World Rugby has announced the schedule for the 2015-16 HSBC Men's Sevens World Series, including the renewal of the sponsorship contract with HSBC.

HSBC also signed on to sponsor the Women's World Series for the first time. 

World Rugby Chairman Bernard Lapasset said: “Rugby sevens is going from strength to strength ahead of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and the men’s and women’s series have been at the heart of the global sevens success story with their winning brand of high-octane, competitive and broadcast- friendly action, global locations and festival atmosphere.

“HSBC has been central to the sevens success story and is totally aligned with our mission to attract and inspire new players and audiences. We are excited about this increased commitment and the certainty it provides over the next four years to grow our sport within existing and emerging rugby markets. 

“We are particularly delighted that our flagship women’s series will be supported by HSBC over the next few years. Women’s rugby is one of the world’s fastest-growing team sports, with more than 1.5 million regularly playing and new participants being welcomed every day. The feats of our best female players on the series have been a source of inspiration to young players and the driving force behind ever-increasing popularity and profile.”    

The big news on the scheduling front is that, as Goff Rugby Report first reported in February, the Las Vegas stop on the circuit will be shifted from mid-February to March. In addition, Vancouver, Paris, and Singapore have been added, while the Scotland and Tokyo stops have been removed. This expands the Men's World Series to ten events - five pairs of weekends starting in December and ending in May.

2015-16 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series schedule

Round 1: Dubai: 4-5 December
Round 2: Cape Town: 12-13 December
Round 3: Wellington: 30-31 January
Round 4: Sydney: 6-7 February
Round 5: Las Vegas: 4-6 March
Round 6: Vancouver: 12-13 March
Round 7: Hong Kong: 8-10 April
Round 8: Singapore: 16-17 April
Round 9: Paris: 14-15 May
Round 10: London: 21-22 May

USA player Zack Test, who attended the event in Paris, said: “It is great for the players to know that a strong and committed sponsor is in place for the series. HSBC have been great supporters of rugby for a long time now and they really give a stability and certainty to the tournament.

“From USA’s point of view, we are in a great place at the moment. We took real confidence from winning the London Sevens this year and it all bodes well for the upcoming series and also the Olympics. A year ago, people were wondering if we would even qualify but now we will be going to Rio looking for medals. Well, we are the defending Olympic champions so we’re going there aiming to win.” 

The change for Las Vegas will mean an adjustment in how they market the event, and certainly Vegas will face stiff competition from Vancouver for Canadian fans.