Scottish Rugby Moves The Goalposts to Glasgow

Scottish Rugby has announced that the world famous HSBC Sevens World Series is heading for Glasgow in 2012.

The event, seen in more than 140 countries worldwide and with a following of over 200 million, will be held at Scotstoun Stadium on the weekend of 5 and 6 of May in 2012.

According to the press release "The move of the event from its traditional home in Edinburgh will give the people of Glasgow a chance to savour the unique festival atmosphere that a sevens tournament of this size and scale can deliver." Edinburgh losing a rugby event to Glasgow! The establishment must be rocking!

Anyway, it puts Glasgow on the international circuit of sevens which also takes in Hong Kong, Dubai and Australia’s Gold Coast and the First Minister was rolled out with his quote too,

“Scotland is well known as the home of rugby sevens and it will be tremendous to see this global spectacular staged in Glasgow. It is a city that knows how to put on a show and I have no doubt that come May, the people of Glasgow will take great pride in staging another major international event.

“I’m very pleased that we are part of the launch today and we look forward to working with Scottish Rugby and all those involved in making the event a world-wide success.”

Present at the launch, IRB Vice Chairman Bill Beaumont said: “Scotland is the home of Sevens and today’s announcement represents a further boost for the sport as we count down to the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and Rugby’s return to the Olympic Games stage in Rio in 2016.”

“We are confident that the Scottish Rugby Union’s commitment to deliver a spectacular round of the HSBC Sevens World Series in Glasgow in 2012 and 2013 will be a huge success and engage new fans throughout Glasgow, across Scotland and from further afield.”

Scotstoun Stadium, soon to be home to the Glasgow Warriors rugby team, will see 16 teams from across the world competing and 15,000 fans descend on the site each day for the penultimate leg of the World Series.

The stadium will see two temporary stands built to take the capacity to three times it's current level. In keeping with the atmosphere of the unique global tournament there will be live entertainment, a food court and the event will be licensed. It will be the first time a sevens tournament of this scale has been played in Glasgow.

Tickets for the event are on sale now at the price of just £10 for those who buy before the end of the RBS 6 Nations (17 March). All concessions are at half the equivalent adult price. Tickets will be sold for particular stands and designated days, with two-day ‘weekend’ tickets also available.