Argentina on Sevens map
The IRB have expanded the World Sevens Series by adding La Plata in Argentina as the tenth venue for the upcoming 2012/13 season.
La Plata will play host to the second round of the upcoming series on 20-21 October 2012, one week after the Gold Coast Sevens kicks off the new season in Australia.
The extended Sevens season will be further enhanced by World Cup Sevens 2013 in Moscow on June 28-30, while the inaugural IRB Women's Sevens Series will also kick off.
Argentina's addition to the list of venues signals the return of the series to South America for the first time since 2002.
It also means that every continent now hosts at least one round of the Sevens World Series with tournaments in Africa (1), Asia (3), Europe (2), Oceania (2), North America (1) and South America (1).
The announcement comes at an exciting time for Argentine rugby with the South Americans set to make their Rugby Championship debut next month alongside Australia, South Africa and world champions New Zealand.
IRB Chairman Bernard Lapasset said: "I am delighted that Argentina is joining the impressive list of spectacular global destinations that comprise the record-breaking Sevens World Series.
"These are exciting times for South America, where participation has grown by 25 per cent in the last four years owing to the prestige and profile of World Cup, the IRB and CONSUR's investment and development strategies and Olympic Games inclusion," he explained.
The IRB has invested US$13,94m in Argentina and South America between 2009 and 2012 in development, high performance and tournament programmes and the awarding of this tournament was a key step in the process.
New Argentine Union board member and IRB Council member Augustin Pichot said: "These are extremely exciting times for Argentina, which is a hugely passionate rugby country. Los Pumas are due to compete shoulder-to-shoulder against the three finest teams in the world and now our rugby family can also look forward to welcoming the wonderful Sevens World Series to La Plata.
"A decade has passed since the World Series last visited South America and I am sure the players and fans are all looking forward to a massive carnival of rugby, just four years out from Rio 2016. We look forward to welcoming everyone here for what I am sure will be a memorable experience," he added.
Sevens World Series 2012/13
Round One: Australia (Gold Coast) 13-14 Oct 2012
Round Two: Argentina (La Plata) 20-21 Oct 2012
Round Three: Dubai 30 Nov-1 Dec 2012
Round Four: South Africa (Port Elizabeth) 7-8 Dec 2012
Round Five: New Zealand (Wellington) 1-2 Feb 2013
Round Six: USA (Las Vegas) 8-10 Feb 2013
Round Seven: Hong Kong 22-24 Mar 2013
Round Eight: Japan (Tokyo) 30-31 Mar 2013
Round Nine: Scotland (Glasgow) 4-5 May 2013
Round Ten: England (London) 11-12 May 2013
* World Cup Sevens 2013, 28-30 June 2013 - Moscow, Russia