Branco du Preez & Rafaela Zanellato | Episode 8

Hosts Dallen Stanford & Robin MacDowell are joined by South African 7s legend Branco du Preez and Brazilian Olympian Rafaela Zanellato for Episode 8 of The Rugby Sevens Rollercoaster.

Du Preez is the most capped South African 7s player of all-time and the second highest point scorer for the Blitzboks, having won the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series a record three times. The Olympian helped the Rhinos x Socal Loggerheads win the Premier Rugby Sevens Western Conference Finals in San Jose, California, and was named to the Tournament Dream Team.

Zanellato represented Brazil at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and helped her country qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games earlier this year. She represented the Golden State Retrievers this season, being named to the Tournament Dream Teams in both Minneapolis and San Jose, marking a superb North American stint in the Premier Rugby Sevens Series.

Premier Rugby Sevens features 8 franchises with 16 teams in 2023 contesting five tournaments across the U.S. The season started on June 17 at Q2 Stadium (Austin, Texas) for the Eastern Conference Kickoff, then TCO Stadium (Minneapolis, Minnesota) hosted the Western Conference Kickoff on June 24. The Western Conference Finals took place on July 15 at Paypal Park (San Jose, California) and the Eastern Conference Finals are on July 23 at Highmark Stadium (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania). The 2023 Championship will be played on August 6 at Audi Field in Washington, D.C., and will feature the top two teams from each Conference. In the Western Conference the qualified teams are: Northern Loonies and Rocky Mountain Experts (Women); Rocky Mountain Experts and Rhinos x Socal Loggerheads (Men).

Results to date:

Eastern Conference Kickoff Winners | Southern Headliners (Women) + Texas Team (Men)

Western Conference Kickoff Winners | Northern Loonies (Women) + Rocky Mountain Experts (Men)

Western Conference Winners | Rocky Mountain Experts (Women) + Rhinos x Socal Loggerheads (Men)

We hope you enjoy The Rugby Sevens Rollercoaster!

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