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Rugby sevens is a variant of rugby union in which teams are made up of seven players playing seven-minute halves, instead of the usual 15 players playing 40-minute halves. Rugby sevens is administered by World Rugby, the body responsible for rugby union worldwide. The game is popular at all levels, with amateur and club tournaments generally held in the summer months. Sevens is one of the most well distributed forms of rugby, and is popular in parts of Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas, and especially in the South Pacific.
The Fiji national rugby sevens team has competed in the World Rugby Sevens Series, Rugby World Cup Sevens and the Olympics. Fiji won the gold medal in the inaugural rugby sevens at the Summer Olympics in 2016 in Brazil, the country's first Olympic medal in any event, and repeated as Olympic champions in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, defeating New Zealand. Fiji would fall short from winning gold for a third straight time in 2024 after a defeat in the final to hosts France. Overall, Fiji are the only national rugby sevens team in the world to have won the Sevens Treble, the three major achievements in Sevens. They have won multiple World Rugby Sevens Series and Rugby World Cup Sevens.
The South African national rugby sevens team competes in the World Rugby Sevens Series, the Rugby World Cup Sevens, the Summer Olympic Games and the Commonwealth Games. Overall, the team has won the World Rugby Sevens Series 4 times, as well as having won 40 tournaments in the series.
The France national rugby sevens team competes in the World Rugby Sevens Series, Rugby World Cup Sevens, and other international tournaments. France's best finish in the World Series has been finishing in first, which they accomplished in 2023-24. France are the reigning Olympic champions, having defeated reigning champions Fiji in the final in 2024.
The Samoa national rugby sevens team, referred to as Samoa Sevens or Manu Samoa 7s, competes in the annual World Rugby Sevens Series. Representing the polynesian country of Samoa, with a population of about 202,000, the team competes against some of the wealthiest countries in the world. The Samoa sevens team is overseen by the Samoa Rugby Football Union, which oversees all of rugby union in Samoa.
The United States national rugby sevens team competes in international rugby sevens competitions. The national sevens team is organized by USA Rugby, and the team has been led by Head Coach Mike Friday since 2014.
The German national rugby sevens team competes in the top-level European sevens competition, the Sevens Grand Prix Series. In 2012, Germany finished eleventh out of twelve teams and avoided relegation. The team also unsuccessfully took part in the 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens qualifying tournament in Moscow in July 2012.
The Ireland national rugby sevens team competes in several international rugby sevens competitions. The team is governed by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU).
Spain's national rugby sevens team is one of 15 core teams participating in all ten tournaments of the World Rugby Sevens Series, having qualified by winning the 2017 Hong Kong Sevens qualifier tournament. Spain participated as a core team in the 2012–13 IRB Sevens World Series, but was relegated the following season.
The Hong Kong women's sevens rugby union team represents Hong Kong at an international level and plays at the Hong Kong Women's Sevens and other international sevens tournaments.
The New Zealand women's national rugby sevens team represents New Zealand in the World Rugby Sevens Series, Rugby World Cup Sevens, Summer Olympic Games and the Commonwealth Games.
Michaela Blyde is a New Zealand professional rugby sevens player and a double Olympic gold medalist. She was the first female player to win back-to-back World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year titles, in 2017 and 2018. Blyde holds the record for the most tries by a New Zealand women sevens player in a single match and also the record for most tries in a single fixture when she scored five tries against England in Langford in 2017. Blyde has won gold medals at the 2018 Sevens World Cup, 2018 Commonwealth Games, 2020 Tokyo Olympics, 2024 Paris Olympics and six Sevens titles. In December 2023 She was the second woman to score 200 tries in the HSBC international seven series.
The World Rugby Sevens Challenger is an annual series of rugby sevens tournaments for national teams run by World Rugby that includes men's and women's events. Sponsored by banking group HSBC, it is the second tier of competition below the SVNS. Teams on the respective men's and women's tours of the Challenger Series compete for promotion to the first tier as a core team.
Ireland is competing at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris from 24 July to 11 August 2024, commemorating its centenary of the team's debut as an independent country in the same venue. Irish athletes have competed in every Summer Olympics edition of the modern era, either in its own right or as part of a Great Britain and Ireland team before 1924, except for the Nazi-ruled Berlin 1936 Olympics.
In 2023 World Rugby re-branded the now legacy World Sevens series to a new World Rugby SVNS Series. Starting in December 2023 in Dubai, Cape Town, Perth, Vancouver, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Singapore and will conclude in Madrid in June 2024. The new series will fully combine the men's and women's tours aligning with the Olympic competition model, with both taking place on the same weekends in the same cities and venues. Both men and women's teams will earn the same with equal participation fees. The tournament is built around the idea of bringing about a festival type atmosphere and serve as a build up to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The 2023–2024 season will be the inaugural season of the World Rugby SVNS Series now legacy World Sevens Series. The new combined men and women's tournaments will begin in December 2023 in Dubai and will travel to several cities across the world such as Cape Town, Perth, Vancouver, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Singapore and will conclude in Madrid in June 2024.
Vikki Wall is an Irish sportswoman. She has played ladies' Gaelic football for Meath GAA, AFL Women’s for North Melbourne Football Club and Rugby sevens for Ireland.
Alanna Fitzpatrick is an Irish rugby union player who plays for Blackrock and the Ireland women's national rugby sevens team.
Vicky Elmes Kinlan is an Irish rugby union player. She was selected as part of the Ireland national rugby sevens team for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Iowane Teba is a Fijian rugby union player. He played at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
References
- ↑ "Kathy Baker". Ultimate Rugby. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
- ↑ "Kathy Baker". Eurosport. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
- ↑ "Kathy Baker". RTE. 22 July 2024. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
- ↑ "Kathy Baker Steps Up For Her World Series Debut In Kitakyushu". Irish Rugby. 20 April 2018. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
- ↑ "Kathy Baker". Olympics.ie. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
- ↑ Doyle, Stephen. "IRISH RUGBY PLAYERS' PLAYER OF THE YEAR NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED". Off the Ball.
- ↑ "Irish rugby players' player of year nominees revealed". RTE. 7 Oct 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
- ↑ Fleming, Rory (9 September 2022). "Meet the players representing Ireland in the Women's Rugby World Cup Sevens". extra.ie. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
- ↑ "Heavy defeat for Ireland in Seven Series semi-final". RTE. 29 Jan 2023. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
- ↑ "Tough day for Irish sevens in Hong Kong". RTE. 31 Mar 2023. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
- ↑ Cunnane, Alanna (15 February 2024). "WHY DO THE IRISH WOMEN'S RUGBY SEVENS TEAM ALL HAVE THIS SPECIFIC TATTOO?". Her Sport. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
- ↑ O'Sullivan, John (20 July 2024). "Olympics: Meet Team Ireland - Women's Sevens". Irish Times. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
- ↑ "Keenan named in Ireland sevens squad for Olympics". BBC Sport. 17 June 2024. Retrieved 24 July 2024.