Third IRB women's sevens confirmed for London

Hardly a surprise this as its been trailed unofficially for months, but the London Sevens on May 12-13 will include a women's event for the first time.

The teams selected to play have been a cause of some comment...

Australia, England, Portugal, Netherlands, Russia, France, Canada, USA, Brazil, China, Kazakhstan, South Africa.

So... no Spain (no 2 in Europe) in Europe's main women's sevens - instead we have Portugal (no 6), Netherlands (no 3), Russia (no 4) and France (no 5). Does someone high up in women's rugby not like the Spanish or something (remembering the shabby way they were treated in the Six Nations as well)?

In practice, it looks like the IRB have a core list of six teams - Australia, England, Canada, USA, Brazil, China - with second tier of Netherlands, Russia, Spain and South Africa, which gets us quite close to the 12 for the first official series next season.