THE remaining rounds of the World Rugby Sevens Series have been cancelled meaning that Wales avoid a relegation scrap.

Six of the 10 rounds of the men's series had been completed while the women had played five of eight.

Wales' men, in their first season under former Dragons boss Darren Edwards, were struggling at 15th in the rankings and at risk of dropping out of the top tier.

However, World Rugby have announced that New Zealand have been awarded both the men's and women's titles and that there will be no relegation.

Wales captain Luke Treharne was meant to be leading his side out in London, Paris, Singapore and Hong Kong but will now plot for the 2021 series.

He said: "Given the effect that COVID has had, I think it's a fair decision from World Rugby to cancel the season. Hopefully the next steps involve planning some tournaments for later in the year, or even the start of 2021, so we can get back out playing."

Wales narrowly avoided relegation last year when it was Japan who were replaced by Ireland.

World Rugby say that as a result of the cancellations "seedings for the Tokyo Olympic Games will be adapted to include results from the 2021 Series to ensure they provide the most robust and accurate representation of current form" next summer.