NBC Sports Presents Comprehensive Coverage of 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens This Weekend
By: Tori Hartshorn Jul. 18, 2018
NBC Sports will present more than 30 hours of live coverage of the 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens from San Francisco, Calif., this weekend across NBC, NBCSN, Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA, NBCSports.com, the NBC Sports app, and NBC Sports Gold - NBC Sports Group's direct-to-consumer product - representing the most robust U.S. coverage of the Rugby World Cup Sevens in the event's history.
The 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens will be held at AT&T Park - home of Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants - and will feature the top 24 men's teams and top 16 women's teams in the world as they compete for the World Cup.
This marks the seventh edition of the Rugby World Cup Sevens, the third to feature both men and women, and the first Rugby World Cup Sevens since the sport's debut at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Fiji is the current Men's Olympic champion, while Australia is the current Women's Olympic Champion.
The United States enter the World Cup as the No. 5 SEED in both the men's and women's competitions. The U.S. men's team has never finished better than 13th in the Rugby World Cup Sevens, but finished sixth in the 2017-18 HSBC World RUGBY SEVENS Series, marking the fourth straight season that the U.S. finished in the top six. Carlin Isles led all players with 49 tries. The U.S. women's team has finished third in the previous two iterations of the event, and finished fifth in the women's HSBC World RUGBY SEVENS Series this year, led by Naya Tapper's 26 tries for the club.
NBC Sports will present live coverage of all matches of the men's and women's tournaments. Linear coverage begins on Friday at 4 p.m. ET on Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA, followed by six hours of coverage on NBCSN at 7 p.m. ET. Weekend coverage on NBC immediately follow live golf coverage of The 147th Open at Carnoustie, and NBCSN will carry live coverage of the men's final on Sunday at 7 p.m. ET.
| 2018 RUGBY WORLD CUP SEVENS TELECAST SCHEDULE | ||
| Date | Network | Time (ET) |
| Fri., July 20 | NBC Sports Gold | 1 p.m. |
| Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA | 4 p.m. | |
| NBCSN | 7 p.m. | |
| Sat., July 21 | Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA | 12:25 p.m. |
| NBC | 3 p.m. | |
| Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA | 5 p.m. | |
| NBCSN | 6:30 p.m. | |
| Sun., July 22 | Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA | 11:55 a.m. |
| NBC | 2:30 p.m. | |
| Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA | 5 p.m. | |
| NBCSN | 7 p.m. | |
NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app - NBC Sports Group's live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, tablets, and connected TVs - will provide streaming coverage of all 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens matches airing on NBC, NBCSN and Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA. Additionally, all coverage airing on Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA will also stream on OlympicChannel.com and the Olympic Channel app.
NBC Sports' game commentary and studio coverage will originate from San Francisco and will feature numerous high-profile rugby players, including current New England Patriots safety and 2016 U.S. Olympic Sevens team member Nate Ebner, who will serve as a studio analyst. Former USA Sevens captain Brian Hightower, U.S. Rugby Hall of Fame member Dan Lyle, former Premiership Rugby and English international prop Alex Corbisiero, and World Rugby Hall of Famer Phaidra Knight will provide game and studio commentary throughout the tournament. Leigh Diffey and Bill Seward will handle play-by-play commentary, and Ahmed Fareed will host NBC Sports' 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens studio coverage on-site in San Francisco.
In addition, NBC Sports will present Pioneers: USA RUGBY SEVENS tonight at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN, which provides viewers with an inside look at the athletes that comprise the USA RUGBY SEVENS men's team.
NBC SPORTS GOLD 2018 RUGBY WORLD CUP SEVENS COVERAGE
NBC Sports Gold - NBC Sports Group's direct-to-consumer product - will provide live, commercial-free coverage of the 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens via its "Rugby Pass." Coverage begins with the Women's Round of 16 matches on Friday at 1 p.m. ET, and kicks off Saturday at 12:30 p.m. ET and Sunday at noon ET. In addition to all matches airing live and commercial-free, NBC Sports Gold will also present an exclusive 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens preview on Thursday, July 19, as well as a daily live recap show with highlights, post-match reactions and analysis. All matches and content on NBC Sports Gold will be available to fans on demand. The "Rugby Pass" can be purchased for $59.99 by visiting NBCSportsGold.com.
Comments
Videos