London Sevens

Last updated
London Sevens
London Sevens logo 2014.png
Sport Rugby sevens
Inaugural season2001
HoldersFlag of Argentina.svg  Argentina (2023)
Most titlesFlag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand   (5 times)
England playing Spain at the 2008 London Sevens, IRB London World Seven Series.jpg
England playing Spain at the 2008 London Sevens,

The London Sevens is an annual rugby sevens tournament held at Twickenham Stadium in London. It is part of the World Rugby Sevens Series. London was added to the World Series for the first time in 2001. [1] For many years the London Sevens was the last tournament of each season but the Paris Sevens became the last stop on the calendar in 2018. The current titleholder of the London Sevens are Australia, who beat New Zealand in the 2022 final.

Contents

The London Sevens is one of the more popular stops on the World Series. The 2011 London Sevens set a single-day attendance record of over 54,000 fans, surpassing the attendance record set by the Dubai Sevens. [2] The tournament has also drawn over 100,000 fans over the course of the weekend, making it one of the largest attended recurring events on the Twickenham stadium calendar. [3]

2013 qualifier

Uniquely, the 2013 edition was not only the final event in the series, but also incorporated the World Series Core Team Qualifier. In Sevens Series terminology, "core teams" are those that are guaranteed a place in all series events in a given season. Unlike all other series events, the 2013 London Sevens had only 12 teams competing for series points, namely the top 12 core teams on the season points table following the season's penultimate tournament, the Scotland Sevens. The Core Team Qualifier involved eight teams—the winner of the HSBC Asian Sevens Series; four teams advancing from the World Series Pre-Qualifier, held as part of the Hong Kong Sevens; and the three core teams at the bottom of the season table after the Scotland Sevens. The top three teams at the end of the Core Team Qualifier became core teams for the next season. [4]

World Rugby, then known as the International Rugby Board, chose to change its core team qualifying process in advance of the 2013–14 series, reducing the number of promotion/relegation places from three to one, and also using only the Hong Kong Sevens for the core team qualifier. Accordingly, the London Sevens returned to its traditional 16-team format from 2014 forward.

Results by year

Year Venue Cup finalPlacings
WinnerScoreRunner-upPlateBowlShield
2001 Twickenham Flag of New Zealand.svg
New Zealand
19–12Flag of Australia (converted).svg
Australia
Flag of South Africa.svg
South Africa
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg
Wales
2002 TwickenhamFlag of New Zealand.svg
New Zealand
54–14Flag of South Africa.svg
South Africa
Flag of Australia (converted).svg
Australia
Flag of France.svg
France
Flag of Georgia.svg
Georgia
2003 TwickenhamFlag of England.svg
England
31–24Flag of Fiji.svg
Fiji
Flag of Australia (converted).svg
Australia
Flag of Samoa.svg
Samoa
Flag of Argentina.svg
Argentina
2004 TwickenhamFlag of England.svg
England
22–19Flag of New Zealand.svg
New Zealand
Flag of South Africa.svg
South Africa
Flag of France.svg
France
Flag of Portugal (official).svg
Portugal
2005 TwickenhamFlag of South Africa.svg
South Africa
21–12Flag of England.svg
England
Flag of Fiji.svg
Fiji
Flag of Samoa.svg
Samoa
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg
Canada
2006 TwickenhamFlag of Fiji.svg
Fiji
54–14Flag of South Africa.svg
South Africa
Flag of Australia (converted).svg
Australia
Flag of Portugal (official).svg
Portugal
Flag of Italy.svg
Italy
2007 TwickenhamFlag of New Zealand.svg
New Zealand
29–7Flag of Fiji.svg
Fiji
Flag of South Africa.svg
South Africa
Flag of England.svg
England
Flag of Kenya.svg
Kenya
2008 TwickenhamFlag of Samoa.svg
Samoa
19–14Flag of Fiji.svg
Fiji
Flag of New Zealand.svg
New Zealand
Flag of Australia (converted).svg
Australia
Flag of Spain.svg
Spain
2009 TwickenhamFlag of England.svg
England
26–7Flag of New Zealand.svg
New Zealand
Flag of Fiji.svg
Fiji
Flag of Kenya.svg
Kenya
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg
Canada
2010 TwickenhamFlag of Australia (converted).svg
Australia
19–14Flag of South Africa.svg
South Africa
Flag of New Zealand.svg
New Zealand
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg
Canada
Flag of Kenya.svg
Kenya
2011 TwickenhamFlag of South Africa.svg
South Africa
24–14Flag of Fiji.svg
Fiji
Flag of Samoa.svg
Samoa
Flag of Scotland.svg
Scotland
Flag of England.svg
England
2012 TwickenhamFlag of Fiji.svg
Fiji
38–15Flag of Samoa.svg
Samoa
Flag of New Zealand.svg
New Zealand
Flag of Australia (converted).svg
Australia
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg
Wales
2013 TwickenhamFlag of New Zealand.svg
New Zealand
47–12Flag of Australia (converted).svg
Australia
Flag of England.svg
England
Flag of Fiji.svg
Fiji
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg
Wales
2014 TwickenhamFlag of New Zealand.svg
New Zealand
52–33Flag of Australia (converted).svg
Australia
Flag of South Africa.svg
South Africa
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg
Canada
Flag of the United States.svg
United States
2015 TwickenhamFlag of the United States.svg
United States
45–22Flag of Australia (converted).svg
Australia
Flag of New Zealand.svg
New Zealand
Flag of Kenya.svg
Kenya
Flag of Japan.svg
Japan
2016 TwickenhamFlag of Scotland.svg
Scotland
27–26Flag of South Africa.svg
South Africa
Flag of New Zealand.svg
New Zealand
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg
Wales
Flag of Kenya.svg
Kenya
WinnerScoreRunner-upThirdFourthFifth
2017 TwickenhamFlag of Scotland.svg
Scotland
12–7Flag of England.svg
England
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg
Canada
Flag of the United States.svg
United States
Flag of South Africa.svg
South Africa
2018 TwickenhamFlag of Fiji.svg
Fiji
21–17Flag of South Africa.svg
South Africa
IRFU flag.svg
Ireland
Flag of England.svg
England
Flag of New Zealand.svg
New Zealand
2019 TwickenhamFlag of Fiji.svg
Fiji
43–7Flag of Australia (converted).svg
Australia
Flag of the United States.svg
United States
Flag of France.svg
France
Flag of New Zealand.svg
New Zealand
World Series tournaments planned for London were cancelled in 2020 [5] and 2021, [6] due to impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
2022 TwickenhamFlag of Australia (converted).svg
Australia
19–14
(a.e.t.)
Flag of New Zealand.svg
New Zealand
Flag of Fiji.svg
Fiji
Flag of Samoa.svg
Samoa
Flag of South Africa.svg
South Africa
2023 TwickenhamFlag of Argentina.svg
Argentina
35–14Flag of Fiji.svg
Fiji
Flag of Samoa.svg
Samoa
Flag of New Zealand.svg
New Zealand
Flag of France.svg
France

Multiple winners

The teams that have won the tournament, as part of the World Rugby Sevens Series, on multiple occasions are:

TeamTitlesYears
New Zealand5 2001, 2002, 2007, 2013, 2014
Fiji4 2006, 2012, 2018, 2019
England3 2003, 2004, 2009
Australia2 2010, 2022
Scotland2 2016, 2017
South Africa2 2005, 2011

See also

References

  1. "Twickenham: The Home of England Rugby", Phil McGowan, Amberley Publishing, 2014.
  2. "London Sevens break single day attendance record", All Blacks, 23 May 2011.
  3. "Twickenham: The Home of England Rugby", Phil McGowan, Amberley Publishing, 2014.
  4. "HSBC World Sevens Series: Series Qualifying". International Rugby Board. Archived from the original on 2 October 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  5. "HSBC London Sevens cancelled". Twickenham Stadium. 30 June 2020. Archived from the original on 18 September 2020.
  6. Jones, Terry (9 July 2021). "Rugby sevens world tour coming to Commonwealth Stadium". The Edmonton Sun. Archived from the original on 11 September 2021.