Western Australia's tourism and local economy will likely benefit from the HSBC Rugby SVNS tournament to begin in Perth on Friday, according to Tourism Minister Rita Saffioti.
Western Australia's tourism and local economy will likely benefit from the HSBC Rugby SVNS tournament which begins in Perth on Friday, according to Tourism Minister Rita Saffioti.
To be held at HBF Park from Friday to Sunday, the tournament is Australia's sole leg of the eight-round campaign, with overseas visitors from three of Tourism WA's key holiday destination markets - the US, UK and New Zealand - likely to support the event. Large numbers of expat South Africans living in Perth are also tipped to attend in solid numbers.
“Thousands of people from out of the state will be travelling to WA to attend the tournament, which will provide a great economic boost for local tourism and hospitality operators," Ms Saffioti said.
“I certainly encourage them to make the most of this experience and head out to our beautiful regions to enjoy all we have to offer.”
Traditionally, a game of rugby union involves 15 players per side. However SVNS, a shortened concept tailored for high levels of fitness and quick scoring, is played on a regulation-sized field with seven players per side, over two seven-minute halves.
Across men's and women's competitions, experienced and developing nations compete against each other in extensive round-robin pool stage, with final ladder positions determining their remaining games during the business end of the tournament. There is also pay parity for both competitions.
Australia’s men’s team face Ireland, Great Britain and the US in Pool B, while the women’s team take on South Africa, Great Britain and Canada in Pool A.
In a bid to grow the game in non-traditional markets, World Rugby has scheduled SVNS tournaments in bustling major cities such as Dubai, Hong Kong and Las Vegas over the past few years, which has resulted in large attendances.
Perth will also hold a SVNS tournament next year, and Ms Saffioti said the state government wouldn't rule out bringing more major international sporting events to WA.
“We know the benefits major events like the SVNS have for our local economy,” she said.
“So we are always on the lookout for events that we know will increase visitation numbers and tourism spend, while also delivering significant benefits for our local economy.”
WA is no stranger to hosting major rugby union matches.
Perth hosted Bledisloe Cup matches, a series contested annually by Australia and New Zealand, in 2019 and 2021. During Australia's 47-26 win over the All Blacks at Optus Stadium in 2019, more than 10,000 out-of-state visitors were part of the 61,241 attendance. Two years later, a broadcast audience of 1.6 million watched the All Blacks' 38-21 victory over the Wallabies.
Australia and New Zealand co-hosted the 2003 Rugby World Cup, with the now-demolished Subiaco Oval hosting a series of pool matches. The state government estimates $41 million of visitor spend occured during this period of games, with 3,400 interstate and 15,000 visitors also flying into WA.
In 2025, Perth will host a tour match between WA's Super Rugby franchise, the Western Force, and British and Irish Lions: a team comprised of the best players from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, which tours Australia, New Zealand and South Africa on a rotational basis every four years.
Long-term, Perth will also host pool matches at the 2027 Rugby World Cup and 2029 Women’s Rugby World Cup.
