In this file photo, Canadian rugby sevens national team member Sean Duke runs for a try during a USA Sevens rugby match against Australia on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012, in Las Vegas.Isaac Brekken/The Associated Press
In a showcase on a sunny, warm February day, Rugby Canada officials took a rugby ball from the lawn of the provincial legislature in Victoria, flew by Helijet to Vancouver, and finished at Robson Square downtown to announce that Canada has scored a spot on the calendar of men's World Rugby Sevens Series.
The two-day men's tournament will start next year in March at BC Place and feature 16 teams. The 2014-15 calendar features nine stops, starting in Australia and Dubai and finishing in Scotland and England.
The BC Place tournament will be played on new artificial turf to be installed in the coming months so that it is also ready for the women's soccer World Cup in late spring and early summer. The soccer final is set for BC Place on July 5.
Canada was one of more than 20 bidders for a spot on men's sevens schedule. The win is another gain for Canada in rugby, particular in sevens. Canada had already secured a date on the women's sevens tour; the first takes place April 18-19 in Langford, B.C., near Victoria.
Sevens rugby is a shorter version of the traditional and features seven rather than 15 players a side. It joins the Olympics in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro for men's and women's play. Canada's women are No. 3-ranked this season, and the men are currently 13 after finishing sixth last season.
Vancouver's success hosting the 2010 Winter Olympics was cited by World Rugby chairman Bernard Lapasset.
"Vancouver is a world-renowned event location and a city with a tremendous track record of hosting incredible events," he said in a statement.
Canada has spent several years improving its position on the global rugby scene. In 2012, Rugby Canada opened a training headquarters in Langford, and Own The Podium has spent about $5-million the past two years supporting the women's and men's sevens teams.
Rugby Canada has also been supported by World Rugby, the organization formerly known as the International Rugby Board. In 2013, the IRB provided Rugby Canada about $2.6-million, which was nearly 20 per cent of Rugby Canada's $13.4-milion budget.
Rugby Canada has pulled in more money by staging international events. The women's and men's sevens series – both scheduled to run four years – will provide another significant boost to its income.
Gareth Rees, Canada's best-ever player, was a co-chair of the bid committee to win the men's sevens event. He has watched the long, slow growth of rugby in Canada, before the recent bigger gains. "An incredibly important moment for the sport of rugby in our country," said Rees of hosting the men's sevens tournament.
Rees grew up in Victoria and was a long-time captain for Canada, playing in four World Cups. He was named to the World Rugby Hall of Fame in 2011.
"Vancouver is the perfect choice," said Rees. "We are confident the sport, entertainment and festivities will capture the imagination of Canadians."
Sevens tournaments can become hot social affairs around a game played fast and hard. The Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens, in late March, has a raucous and glamorous reputation.
The Vancouver bid received unspecified support from all three levels of government.
The cost of the turf replacement at publicly owned BC Place was also not quantified. The stadium is run by BC Pavilion Corp., the Crown corporation known as PavCo, said it had planned for new turf in fall of 2016.
The project was hastened because World Rugby requires better turf, and many soccer players have complained about the low quality of the BC Place turf. The Canadian Soccer Association and Rugby Canada will help pay for the new surface.
David Ebner