The International Rugby Board has announced that this season’s Sevens World Series will be streamed live online in its entirety for the first time.
Uninterrupted action of all nine rounds of the 2013-14 Series will be available to watch on the competition’s official website, IRBSevens.com, starting with round one on Australia's Gold Coast on October 12-13.
The development follows the success of the live streaming from this year’s Rugby World Cup Sevens tournament in Moscow, which was viewed by over 260,000 unique users over the three days of the event.
In territories where broadcast agreements for the Series are in place geo-blocking may apply. The IRB added that an announcement will be made regarding the coverage of the Women’s Sevens World Series in due course.
IRB general manager for rugby sevens, Avan Lee, said: “Since rugby sevens joined the Olympic programme, the game has benefited from record broadcast exposure on television, and this new step into the world of live online viewership significantly enhances our offering. Millions of people already watch the World Series on television around the world, and will continue to, but this online platform now gives existing and new fans the chance to see every pass, tackle and try from our showcase Series.”