Sizzling sevens

The Federation of Oceania Rugby Unions (FORU) this week announced that 10 member unions have confirmed their participation in the 2011 Oceania Sevens Championship to be held in Apia on October 28 and 29.

Regional sevens powerhouses Samoa, Australia and Fiji will head the line-up of participating teams, however Tonga, Papua New Guinea and the Cook Islands, regular competitors on the HSBC Sevens World Series, will provide plenty of tough competition.

They will be joined by Niue, Tahiti, American Samoa and Solomon Islands, providing the island of Upolu, Samoa with a festival of high powered rugby sevens.

Tournament hosts, the Samoa Rugby Union (SRU), is delighted with the response shown by FORU unions in their support of the 2011 Oceania Sevens Championship.

The 2011 Oceania Sevens Championship will be a great festival of sizzling sevens in the best traditions of Pacific rugby says Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, chairman of the SRU and Prime Minister of Samoa.

The opportunity to see some of the worlds best sevens teams at Apia Park over two days of intense competition will surely be an exciting spectacle for the people of Samoa.

Oceania Sevens Championship tournament director Michael Groom says that the Oceania championship has established itself as a prestigious regional sevens event, and one that has increasing strategic importance to FORU member unions.

Australia are the defending champions after defeating Samoa 34-12 in the final of the 2010 Oceania Sevens Championship.