to the onset of the global pandemic.

Following a one-year absence the Sevens Challenger returned in August 2022 with a standalone combined event hosted in Santiago, Chile, which saw Uruguay men and Japan women take the titles and secure promotion to the Series.

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Stellenbosch, South Africa hosted two combined events in 2023 with South Africa women earning their spot at HSBC SVNS 2024 while Tonga men’s victory secured their spot at the World Rugby Sevens Play-off in London last year.

The 2024 edition of the competition kicks off with combined events at the Sevens Stadium in Dubai on 12-14 January, followed by Estadio Charrúa in Montevideo, Uruguay on 8-10 March before standalone women’s and men’s events at Henryk Reyman’s Municipal Stadium in Krakow, Poland and Dantestadion in Munich, Germany respectively on 18-19 May.

All World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger 2024 events will include the 12 men’s and 12 women’s nations from around the world who have qualified through regional competitions and the pool draw is expected to take place in Dubai during the opening round of HSBC SVNS 2024 in December 2023.

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Match Officials

The team of Match Officials has also been confirmed with 20 individuals from 14 countries selected to oversee the action across the three rounds. The match official team includes 11 women and 9 men with a blend of experience and debutants who have progressed through regional High-Performance Academies and Olympic qualification tournaments to be selected for the global stage.

Women’s match officials Holly Wood, Sunny Lee, Precious Pazani, Ella Goldsmith, and Zoe Naude were involved in WXV 2023, while Peter Martin and Morgan White took charge of the gold medal final matches for the first and second rounds of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series 2023 men’s events respectively.

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Women’s pools:

Pool A: Belgium, Thailand, Papua New Guinea, Uganda

Pool B: China, Czechia, Mexico, Kenya

Pool C: Poland, Hong Kong, Paraguay, Argentina

Men's pools:

Pool A: Uruguay, Hong Kong China, Papua New Guinea, Georgia

Pool B: Japan, Tonga, Chile, Portugal

Pool C: Kenya, Germany, Uganda, Mexico

HSBC World Rugby Sevens Challenger 2024 dates:

Dubai, UAE – 12-14 January (men and women)

Montevideo, Uruguay – 8-10 March, 2024 (men and women)

Krakow, Poland – 18-19 May, 2024 (women)

Munich, Germany – 18-19 May, 2024 (men)