Current season or competition: 2022 Rugby World Cup Sevens | |
Sport | Rugby union |
---|---|
Inaugural season | 1993 (men) 2009 (women) |
Number of teams | 24 (men) 16 (women) |
Holders | Fiji (men) (2022) Australia (women) (2022) |
Most titles | New Zealand Fiji (men) (3 titles) New Zealand Australia (women) (2 titles) |
Website | rwcsevens.com |
Rugby World Cup Sevens (RWCS) is the quadrennial world championship of rugby sevens, a variant of rugby union. Organised by World Rugby, it currently consists of men's and women's tournaments, and is the highest level of competition in the sport outside of the Summer Olympics.
The first tournament was held in 1993 in Scotland, and was won by England. The winners of the men's tournament are awarded the Melrose Cup, named after the Scottish town of Melrose where the first rugby sevens game was played. [1] A women's tournament was introduced at the 2009 Rugby World Cup Sevens in Dubai, and was first won by Australia.
After the 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens, the tournament took an extended, five-year hiatus to allow the integration of rugby sevens at the Summer Olympics into the competitive calendar. The 2022 Rugby World Cup Sevens was held at Cape Town Stadium, in Cape Town, South Africa, with Fiji winning the men's tournament and Australia winning the women's tournament.
The Rugby World Cup Sevens originated with a proposal by the Scottish Rugby Union to the International Rugby Board.[ citation needed ] The inaugural tournament was held at Murrayfield in Edinburgh in 1993, and has been held every four years since. England won the inaugural tournament, defeating Australia 21–17 in the final.
Hong Kong, which had played a major role in the international development of the Sevens game, hosted the 1997 event. The final was won by Fiji over South Africa. The 2001 tournament was held in Mar del Plata, Argentina. The 2005 event returned to Hong Kong.
At the 2009 tournament, Wales, Samoa, Argentina and Kenya combined to stun the rugby world by defeating the traditional powerhouses of New Zealand, England, South Africa and Fiji in the quarter-finals, guaranteeing a new Melrose Cup winner. Wales and Argentina met in the final, with Wales triumphing 19–12.
The IRB made a submission to the International Olympic Committee in 2005 for rugby sevens to become an Olympic sport. However, the submission failed because committee members felt IRB needed to improve promotion of the women's game.[ citation needed ] To that end, the IRB implemented the first women's Rugby World Cup Sevens tournament in 2009. [2] The 2009 Rugby World Cup Sevens was held in Dubai during the first weekend of March 2009 and included a separate women's tournament. Cumulative attendance was 78,000. [2]
Prior to the inclusion of rugby sevens into the Olympic Games, the IRB stated that their intention would be to end the World Cup Sevens so that the Olympic Games would be the one pinnacle in a four-year cycle for Rugby Sevens. [3] The adoption of rugby sevens and golf was recommended to the full International Olympic Committee council by its executive board in August 2009. [4] The International Olympic Committee voted in 2009 for rugby sevens to become a medal event at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. [5]
The IRB Council in 2010 awarded the hosting of the 2013 tournament to Moscow, Russia from a field of eight nations that had expressed formal interest in hosting. [6] The IRB intended that the exposure to rugby from hosting the World Cup Sevens would accelerate the growth of rugby in Russia. [6] It featured 24 men's teams and 16 women's teams. [7] [8]
The IRB originally intended to discontinue Rugby World Cup Sevens after the 2013 edition, in favour of the Olympic tournament. However, it was later decided in 2013 that the tournament would continue to be held, as it can accommodate a larger field than the Olympic rugby sevens tournaments, and would allow an elite-level competition to take place biennially from 2016. [7] [8] The next tournament would be held in 2018, one year later than usual, in order to accommodate the integration of the Olympics into the competitive calendar. [7] [8] On 13 May 2015, it was announced that the United States would host the 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens. [9]
Year | Total Attendance | Average Daily Attendance |
---|---|---|
1993 | – | – |
1997 | – | – |
2001 | – | – |
2005 | 120,000 [10] | 40,000 |
2009 | 78,000 [11] | 26,000 |
2013 | – | – |
2018 | 100,000 [12] | 33,333 |
2022 | 105,000 [13] | 35,000 |
Ed. | Year | Host | First place game | Losing semifinalists | Num. teams | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Champion | Score | Runner-up | ||||||
1 | 1993 | Edinburgh | England | 21–17 | Australia | Fiji | Ireland | 24 |
2 | 1997 | Hong Kong | Fiji | 24–21 | South Africa | New Zealand | Samoa | 24 |
3 | 2001 | Mar del Plata | New Zealand | 31–12 | Australia | Fiji | Argentina | 24 |
4 | 2005 | Hong Kong | Fiji | 29–19 | New Zealand | Australia | England | 24 |
5 | 2009 | Dubai | Wales | 19–12 | Argentina | Samoa | Kenya | 24 |
6 | 2013 | Moscow | New Zealand | 33–0 | England | Fiji | Kenya | 24 |
7 | 2018 | San Francisco | New Zealand | 33–12 | England | South Africa | Fiji | 24 |
8 | 2022 | Cape Town | Fiji | 29–12 | New Zealand | Ireland | Australia | 24 |
Year | Champion | Player |
---|---|---|
1993 | England | Lawrence Dallaglio |
1997 | Fiji | Waisale Serevi [14] |
2001 | New Zealand | Jonah Lomu |
2005 | Fiji | Waisale Serevi [14] |
2009 | Wales | Tal Selley [15] |
2013 | New Zealand | Tim Mikkelson [16] |
2018 | New Zealand | Scott Curry |
2022 | Fiji | Kaminieli Rasaku [17] |
The 2001 tournament added another chapter to the legend of New Zealand's Jonah Lomu. Lomu, used sparingly in pool play, received his opportunity when New Zealand captain Eric Rush broke his leg in the last pool match. Lomu went on to score three tries in the final.
In 2005, Waisale Serevi came out of international retirement to captain and lead Fiji to their second Melrose Cup. At the 2009 tournament, Wales defeated Argentina 19–12 in the final, and Wales' Taliesin Selley was named player of the tournament.
The top all-time try-scorer for the Rugby World Cup Sevens is Fijian winger Marika Vunibaka, who scored 23 tries in three of the Sevens World Cups he played in from 1997 to 2005. Serevi ranks second with 19 career World Cup Sevens tries, over four tournaments from 1993 to 2005. [18] Brian Lima ranks third with 17 tries. The top points scorers are Serevi with 297 points, Vunibaka with 115 points, and Lima with 101 points. [19]
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Up to date as of 12 September 2022
Team | 1993 | 1997 | 2001 | 2005 | 2009 | 2013 | 2018 | 2022 | Years |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arabian Gulf | 21st | 1 | |||||||
Argentina | 9th | 13th | 3rd | 5th | 2nd | 11th | 5th | 5th | 8 |
Australia | 2nd | 5th | 2nd | 3rd | 10th | 5th | 10th | 4th | 8 |
Canada | 15th | 21st | 5th | 18th | 13th | 9th | 12th | 13th | 8 |
Chile | 17th | 17th | 14th | 3 | |||||
Cook Islands | 11th | 13th | 2 | ||||||
Chinese Taipei | 21st | 21st | 21st | 3 | |||||
England | 1st | 5th | 5th | 3rd | 5th | 2nd | 2nd | 9th | 8 |
Fiji | 3rd | 1st | 3rd | 1st | 5th | 3rd | 4th | 1st | 8 |
France | 15th | 5th | 21st | 5th | 13th | 5th | 8th | 6th | 8 |
Georgia | 10th | 11th | 21st | 19th | 4 | ||||
Germany | 18th | 1 | |||||||
Ireland | 3rd | 19th | 19th | 13th | 18th | 9th | 3rd | 7 | |
Italy | 17th | 17th | 21st | 3 | |||||
Hong Kong | 17th | 10th | 21st | 21st | 19th | 21st | 18th | 19th | 8 |
Jamaica | 24th | 24th | 2 | ||||||
Japan | 13th | 17th | 13th | 13th | 21st | 18th | 15th | 7 | |
Kenya | 19th | 19th | 3rd | 4th | 16th | 12th | 6 | ||
South Korea | 11th | 5th | 13th | 21st | 21st | 5 | |||
Latvia | 21st | 1 | |||||||
Morocco | 19th | 1 | |||||||
Namibia | 21st | 21st | 2 | ||||||
Netherlands | 21st | 1 | |||||||
New Zealand | 7th | 3rd | 1st | 2nd | 5th | 1st | 1st | 2nd | 8 |
Papua New Guinea | 21st | 1 | |||||||
Philippines | 21st | 1 | |||||||
Portugal | 21st | 18th | 10th | 11th | 13th | 22nd | 6 | ||
Romania | 17th | 13th | 2 | ||||||
Russia | 9th | 11th | 17th | 14th | 4 | ||||
South Africa | 5th | 2nd | 5th | 5th | 5th | 5th | 3rd | 7th | 8 |
Samoa | 5th | 3rd | 5th | 9th | 3rd | 10th | 13th | 8th | 8 |
Scotland | 14th | 11th | 5th | 9th | 11th | 7th | 16th | 7 | |
Spain | 10th | 13th | 11th | 21st | 4 | ||||
Tonga | 7th | 9th | 19th | 11th | 13th | 22nd | 20th | 7 | |
Tunisia | 13th | 13th | 21st | 3 | |||||
Uganda | 19th | 17th | 2 | ||||||
Uruguay | 21st | 19th | 19th | 20th | 10th | 5 | |||
United States | 17th | 18th | 13th | 13th | 13th | 13th | 6th | 11th | 8 |
Wales | 11th | 13th | 11th | 1st | 5th | 11th | 15th | 7 | |
Zimbabwe | 21st | 21st | 17th | 13th | 23rd | 23rd | 6 |
Ed. | Year | Host | First place game | Losing semifinalists | Num. teams | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Champion | Score | Runner-up | ||||||
1 | 2009 | Australia | 15–10 | New Zealand | United States | South Africa | 16 | |
2 | 2013 | New Zealand | 29–12 | Canada | United States | Spain | 16 | |
3 | 2018 | New Zealand | 29–0 | France | Australia | United States | 16 | |
4 | 2022 | Australia | 24–22 | New Zealand | France | United States | 16 |
Team | 2009 | 2013 | 2018 | 2022 | Years |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Australia | 1st | 5th | 3rd | 1st | 4 |
Brazil | 10th | 13th | 13th | 11th | 4 |
Canada | 6th | 2nd | 7th | 6th | 4 |
China | 9th | 11th | 12th | 13th | 4 |
Colombia | 16th | 1 | |||
England | 5th | 6th | 9th | 8th | 4 |
Fiji | 9th | 11th | 5th | 3 | |
France | 7th | 11th | 2nd | 3rd | 4 |
Ireland | 7th | 6th | 7th | 3 | |
Italy | 11th | 1 | |||
Japan | 13th | 13th | 10th | 9th | 4 |
Madagascar | 15th | 1 | |||
Mexico | 16th | 1 | |||
Netherlands | 13th | 10th | 2 | ||
New Zealand | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 2nd | 4 |
Papua New Guinea | 15th | 1 | |||
Poland | 10th | 1 | |||
Russia | 11th | 7th | 8th | 3 | |
South Africa | 4th | 13th | 14th | 14th | 4 |
Spain | 7th | 4th | 5th | 12th | 4 |
Thailand | 13th | 1 | |||
Tunisia | 13th | 1 | |||
United States | 3rd | 3rd | 4th | 4th | 4 |
Uganda | 13th | 1 |
The SVNS, known as the HSBC SVNS for sponsorship reasons, is an annual series of international rugby sevens tournaments run by World Rugby featuring national sevens teams. Organised for the first time in the 1999–2000 season as the IRB World Sevens Series, the competition was formed to promote an elite-level of international rugby sevens and develop the game into a viable commercial product. The competition has been sponsored by banking group HSBC since 2014.
The Hong Kong Sevens is a rugby sevens tournament held annually in Hong Kong on a weekend in late March or early April. Considered the premier tournament on the World Rugby Sevens Series competition, the Hong Kong Sevens is currently the seventh tournament on the World Series calendar (following the Canada Sevens. The tournament spans three days, beginning on a Friday and concluding on Sunday. The tournament is organised each year by the Hong Kong Rugby Union. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the tournament was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 respectively. The latest Hong Kong Rugby Sevens was held on Friday 31 March, Saturday 1, Sunday 2 April 2023.
World Rugby is the world governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international rugby competitions, such as the World Rugby Sevens Series, the Rugby World Cup Sevens, the World Under 20 Championship, and the Pacific Nations Cup.
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.
Waisale Tikoisolomoni Serevi is a Fijian former rugby union football player and coach, and is a member of the World Rugby Hall of Fame. Serevi is renowned for his achievements in rugby sevens, while also enjoying a long career in fifteen-a-side rugby at both club and national team levels. Nicknamed "The Wizard" by commentators, he is widely considered to be the greatest rugby sevens player in the history of the game. A biography of Serevi titled Waisale Serevi: King of Sevens by Nick Darvenzi was published in 2018.
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. Thus Fiji is the sole nation to have won Olympic gold in the sport. They are the only country 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 2005–06 World Sevens Series was the seventh edition of the global circuit for men's national rugby sevens teams, run by the International Rugby Board since 1999-2000. The series was won by Fiji in the last event of the competition, ending New Zealand's 6-year run as series champions. Fiji needed to finish in fifth place or higher at the London Sevens to ensure that they would win the series ahead of England, but won the tournament handily with 54–14 victory over Samoa in the final.
The 2001 Rugby World Cup Sevens was the third edition of the Rugby World Cup Sevens and was held in Mar del Plata, Argentina. New Zealand defeated Australia to win the tournament for the first time. All the matches were played at José María Minella Stadium.
The 1993 Rugby World Cup Sevens was held at Murrayfield in Edinburgh, Scotland, in April 1993. This tournament was the inaugural Rugby World Cup Sevens tournament. The International Rugby Board invited the established rugby union nations but also were keen to involve emerging nations in the event, recognising the fact that Sevens was providing the bridge between the developed rugby nations and those whose rugby union traditions were less well established.
Rugby union in Fiji is a popular team sport and is considered to be the national sport of the country. The sport was introduced to Fiji in the 1880s. Fiji is defined as a tier two rugby nation by World Rugby. The national team has competed at the Rugby World Cup and made it as far as the quarter-finals. Their sevens team is also noted for their success, winning multiple Olympic gold medals, World Rugby Sevens Series and Rugby World Cup Sevens.
Taliesin Selley is a Welsh former rugby union footballer, who played either at centre or on the wing.
Rugby union in Hong Kong is long established, partly as a result of its being a British colony. Rugby union is one of the most popular sports in Hong Kong. In contrast to the People's Republic of China, it has had a continuous existence dating back over a hundred years, and is most notable for the Hong Kong Sevens tournament, the best known of the rugby sevens tournaments. The top domestic club competition is the HKRFU Premiership.
The 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens was the sixth edition of the Rugby World Cup Sevens. The tournament was held at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia. New Zealand won the tournament, defeating England 33–0 in the final. Attendance for the tournament was poor, with matches played in mostly empty stadiums.
Iliesa Samusamuvodre Tanivula is a former New Zealand sevens player and the current coach of the Fiji sevens team. Tanivula could play most positions in the backline. He mainly played at centre, wing or fullback.
Rugby sevens was played at the Olympics for the first time at the 2016 Summer Olympics, with both men's and women's contests. It was added to the Olympics following the decision of the 121st IOC Session in Copenhagen in October 2009. The champions for the inaugural rugby sevens tournament in 2016 were Fiji for the men and Australia for the women. Prior to 2016, 15-a-side matches were played in 1900, 1908, 1920, and 1924.
The 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens was the seventh edition of the Rugby World Cup Sevens. Organised by World Rugby, it was held at AT&T Park, now known as Oracle Park, in San Francisco, United States. A total of 84 matches were played over three days from July 20–22, 2018. The men's tournament had 24 teams and the women's tournament 16, with both tournaments being played for the first time in a knock-out only format. New Zealand won the championship for both events — defeating England in the men's final and France in the women's final.
The men's tournament in the 2009 Rugby World Cup Sevens was held at The Sevens in Dubai alongside the inaugural women's tournament. The tournament was held from 5 March to 7 March, with Wales beating Argentina 19−12 at the final.
Manasa Bari is a Fijian former rugby union footballer and currently, coach. He played as wing.
The qualification process for the 2010 Women's Rugby World Cup began on 6 February 2009. A total of 12 teams qualified for the tournament, which was held in England between 20 August – 5 September 2010.
Jope Tuikabe is a Fijian former rugby union and rugby sevens player. He played as a flanker.