The Australian Rugby Union promised to "strike a better balance" on match scheduling at next year's Sydney Sevens after it emerged the Olympic champion women would play their quarterfinal on a training field outside Allianz Stadium "to make way for the men's group stages," according to Georgina Robinson of the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD. The ARU and World Rugby blamed "contractual commitments" for the "embarrassing scenario," which will see the majority of the "heavily-hyped" women's knockout rounds relegated to a small training oval, with enough room to accommodate about 1,000 spectators, across the road from the 45,000-capacity stadium. It is a "bad look" for the ARU, which has "leveraged heavily" the women's success at the Rio Olympics to sell tickets to the first combined men's and women's Sydney Sevens. While sales to the women's-only Friday session have been "slow," Saturday -- the only combined day -- has sold out and the all-men's Sunday has "all but done the same." An ARU spokesperson said, "There are scheduling challenges associated with hosting two tournaments simultaneously, which will happen for the first time at this year's Sydney Sevens. While it was not possible to strike a better balance this year owing to player welfare and contractual commitments, we will be discussing with all parties to see how the schedule can be enhanced next year." World Rugby made a similar pledge, citing the same contractual obligations (SMH, 1/29).
