The 2021 Hamilton leg of the World Rugby sevens series has been cancelled.
World Rugby has announced that, due to the continued uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 global pandemic, neither the New Zealand and Sydney-hosted Australian events will be played.
The international body postponed the remaining tournaments of the 2020 schedule in March, before officially cancelling Dubai and Cape Town last month.
New Zealand Rugby professional rugby & performance general manager Chris Lendrum says the cancellation is disappointing for teams, fans and event partners, but a sensible decision under current circumstances.
"We've had three great years in Hamilton and were planning to take the tournament back to FMG Stadium Waikato again next January, but we understand and support the decision to cancel."
The Hamilton tournament was scheduled to run from January 23-24, with both the All Blacks and Black Ferns Sevens teams in action.
Lendrum says contingency plans are well advanced to ensure both teams are prepared for the Tokyo Olympics.
"The goal of our sevens teams to succeed at the Olympics hasn't changed, and our high-performance team have done a great job ensuring the players remain fit, focused and informed."
Most of the contracted players should still get plenty of rugby, with the Farah Palmer Cup and Mitre 10 Cup beginning later this month.
Meanwhile, World Rugby will provide a NZ$3.5 million grant to support Olympic-qualified teams preparing for the Games.
