The HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series returns to Los Angeles this weekend as Dignity Health Sports Park prepares to host two days of non-stop action at the hotly-anticipated HSBC LA Sevens.

From 29 February to 1 March 16 international rugby sevens teams will descend upon the California-based stadium which is home to LA Galaxy (MLS) and the LA Chargers (NFL).

With less than two days to go, the team captains from every competing nation gathered at the Manhattan Beach Pier today to officially launch the tournament in true Californian style.

The hosts will be looking to win their third straight title on home soil after victories in the finals at both the 2018 and 2019 events in Las Vegas where the USA round of the series was held previously. 

Reminiscingon their past wins, USA captain Madison Hughes said: "We all know that every tournament is a new tournament and every game is a new game, so nothing that’s happened in the past guarantees anything, but it would be pretty cool to be able to win three home tournaments in a row.

"The last few years have been magical weekends but now we’ve got to go out there and see if we can do it again."

Asthe fifth round of the men's HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2020, the HSBC LA Sevens is the largest rugby event in the USA; a country where rugby is experiencing exponential growth with the Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018 in San Francisco attracting a record attendance for a rugby event in the USA of over 100,000 fans.

Seriesleaders New Zealand can’t wait to get things underway at this exciting new tournament with captain Tim Mikkelson commenting that fans can expect some exciting games this weekend.

"Our pool game against England is going to be huge – they’ve got pace to burn all over the field.

"They’ve got Dan Norton out wide who has scored the most tries ever, so we’ve got to contain him and they’ve got a lot of big boys up front who are pretty physical so we’ve been working hard on our defence this week. If we can bring that into play this weekend, I think we’ll be in with a good chance."

Playwill be split across two days with all pool games taking place on Saturday 29 February before the knock-out competition begins on Sunday.The

 action gets underway at 09:45 local time (GMT -8) on Saturday 29 February when Pool D’s New Zealand take on Wales.

Single-daytickets, weekend passes and VIP packages still available from

lasevensrugby.com/tickets

A family package is also available with single-day and weekend options.

When not at the stadium, all the action over LA Sevens weekend will be taking place at The Rugby Hub, located in the South Bay, featuring oceanfront dining, shopping, entertainment and hotels, only minutes from LAX and the stadium. More details on The Rugby Hub can be found at https://lasevensrugby.com/the-rugby-hub.

Viewers across the US will be able to watch the most comprehensive live coverage of the tournament on the NBCSN channel, with coverage beginning on Saturday 29 February from 20:00 ET / 17:00 PT to 24:00 ET / 21:00 PT, and extended coverage of finals day from 11:30 ET / 08:30 PT to 20:00 ET / 17:00 PT on Sunday 1 March.

Meanwhile viewers can watch every match live across the weekend on NBC Sports Gold.

Stay connected for the most up-to-date event information for the HSBC LA Sevens by following @LASevensRugby on social media platforms, and @worldrugby7s for HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series news.