The ladies are out in force this weekend mere days after the men’s rugby sevens in Hong Kong. Guangzhou University Town Stadium is playing host to round three of the IRB (International Rugby Board) World Seven Series this weekend.

Twelve teams will go head-to-head with 35 short, sharp, fast-paced games over two days.

The Nanfang went down to a closed training session for the England Women Sevens to meet the team.

Tournament host China is pitted against England, the winner of the last round, in the first game. Locals are being urged to turn out for the home team, with tickets free of charge.

Not taking anything for granted, England Women’s Sevens Head Coach Barry Maddocks said his team had a massive incentive to perform well with the Sevens World Cup taking place later in the year.

“Our players are obviously striving for the ultimate position really of being in the World Cup squad at the end of June, so it will be a really competitive side that’s for sure,” said the Welsh-born England Sevens Head Coach.

For China’s women, playing competitively on home soil in an internationally-sanctioned event is a first, while for the IRB, it’s the first tournament for women.

“For the first time this year, we’ve had an official IRB tournament which is great because it will improve the standard right the way through,” he said. “It gives a great opportunity to play on a world stage.”

In the run-up to the inaugural women’s World Sevens Series, Zengcheng played host to a widely-praised international invitational in October 2012, in which USA was triumphant.

Joining China and England this weekend are Australia, Brazil, Canada, Fiji, Ireland, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Tunisia, and the United States.

New Zealand currently tops the standings with 34 points, with Australia at 30 points and England sitting in third with 28 points.

England Sevens winger and IRB Women’s Player of the Year Michaela Staniford (right) explained what the differences are with the longer format of the game.

“It’s a massively multi-skilled game, with seven instead of 15 people, and there’s a lot of running; a lot of ball skill, ball in hand but you’ve got the option to kick as well,” she said. “It’s very much an open, evasive game, because people think of rugby as a contact sport but in Sevens you’ve got massive spaces and you’re avoiding contact.

“It’s really exciting, it’s a quick turnaround and it’s often high scoring, and you get to see a lot of athleticism and skill on show and it’s quite easy on the eye to watch and it’s fun and exciting,” she added.

The Women’s Sevens are being used as a staging post to reach out to countries where rugby is less recognised.

So far, the tournament has travelled to Dubai and Houston, Texas, with the next round in Amsterdam.

Mr Maddocks reckons if China can pull off a small-scale event, then the country could be taken seriously as a potential Rugby World Cup host.

“At the end of the day, China has held an Olympics so it’s more than capable,” he said.

The sevens game is set to be a permanent feature with the format slated for the 2016 Summer Olympics, while the shorter game is already a highly-popular fixture in Hong Kong’s sporting calender.

Tournament
Free of charge

Fixtures
1. 30 Mar 2013 – 10:00 England 0 – 0 China Pool C
2. 30 Mar 2013 – 10:22 United States 0 – 0 Fiji Pool C
3. 30 Mar 2013 – 10:44 New Zealand 0 – 0 Brazil Pool A
4. 30 Mar 2013 – 11:06 Netherlands 0 – 0 Tunisia Pool A
5. 30 Mar 2013 – 11:28 Australia 0 – 0 Japan Pool B
6. 30 Mar 2013 – 11:50 Canada 0 – 0 Ireland Pool B
7. 30 Mar 2013 – 12:22 England 0 – 0 Fiji Pool C
8. 30 Mar 2013 – 12:44 United States 0 – 0 China Pool C
9. 30 Mar 2013 – 13:06 New Zealand 0 – 0 Tunisia Pool A
10. 30 Mar 2013 – 13:28 Netherlands 0 – 0 Brazil Pool A
11. 30 Mar 2013 – 13:50 Australia 0 – 0 Ireland Pool B
12. 30 Mar 2013 – 14:12 Canada 0 – 0 Japan Pool B
13. 30 Mar 2013 – 15:04 England 0 – 0 United States Pool C
14. 30 Mar 2013 – 15:26 China 0 – 0 Fiji Pool C
15. 30 Mar 2013 – 15:48 New Zealand 0 – 0 Netherlands Pool A
16. 30 Mar 2013 – 16:10 Brazil 0 – 0 Tunisia Pool A
17. 30 Mar 2013 – 16:32 Australia 0 – 0 Canada Pool B
18. 30 Mar 2013 – 16:54 Japan 0 – 0 Ireland Pool B
19. 31 Mar 2013 – 10:00 (1) Best 1st 0 – 0 (8) 2nd Best 3rd QF Cup
20. 31 Mar 2013 – 10:22 (4) Best 2nd 0 – 0 (5) 2nd Best 2nd QF Cup
21. 31 Mar 2013 – 10:44 (3) 3rd Best 1st 0 – 0 (6) 3rd Best 2nd QF Cup
22. 31 Mar 2013 – 11:06 (2) 2nd Best 1st 0 – 0 (7) Best 3rd QF Cup
23. 31 Mar 2013 – 11:28 (9) 3rd Best 3rd 0 – 0 (12) 3rd Best 4th SF Bowl
24. 31 Mar 2013 – 11:50 (10) Best 4th 0 – 0 (11) 2nd Best 4th SF Bowl
25. 31 Mar 2013 – 13:06 Loser Game 19 0 – 0 Loser Game 20 SF Plate
26. 31 Mar 2013 – 13:28 Loser Game 21 0 – 0 Loser Game 22 SF Plate
27. 31 Mar 2013 – 13:50 Winner Game 19 0 – 0 Winner Game 20 SF Cup
28. 31 Mar 2013 – 14:12 Winner Game 21 0 – 0 Winner Game 22 SF Cup
29. 31 Mar 2013 – 14:34 Loser Game 23 0 – 0 Loser Game 24 11th / 12th
30. 31 Mar 2013 – 14:56 Winner Game 23 0 – 0 Winner Game 24 Final Bowl
31. 31 Mar 2013 – 15:56 Loser Game 25 0 – 0 Loser Game 26 7th / 8th
32. 31 Mar 2013 – 16:18 Winner Game 25 0 – 0 Winner Game 26 Final Plate
33. 31 Mar 2013 – 16:48 Loser Game 27 0 – 0 Loser Game 28 3rd / 4th
34. 31 Mar 2013 – 17:10 Winner Game 27 0 – 0 Winner Game 28 Final Cup

Location
Metro Line 4: Higher Education Mega Centre North: Exit C – located on the exit map.
Just a few minutes walk south, up a slight hill, crossing the road twice to get to the stadium.

Check out photos of England and Canada preparing for competition in our newest Nanfang Studio.