Twelve men’s teams and four women’s teams will contest the 2018 Brisbane Global Rugby Tens at Suncorp Stadium on February 9 and 10.
The men’s draw will feature all nine Australian and New Zealand Super Rugby teams, plus Section Paloise (Pau) from France’s Top 14 competition, Japan’s Panasonic Wild Knights and Fiji’s national team.
The upgraded women’s competition will feature Queensland, New South Wales, the Brumbies and Melbourne Rebels.
The move to increase the level of female participation at the event reflected the rise in popularity of the women’s game, Brisbane Global Rugby Tens chief executive Rachael Carroll said.
“Following on from the huge popularity of the Queensland v NSW women’s series this year, we have been able to double the number of women’s teams competing in 2018. I’m personally thrilled about that. Women’s sport – and women’s rugby in particular – is riding a wave in Australia and it is great that this tournament can showcase that.”
The men’s draw will now feature three pools of four teams, meaning there will be no need for the crossover matches that were a feature of this year’s 14-team draw.
The four women’s teams will play a full round robin followed by a final between the top two teams in the group.
The 2018 tournament takes place on Friday 9 and Saturday 10 February, with play beginning in the afternoon and continuing into the evening.
Teams contesting the 2018 Brisbane Global Rugby Tens
Australia
Queensland Reds
New South Wales Waratahs
Brumbies
Melbourne Rebels
New Zealand
Chiefs
Blues
Crusaders
Hurricanes
Highlanders
International
Section Paloise (Pau), France
Panasonic Wild Knights, Japan
Fiji
Women
Queensland
New South Wales
Melbourne Rebels
Brumbies
