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he 42,000-seater stadium, which is home to the San Francisco Giants baseball team, is one of the most familiar and highly rated sports venues in the USA and is located in downtown San Francisco, along the waterfront overlooking the famous bay.This will be the seventh staging of the tournament, which has previously been held in Edinburgh, Hong Kong (twice), Mar del Plata, Dubai and Moscow. New Zealand are the defending men’s and women’s champions but will face considerable resistance in the form of Olympic gold medallists, Australia (women’s) and Fiji (men’s), not to mention strong home competition from both USA sides.World Rugby Chairman Bill Beaumont said: “The success of rugby sevens at the Olympic Games in Rio The iconic AT&T Park in San Francisco will provide the spectacular backdrop to the four-day Rugby World Cup Sevens tournament in July 2018 that will feature 24 men’s and 16 women’s teams competing for the title of world champions. SAN FRANCISCO ON TRACK TO HOST RWC SEVENS 2018ABOVEThe 42,000- seater AT&T Park in San FranciscoTgave the game a huge shot in the arm and we are working hard to ensure its popularity continues to rise in the coming years. Part of that is building on the success of previous RWC Sevens tournaments, which come at the mid-point in the Olympic cycle. “Being a vibrant and exciting city, San Francisco is the perfect place to stage this tournament, which in the past has provided plenty of thrilling rugby action. And we are delighted that AT&T Park will be the venue, providing spectators with great facilities and affording the teams the sort of stage befitting of their athleticism and skills.”In September, World Rugby announced details of the qualification process for the tournament, which will see the top eight men’s teams (plus hosts USA) and the top four women’s teams from RWC Sevens 2013 qualify automatically. The remaining qualification places will be filled through the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series (men’s and women’s) as well as six regional tournaments.At the same time, a modern and evocative logo was unveiled, which combines the familiar World Rugby framework with the extra adornment of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge in a dynamic design. Sports fans at AT&T Park caught a glimpse of the logo as they were treated to a promotional video for the tournament over the stadium’s big screen during a baseball game there in September.Tickets for RWC Sevens 2018 will go on sale in 2017 with fans encouraged to register their interest via the new tournament website rwcsevens.com.30 WORLD RUGBY YEAR IN REVIEW 2016