| Twelve women’s sevens teams have arrived in Ireland ahead of this weekend’s sevens series qualifier in Dublin. The top two teams from the event will qualify as core teams on next season’s HSBC World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series circuit. Brazil, China, Colombia, Hong Kong, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, the Netherlands, Samoa, South Africa, Wales and hosts Ireland all hope to join the sides who retained their core status by finishing in the top nine in the 2014-15 series standings. The two qualified sides from this weekend will join champions New Zealand, Canada, Australia, England, USA, France, Russia, Fiji and Spain on the circuit next year. Inclusion on next season’s series would be especially beneficial to teams like Ireland and Mexico who have still a chance to qualify for next year’s Olympic Games when they take part in the global repechage next June, which will decide the 12th and final qualifier for the women’s event at Rio 2016. Brazil and Columbia have already confirmed their place at Rio 2016 alongside New Zealand, Australia, Canada and Team GB. The event will stream live online with fans able to log on to irishrugby.ie where they can watch all the action from the UCD Bowl in Dublin. The action kicks off with China facing Kenya at 11.00am (GMT +1) with Ireland v South Africa closing proceedings on day one. The all-important play offs take place on Sunday with the first match of the day getting underway at 10.30am. CLICK HERE FOR MATCH FIXTURES >> Tickets for the event in Dublin are still available here and are still available for purchase. For more information on the qualifier and the HSBC World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series click here |