Photos IRB/Martin Seras Lima

So have we just seen George play host to the SA Sevens for the very last time?

With its contract expiring this year the word on the street is that the SA Sevens extravaganza will upgrade to a more tourist-friendly location that possess a far bigger stadium.

If it does bow out, aside from the weather, it couldn’t have asked for a better finale with a penalty kick having to settle to the two outstanding sides on this World Series; New Zealand and England.

This was the ninth time the World Series show has hit the quaint town nestled below South African’s stunning Outeniqua Mountains part of the picturesque Garden Route. In many ways it will be a shame for the event to leave from here – considering the improvements they made this year.

Most of the experienced players and coaches will tell you it offers the small-town local partisan crowd offers the Series something different from the other large scale showpieces. It’s bringing rugby out to the people rather than the other way around.

With the players enjoying the ‘chilled out’ vibe of the Fancourt Golf Club it’s a nice tonic to recover and recuperate following the stresses of Dubai.

There has been nice touches also with the Boks, Kenyan and Namibian sides mixing with local school children and New Zealand team taking water fruit and sweets to kids near the stadium as part of a legacy programme. What about the local boy Joshua who since 2006 has stayed, eaten and trained with the Argentina Pumas as they stay in George.

Great stories and very touching.

But top-tier international sevens is changing. With top blue-chip sponsor on board in HSBC, revenues need to be generated and commercial interest ignited. 

So could the SARU be willing to jack in George for the Table Mountain of Cape Town? It makes sense commercially with the tournament sponsors, Emirates, to have the matches in a city where to and from which it has flights.

Although extra seats have been put in for this weekend’s tournament in George, the 10,000 capacity is far off Cape Town Stadium’s 64,000. No more army tents for the players during tournament days with the impressive FIFA World Cup venues sure to please management.

Although the IRB will shake up the structure of the World Series next year with new tournaments if they continue to pair Dubai and South Africa logistically Cape Town makes better sense. It would cut out extra travel for the players on the tour for one.

Port Elizabeth and Rustenburg are the other main contenders as the IRB/SARU seek that highoctane entertainment that a Hong Kong or Wellington brings. The potential that a Cape Town could bring to the World Series is massive – with the right marketing to get the right bums on seats.

You only have to look at the RFU and London Sevens which has taken a good 10 years to develop a world class product. These things can take time so somewhere like Cape Town won’t be just a quick fix in my view.

Even moving to Cape Town the likes of HSBC can still work out some CSR for teams in visiting townships and meeting youngsters and rugby workshops.

A few cocktails in Bar Caprice at the stunning Camps Bay wouldn’t go amiss either!