CBC Sports today announced its all-encompassing coverage of the Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018 from July 20–22 in San Francisco, CA. As part of the ongoing partnership with Rugby Canada, Canada’s Olympic network will offer more than 18 hours of broadcast coverage of non-stop excitement across the three-day event, including all Canadian matches and championship rounds. All men’s and women’s matches will be available to live stream at cbcsports.ca and via the CBC Sports app for iOS and Android devices. Radio-Canada Sports will also offer live-streaming coverage of every match at Radio-Canada.ca/sports.
Andi Petrillo will host CBC Sports’ coverage of the showpiece tournament alongside 2014 Women’s Rugby World Cup silver medallist Andrea Burk, and former professional rugby player Phil Mackenzie, with Brenda Irving reporting from San Francisco. Burk and former Rugby Canada International player Brian Spanton will offer colour commentary for the women’s and men’s matches, respectively, alongside Nigel Reed, who will call play-by-play for the first edition of the Rugby World Cup Sevens tournament since the sport’s debut at the Olympic Games Rio 2016.
The Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018 in San Francisco will be the seventh edition of the international tournament and the third to include both men’s and women’s competitions. The men’s tournament will feature 24 teams divided into six pools of four teams each, while the women’s competition will include 16 teams in four pools of four. Canada was the runner-up in the previous women’s World Cup Sevens in 2013, falling to New Zealand in the championship match. Heading into the tournament, the Canadian women’s team – bronze medallists at Rio 2016 – is ranked third, while the men’s team is ranked 10th.
The first match for the Canadian women’s team is scheduled for Friday, July 20 in the Round of 16 against Brazil (ranked 14th), while the men will face off that day against Papua New Guinea (23rd) as part of the Men’s Qualifier Round. In order for each team to progress to the next round and have a chance at winning the World Cup, they must each win their first matches, or else compete for final standing in the Bowl or Challenge rounds. For more information on the tournament’s knock-out format, click here.
In addition to live streams of all matches, CBC Sports will offer daily wrap-ups at cbcsports.ca and via the CBC Sports app, as well as new video features on Canadian players Jared and Justin Douglas, Sara Kaljuvee, and women’s team captain Ghislaine Landry, alongside current “Bodies of Work” features on the physical challenges and efforts of Olivia Apps and Caroline Crossley.
The full CBC broadcast schedule for coverage of the Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018 is listed below. For the complete match schedule and live streams of all matches, visit cbcsports.ca or the CBC Sports app.
*The broadcast schedule is subject to change without notice.
Friday, July 20
- 12:30 ET (9:30 a.m. PT) – Women’s Round of 16 and Men’s Qualifier Round
- 8 p.m./9 p.m. AT – Women’s Championship Quarter-finals
- 11:30 p.m./12:30 a.m. AT – Men’s Round of 16
Saturday, July 21
- 4 p.m. ET (1 p.m. PT) – Women’s Championship Semifinals
- 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT) – Men’s Championship Quarter-finals and Women’s Championship Final
Sunday, July 22
- 2:30 p.m. ET (11:30 a.m. PT) – Men’s Championship Semifinals
- 8 p.m. local (6:30 p.m. AT) – Men’s Championship Final
CBC Sports will continue to share with Canadians the breathtaking rugby sevens action year-round through multi-platform coverage of the men’s and women’s HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series during the 2018-2019 season, keeping audiences connected to the key players and storylines in the lead up to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.
