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YEAR IN REVIEW 2015 WORLD RUGBY 11NEWS | ENGAGING THE RUGBY FAMILYHOSTS NAMED FOR WORLD RUGBY TOURNAMENTSRWANDA: NEW MEMBER UNIONLEFTUSA celebrate victory in the London round of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens SeriesBELOWRwanda became a full member union in 2015In May, it was announced that the San Francisco Bay Area would host Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018, the first time the tournament will be held in the USA. And then, three days later, as if to stress what a great location it will be for this hugely popular tournament, the USA men’s team won the London round of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series at Twickenham, ensuring local support in San Francisco will be at fever pitch.The magnificent Giants Stadium in San Francisco, supported by Avaya Stadium in San Jose, will provide an impressive stage for the world’s top men’s and women’s While 2015 will principally be remembered for the staging of rugby’s biggest tournament, it was also an important year for the awarding of other major events.sevens players to showcase their talent ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. But before all that kicks off Stateside, Ireland will look to build on the record-breaking success of France 2014 by hosting Women’s Rugby World Cup 2017. The hosts are sure of huge support in Dublin and Belfast, especially considering the recent performances of the national team, reaching the semi-final last year in Paris and winning the Six Nations title twice in the past three seasons, including the grand slam in 2013.One of the annual highlights in World Rugby’s year is the ever-competitive U20 Championship and it was announced in 2015 that England (2016) and Georgia (2017) would be the next two hosts of this important tournament for the future stars of world rugby. Neither union has staged this tournament since it went from being an under-19 to under-20 event in 2008 and it will be the first time the Georgian Rugby Union has hosted one of World Rugby’s marquee tournaments.The other event venue that was announced in 2015 was for the U20 Trophy 2016, which will be hosted for the first time by the Zimbabwe Rugby Union in Harare.The Rwanda Rugby Federation (RRF) became the newest full member union as World Rugby Council approved its application in November. This decision brings the total number to 103 full members and 17 associates.The RRF became an associate member of World Rugby in April 2004 and actively partakes in regional activities and in a range of Rugby Africa tournaments. It is recognised by its National Olympic Committee and fulfils World Rugby’s full membership criteria. The RRF runs a national 15s team and, in total, has 10 teams participating in a domestic 15s league with more than 300 registered adult male players, 60 adult female players and nearly 7,000 youth players. SPOTLIGHT ON RWANDA2004 Became associate member300 Registered male players60 Registered female players7,000 Youth players