Global Rugby Tens on hold for 2019

The Brisbane Global Rugby Tens will not be staged in 2019.

The impact of the Rugby World Cup in Japan and the uncertainty over the global rugby calendar mean it is not feasible to hold the pre-season showpiece tournament in 2019, organisers have confirmed.

“After wonderfully entertaining tournaments in 2017 and 2018, it’s a real shame we’ve had to make what is a very tough call,” tournament chief executive Rachael Carroll said.

“We’ve considered many scenarios for 2019 but, unfortunately, we haven’t been able to come up with a viable option.”

Ms Carroll said the potential impact of the world cup on player availability was a factor that could not be ignored.

“In its first two years the Brisbane Global Rugby Tens featured an incredible line-up of superstar players,” Ms Carroll said. “Those players showed just how truly thrilling Tens rugby can be when it is played by elite professionals.

“Over the last two years the event has generated millions of dollars in additional revenues for the sport, and showcased rugby at its entertaining best to a large global television audience.

“Unfortunately, the World Cup would almost certainly have had an impact on our ability to attract the very best players to the tournament in 2019. While that is disappointing, we do understand and accept the requirement of the competing nations to place the world cup at the forefront of their planning.

“Moving forward we believe the event’s future is bright. The level of entertainment on the field well and truly lived up to expectations.

“The positive feedback we received after the 2017 and 2018 events was incredible. Spectators in the stadium, viewers at home, players, coaches and administrators all clearly loved the event.

“There is a real desire from key stakeholders to firmly establish the event as a vibrant, compelling short-form version of the game. The potential to do so is clearly there. The next step for us is to sit down with all of our partners and work towards that goal.

“The key role played by Brisbane City Council via Brisbane Marketing and the Queensland Government through Tourism and Events Queensland, the help of Suncorp Stadium, in establishing this event, in addition to their ongoing support over the past two years has been significant and should be recognised.”

ENDS

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