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The world famous Hong Kong Sevens returns to the IRB World Series next month with the organisers announcing the draw and schedule for the US$150,000 three day event.

The tournament, the oldest and most prestigious on the Series, is the only leg that incorporates 24 teams with the event spread out over three days. The sixth leg of the IRB Series will also give the rugby world a chance to view the very best players from Asia, with six teams from the region set to take part.

The top six sides in the current overall standings; New Zealand, Samoa, Fiji, England, Australia and Kenya are the leading seeds in the six pools. The top of each pool and the two best runners-up qualify for the Cup stages on day 3. Defending champions Fiji broke a 10 year title drought at last year’s event beating South Africa in the final.

They face the USA, Portugal and Thailand in Pool C at the Hong Kong Stadium. England, winners in Hong Kong four times between 2002-2006 games, must face World Champions Wales, Asia’s number one side Japan, and hosts Hong Kong in Pool D.

The Japanese won the East Asian games back in December with Hong Kong taking silver. Pool F has an African flavor in it with Kenya, South Africa, and Zimbabwe battling it out with Korea in one of the tighter groups. The Koreans won the Shanghai Sevens back in September and will be out to cause a shock. Pool D is another competitive group with Australia set to battle it out with Canada, Tonga, and China.

Current Series leaders New Zealand have a favourable draw meeting Scotland, France, and Chinese Taipei in Pool B. Samoa and Argentina lead Pool A along with Russia, who impressed in Dubai and George, and Italy. For the 2010 tournament there has also been a revision of the points system.

The Cup winners will still walk away with 30 points, but importantly the winners of Plate can now walk away with 16 points compared to previous years when the secondary would only yield four. The new system allows teams competing to get more value from their wins and making more of an impact on the overall IRB table.

2010 Hong Kong Sevens Pools:

POOL A: Samoa, Argentina, Russia, Italy

POOL B: New Zealand, Scotland, France, Chinese Taipei

POOL C: Fiji, USA, Portuga;, Thailand

POOL D: Australia, Canada, Tonga, China

POOL E: England, Wales, Japan, Hong Kong POOL F: Kenya, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Korea

Revised Points System for Hong Kong Sevens 2010:

Cup

Winner (1) 30 pts (previous 30 pts)

Runner Up (1) 25 pts (previous 24 pts)

Semi Final (2) 20 pts (previous 18 pts)

Quarter Final (4) 0 pts (previous 8 pts)

Plate

Champion (1) 16 pts (previous 4 pts) Runner-up (1) 10 pts (previous 3pts)

Semi Final (2) 8 pts (previous 2 pts)

Bowl

Winner (1) 5 pts (previous 1pts)

Shield

Winner 0 pt (previous 0 pts)

Got a Rugby Sevens question? Want to know more about the IRB Sevens World Series or any aspect of the sport? Former England captain Andy Vilk will be offering his expert opinion in answering all your queries in the aftermath of the USA Sevens. Send all your questions to Andy by emailing press@ur7s.com

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