Sixteen teams from around the country will compete in the amateur tournament, held in the city for the second year running.

Defending Cup champion, China Agriculture University, will skip the event due to an overseas commitment. Six local teams will compete in the tournament including expatriate teams such as the Shanghai Barbarians and Shanghai French, which won the second-tier Plate final last year.

"When people talk about Rugby 7's, they usually refer to the Hong Kong Rugby Sevens (a professional event)," said Ashley Jones, General Manager of Shanghai Rugby Football Club (SRFC). "We are trying to promote and develop the sport here in China and make this event more popular."

The two-day event starts at 9am on Saturday in a round-robin format and finishes at 5pm. Teams will be divided into four groups of four. The Barbarians were drawn alongside Nanjing Sports Institute, Qingdao Confused Sea and Jones Lang Lasalle.

Sunday sees the knock-out stages of the Shield, Bowl, Plate and Cup finals. The bottom teams from the group stage get slotted into the Shield, the third-placed teams move into the Bowl category and second-placed teams advance to the Plate section. Group winners will meet in the Cup competition.

Free entrance will be offered to all Chinese spectators - to encourage more interest in the sport - and a free shuttle bus will be available for designated middle school and university students.

Tickets cost 30 yuan (US$2.5) for expatriates.