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Latest News
Rugby World Cup Sevens San Francisco 2018 - Day Two
7 min read

Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022

Everything you need to know about Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022

Your guide to RWC Sevens 2022, which will take place in Cape Town between 9-11 September this year.

Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022

Mon 25 July, 2022
7 min read
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3 min read

Rugby Sevens

Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022 match schedule revealed with 50 days to go

The first match-ups for the highly anticipated Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022 have been revealed with 50 days to go until the three-day pinnacle event kicks off in Cape Town, South Africa on 9-11 September. The innovative ‘winner takes all’ knock-out competition format first introduced at Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018 means every match counts as teams will need to win every time they enter the pitch in order to become world champions.

Rugby Sevens

Thu 21 July, 2022
3 min read
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Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022

Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022 makes moves with HAVAL

Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022 is delighted to welcome HAVAL as an Official Partner.

Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022

Wed 20 July, 2022
1 min read
Ireland women celebrate qualifying for RWC Sevens 2022
3 min read

Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022

Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022 line-up confirmed in Bucharest

The eight remaining tickets to Cape Town were snapped up at the RWC Sevens 2022 Europe Qualifier.

Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022

Mon 18 July, 2022
3 min read
CastleLiteAnnouncement
1 min read

Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022

Castle Lite joins the Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022 party

South Africa’s biggest premium lite beer, Castle Lite has joined Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022 as an Official Global Partner.

Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022

Fri 15 July, 2022
1 min read
2018 Highlights
Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018
08:29 mins

Highlights: New Zealand win big in San Francisco

New Zealand retained their Rugby World Cup Sevens title in San Francisco
Mon 23 July, 2018
08:29 mins
Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018
07:03 mins

Highlights: New Zealand women's win Rugby World Cup Sevens

Check out all the top action as New Zealand win The Rugby World Cup Sevens in San Francisco
Sun 22 July, 2018
07:03 mins
Rugby World Cup Sevens San Francisco 2018 - Day Two
06:30 mins

HIGHLIGHTS: Men's semi-finals confirmed after thrilling day two

Men's semi-finals confirmed after thrilling day two of action at Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018 #RWC7s
Sun 22 July, 2018
06:30 mins
Rugby World Cup Sevens San Francisco 2018 - Day One
06:51 mins

Highlights: Men's quarter-finals decided

Men's quarter-finals of Rugby World Cup Sevens decided after incredible first day at AT&T Park
Sat 21 July, 2018
06:51 mins
Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018
06:26 mins

Highlights: Women's semi-finals confirmed at Rugby World Cup Sevens

Championship semi-finals confirmed after thrilling day one of action
Sat 21 July, 2018
06:26 mins
Women in Rugby
Monday 30 August, 2021
4 min read

Western Province have inspirational women's rugby leader in Nadeema Khan

The head of Women’s Rugby at the Western Province Rugby Union shares her love of rugby and the challenges she has faced.
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Born in District 6 in Cape Town, Nadeema Khan has never known a life without rugby – or challenges.

The 67-year-old used to play in the streets that largely lay desolate today following the old apartheid regime’s decision to forcibly remove more than 120,000 households.

And that interest in rugby continued in the 1970s when, as a young mother of two, she was relocated to the out-of-town Surrey Estate, where her local club Rangers RFC is also now based.

“We were surrounded by rugby people and at supper time around the table, there was always rugby discussion,” she said.

“We are a rugby family. My cousins, my uncles, my father, my neighbours, my husband, my sons and my grandchildren all play rugby.

“I played rugby in the streets with the boys. You would fall on the pavement and pick yourself back up again and that is where the whole rugby bug got the better of me, and I have been involved ever since.”

Khan became Rangers’ third XV team manager when her eldest son started playing senior rugby, was then secretary for 15 years and has held various roles since including chairperson.

“It is all about rugby and the community for me, all the children that play for Rangers are ‘my children’," she said.

“I want to make sure they always feel welcome and they have a place to go to.

“You know some that come from a home where there isn’t always a meal, so I try to make it my duty on a Saturday, when we play at home, to cook a big pot of food and feed those people and the opposition, to ensure they have food on their plate before they go on the bus back home.”

😁 Smiles all around as the #BokWomen clinch the series against Kenya
🗣️ "Some Test matches will be won ugly and today was one of them"
👉 More here: https://t.co/xSBfCxtpV5 pic.twitter.com/3cBK3TzhDv

— Springbok Women (@WomenBoks) August 16, 2021

Tolerance

By sitting on the Western Province relations sub-committee, Khan has helped to bring different factions together.

“I would go and watch games and observe the relationships between clubs. Because of the diversity of religion and colour, it was difficult, there was always animosity,” explained Khan, a Muslim by faith.

“There was always an ‘us’ and ‘them’ situation. Western Province worked very hard as a Union to bring those factions together so that everyone could have an enjoyable afternoon.

“It was good foresight to have the relations committee because it brought a lot of harmony amongst the clubs and people became more tolerant of one another and nowadays they are all friends.”

While as Ranger RFC’s club delegate on the Western Province committee, Khan broke down more barriers when she became the first woman to sit in the boardroom at Newlands.

Opening doors

She recalls the story of her first meeting as an example of how women as decision-makers in rugby were virtually unheard of back then.

“It is encouraging to see how many women want to get involved in rugby now. At Rangers, we sent a lot of them on coaching courses and made them managers," she said.

“It is not just us, other clubs have embraced the fact you need women involved and you need women on the executive.

“When I started out, I was basically the only one. When I went to my first Council meeting at Western Province and went to sign in, the man on the door told me ‘you’re in the wrong place’.

“I said, ‘no, I’m here for a meeting’ and told him my name. When he looked down at the list, he said ‘oh, we have got a Mr Khan’.

“A few of the people in the boardroom said, ‘you’re a woman, what are you doing here?’ But I stood my ground and said I’m not going anywhere so you might as well accept that I am here’.

DHL Western Province Women suffered their only defeat all season when they went down 24-15 against Border Ladies in the Women's First Division Final at DHL Newlands on Friday - https://t.co/X57HoKLEIp

— WP RUGBY (@WP_RUGBY) July 16, 2021

Dream team

Khan’s steadfast determination to not let anything stand in her way has only been for the betterment of women’s rugby in Western Province, on and off the field.

Western Province supplies a large contingent of players to the Springbok Women’s national team and is one of the dominant forces in the Women’s Premier Division.

The defending champions looked well placed to retain the trophy this year after finishing the regular season with 10 wins out of 10 but Border Ladies pulled off a major upset to beat them in the play-off final.

“I fight battles not only for myself but I fight battles for the players as well, they know that I will do that as an administrator,” she said.

“Did I ever think I would see the day when we had a women’s Premier team? No, it was like a dream. We were all hoping it would happen and here we are today.

“When I look at the seven Western Province players who play for the Springboks, one girl (Alicia Arries) made her debut against Boland this season, and today she is a Springbok. It shows there are opportunities out there if you grab it and make the most of them.”

Khan has certainly made the most of hers and is now heading up women’s rugby in Western Province.

“Last year it was decided that we really needed a woman to be in charge of women’s rugby,” she said.

“We have a female coach, a female manager, a female doctor, a female physio and two women who are selectors.

“That speaks volumes for Western Province in trying to bridge that divide. If we can roll that out across South Africa it would be brilliant.”

Read more: Springbok Women build towards Rugby World Cup 2021 >>

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World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series

Who to look out for at the World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series 2022

We look at seven players who will hope to take the men’s and women’s Challenger Series tournaments in Santiago by storm.

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Everything you need to know about the World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series 2022

Following the news that the Challenger Series will return in August, we give you the lowdown on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series promotion pathway.

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Tue 2 August, 2022
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South Africa and Australia bidding for historic rugby sevens treble

Following their Commonwealth Games gold medals, South Africa and Australia are firmly in the hunt for the last remaining titles on offer in 2022.

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Mon 1 August, 2022
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Australia and South Africa win rugby sevens gold at Commonwealth Games

Australia's women claimed Commonwealth Games rugby sevens gold for the first time on Sunday after their extra-time heartache four years ago, while South Africa's men were crowned champions for the second time.

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Sun 31 July, 2022
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Australia and Fiji go for women’s rugby sevens gold at Commonwealth Games

An action-packed second day of Commonwealth Games rugby sevens saw Australia and Fiji reach Sunday’s women’s gold medal match after a pair of pulsating semi-finals played in front of a vibrant atmosphere in a packed Coventry Stadium in England.

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Sat 30 July, 2022
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Records fall on first day of rugby sevens at Commonwealth Games

Fans were treated to a spectacular opening day of rugby sevens action as the popular, fast-paced sport kicked off its Commonwealth Games competition in record-breaking fashion at Coventry Stadium on Friday.

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Fri 29 July, 2022
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Rugby sevens ready for Commonwealth Games kick-off

The highly anticipated Commonwealth Games 2022 rugby sevens competition will kick off on the opening morning of the Games with teams taking to the pitch at Coventry Stadium in England at 09:30 BST on Friday 29 July. A very strong line-up involving the top teams and best men’s and women’s players in the world are ready to showcase the speed, skill and end-to-end drama of rugby sevens to a huge global audience in what promises to be an exhilarating three days of competition, culminating in the medal matches on Sunday 31 July.

Rugby Sevens

Thu 28 July, 2022
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Coventry Stadium set to host “cracking” Commonwealth Games rugby sevens tournaments

We caught up with commentator Rikki Swannell to chat about all things rugby sevens and Commonwealth Games 2022.

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Thu 28 July, 2022
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Rugby sevens match schedule confirmed for Commonwealth Games 2022

Hot on the heels of the pools announcement, Birmingham 2022 has released the Commonwealth Games match schedule for the rugby sevens competition which will be held from 29-31 July at Coventry Stadium in England.

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Fri 22 July, 2022
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All the build-up to rugby sevens at the Commonwealth Games 2022

With just seven days to go until the men’s and women’s tournaments get underway at Coventry Stadium, we take a look at what fans can expect.

Commonwealth Games

Fri 22 July, 2022
5 min read
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