SA Rugby target 80,000 Sevens fans in PE

With just 40 days until the third round of the HSBC Sevens World Series in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, organisers SARU have announced a bold ticket sales target of 80,000 for the two-day event.

SARU recently switched the tournament, dubbed 'Rugby's Biggest Party' to an all-weekend format on 8-9 December and with ticket prices fixed at last year’s prices.

Tournament hosts South Africa currently lie third in the HSBC Sevens World Series behind Fiji, who won the first round on Australia's Gold Coast, and New Zealand, who finished runners-up.

New Zealand will travel to South Africa from Dubai as the defending NMB Sevens champions, having beaten the Blitzbokke with a try on the final whistle last year to make it three SA Sevens titles in a row.

The South Africa round of the Series, now called the Cell C Nelson Mandela Bay Sevens after the announcement of a new title sponsorship deal, was hosted in George until last year, when it moved to PE for the first time.

“We are delighted to welcome Cell C to the family of rugby sponsors for the first time,” said Jurie Roux, SARU CEO. “The Sevens is a fun event presented in an innovative way and the fit with a fun and innovative company such as Cell C is perfect.

“They’ll bring new ideas to the event to further engage supporters and we’re looking forward to developing our partnership over the coming years. The NMB Sevens is a fantastic event and this is fantastic news for the tournament.”  

Video: Highlights 2011 NMB Sevens