Rugby Tens Championship (R10C) 2022 Set For South Africa

The Rugby Tens Championship (R10C) has confirmed that it will be returning in October 2022, this time to South Africa with back-to-back events planned.

Rugby Tens Championship 2022 – Gender Inclusive 

The professional rugby 10s competition is set to feature women and men, as well as U18 girls and boys and will be played in South Africa at the Harlequin Club in Pretoria on October 7 and at Loftus Versfeld on October 8, followed by Stellenbosch from October 14-15 at Danie Craven Stadium.

The tournament is promoting “Rugby. Equality. Entertainment” and inclusive culture throughout the organisation said the organiser’s press release. They want R10C to “offer men, women, and youth players the chance to develop alongside people from diverse backgrounds across the world.”

“We had an extraordinary representation of 30 countries at the R10C event in Portugal in 2021, with numerous players going on to sign for professional terms or achieve international honours. We are very excited to see rugby players from all over the world come together in South Africa to build on the success of the European event.

And we continue to promote equality and positive social impact through sport with meaningful assignments such as Frankie Horne and Cecil Afrika, Blitzbokke Legends, in charge of coaching Women’s teams”, shared Andreea Trufasu, co-founder and CEO of the Rugby Tens Championship.”

Which Teams Are Playing Rugby Tens Championship 2022?

There are five franchises set to competing the Rugby Tens Championship 2022 with each franchise fielding a men’s, women’s, U18 boys and U18 girls’ teams.

The teams will compete for Tournament Cups, but each side’s ranking in their division will also contribute to the Championship Franchise title which will be similar to the Constructors’ Championship in Formula One.

The Championship Franchise Title will mean that the series should be kept alive until the end of a series.

1. Balkans Honey Badgers
2. Blue Bulls Rugby Union
3. Cape Town Wild Dogs
4. San Clemente Rhinos
5. Serengeti Elephants

For the Pretoria-based Blue Bulls, it’s the union’s first year in the series with the province aiming to “give its female athletes the opportunity to compete at a professional level for the first time in its history.”

“R10C is an exciting concept in sport. It brings equality for Men and Women at various levels including compensation structure, it’s a unique development pathway for Boys and Girls and it creates opportunities for diverse competition with players from countries such as New Zealand, Brazil, Canada, USA, Ireland, Kenya, Portugal, Sweden, South Africa and more” said R10C co-founder and president of the Blue Bulls Rugby Union, Willem Strauss.

The organisers say that the tournaments will create opportunities for players from developing rugby nations, and that “stars of the global game will also be showcased.”

They claim that members of the New Zealand Black Ferns Sevens squad, Australia Sevens squad, Fiji Sevens and many more will play the tournaments, but no names have yet been confirmed.

Editor’s Note – with the popularity (and origin of Rugby Tens in Asia) we have reached out to the organsiers to see if any players or teams have been contacted from the region to compete in the future.

Rugby Tournaments 2022

• Japan Sakura XV Confirm RWC 2021 Squad.
• Asia Rugby and Rugby Africa Sign MOU at RWC Sevens 2022.
• Chiang Mai World Flair International Rugby Tens 2022.
• Emirates Dubai Sevens Rugby 2022 dates confirmed.