The IRB's World Sevens Series will reach an exciting climax at Twickenham and Cardiff, the host venues this season for the final two rounds of this spectacular Series.

This is the first time since the Rugby World Cup in Scotland in 1993 that a tournament of this stature has been played in Britain.

Terry Burwell, RFU Operations Director, said: "England is delighted, as the inaugural Rugby World Cup 7s champions, to be both participating in the World Sevens Series and hosting a tournament at Twickenham. The opportunity to continue the tradition of sevens at Twickenham in May is one we are all looking forward to."

The Series will start in Durban on 18th/19th November, a new South African venue which promises to get the Series off with a festival atmosphere. Other venues are as far ranging as Wellington and Shanghai. The latter was chosen as part of IRB's continuing mission to take the game to new territories. Kuala Lumpur are also newcomers to the circuit following the successful hosting of the Commonwealth Games in that city in 1998.

New Zealand, the defending champions, will begin their defence in the opening event in Durban on the 18th and 19th November and will be joined in all the tournaments throughout the series by Argentina, Australia, Canada, England, France, Fiji, Samoa, South Africa and Wales.

IRB Chief Executive, Stephen Baines said: "The IRB's World Sevens Series has an exciting line-up of ten tournaments in wonderful venues around the world. It has already given Sevens rugby a major boost and we expect even more growth in the Sevens game due to the profile the tournaments will receive. It looks set to become an established and major feature of the rugby calendar and has already unearthed a number of new stars such as Filimoni Delasau (Fiji), Karl Tenana (New Zealand), Jeffrey Stevens (South Africa) and Fred Asselin (Canada)."

The WSS schedule for 2000/2001 is:

DATE TOURNAMENT HOSTED BY:
18th & 19th November 2000 Durban South African RFU
23rd & 24th November 2000 Dubai Arabian Gulf RFU
9th & 10th February 2001 Wellington New Zealand RFU
16th & 17th February 2001 Brisbane Australian RU
30th/31st March and 1st April 2001 Hong Kong Hong Kong RFU
8th & 9th April 2001 Shanghai China Rugby Association
21st & 22nd April 2001 Kuala Lumpur Malaysian RU
29th & 30th April 2001 Tokyo Japan RFU
26th, 27th & 28th May 2001 London RFU
2nd & 3rd June 2001 Cardiff Welsh RU