Jump to content

SVNS

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Obsidian123 (talk | contribs) at 05:35, 12 May 2014 (Updated "most titles" to 12.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

"World Sevens" redirects here. For the rugby league competition, see Rugby League World Sevens.

SVNS
Current season, competition or edition:
Current sports event 2013–14 IRB Sevens World Series
File:IRB Sevens World Series logo.svg
SportRugby union
Founded1999
No. of teams24
CountriesWorldwide
Most recent
champion(s)		 New Zealand (2013-14)
Most titles New Zealand (12 titles)

The IRB Sevens World Series, known officially as the HSBC Sevens World Series since the 2010-11 season through sponsorship from banking group HSBC,[1] is an annual series of international rugby sevens tournaments run by the International Rugby Board featuring national sevens teams. The series, organised for the first time as the World Sevens Series in the 1999-2000 season, was formed to develop an elite-level competition series between rugby nations and develop the sevens game into a viable commercial product for the IRB.

Teams compete for the Sevens World Series title by accumulating points based on their finishing position in each tournament. New Zealand had originally dominated the Series, winning each of the first six titles from 1999-2000 to 2004-05, but since then, Fiji, South Africa and Samoa have each won titles.

As of the current 2013–14 season, the season's circuit consists of nine tournaments in eight countries, and visits five of the six populated continents. Australia, the United Arab Emirates, South Africa, New Zealand, the United States, Hong Kong, Japan, Scotland and England each host one event. Argentina was originally planned to begin hosting a tenth event in the 2012–13 season, giving the tour an event on each continent, but those plans have been shelved indefinitely.[2]

History

New Zealand has been by far the dominant force in the IRB World Sevens Series, winning eleven out of the 14 seasons, and winning the first six seasons. However, since 2005, several other teams have successfully challenged New Zealand's dominance. Fiji, long a power in sevens, were winners in 2005-06; South Africa won in 2008–09; and Samoa claimed the 2009–10 crown. Other strong contenders in recent years have included England, Australia, and Argentina, all of whom have won an event within the last two seasons.[3] Many minor rugby nations have become competitive as well. Seven of the current 15 "core teams" that participate in all series events represent nations that are not within the traditional top tier of the 15-man game—Samoa, Fiji, Canada, Kenya, Portugal, Spain, and the USA.

Prior to the 2012 qualifying tournament, the most recent addition to the roster of core teams was the USA, which replaced its neighbor Canada for 2008–09.[4]

Tournaments

The venues for the IRB Sevens World Series have evolved since the Series' beginning in 1999-2000, but the current format of the tournament emerged in the 2006-07 season, with the same 8 venues hosting every year since then, with the addition of Japan in 2011-12 and Argentina in 2013-14. As of the 2012–13 series, the World Series tour consists of nine legs. The 2011–12 season marked the return of Japan, a former tour stop, to the circuit.[5]

The IRB announced on 26 June 2012 that the series would return to Argentina, which had last been part of the circuit in 2002.[6] However, on 16 August, the Argentine Rugby Union announced that it would delay the launch of its event until the 2013–14 series, citing demands associated with the 2012 entry of the country's 15-a-side team into The Rugby Championship.[7]

IRB 7s World Series Itinerary (2013–14)
Country Stadium (Capacity) City Date Since
Australia Australia Skilled Park (27,400) Gold Coast 12–13 October 2013 2007
United Arab Emirates UAE (Dubai) The Sevens (50,000) Dubai 29–30 November 2013 1999
South Africa South Africa Nelson Mandela Bay Stad. (48,500) Port Elizabeth 7–8 December 2013 1999
United States USA Sam Boyd Stadium (36,800) Las Vegas 24–26 January 2014 2004
New Zealand New Zealand Westpac Stadium (36,000) Wellington 7–8 February 2014 2000
Japan Japan Chichibunomiya (27,200) Tokyo 22–23 March 2014 2012
Hong Kong Hong Kong Hong Kong Stadium (40,000) Hong Kong 28–30 March 2014 2000
Scotland Scotland Scotstoun Stadium (15,000) Glasgow 3–4 May 2014 2007
England England Twickenham (82,000) London 10–11 May 2014 2001

Notes

  • The Australia 7s was previously held in Adelaide in April until 2011.[8]
  • The South Africa 7s was first held in 1999 in Stellenbosch. It then moved to Durban for the next two editions, and then to George in 2002, where it remained for nine years. The 2011 edition was the first in Port Elizabeth.[9]
  • The USA 7s made its debut in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California. It then moved to San Diego in 2007, and to its current Las Vegas location in 2010.
  • The Scotland 7s was previously held in Edinburgh at Murrayfield Stadium until 2012, but relocated in part due to trouble filling the 67,000 seat stadium.[10]
  • Recent previous hosts (and their most recent year hosting) include: Paris (2005–06) and Singapore (2005-06).

TV and Media

The tour received 1,147 hours of air time in 2005–06; 530 of which was live, and was broadcast to 136 countries.[11] By 2008–09, the hours of air time had increased to over 3,300, with 35 broadcasters airing the series in 139 countries and 15 languages.[12] Broadcast time saw further increases for 2009–10, with 3,561 hours of air time (1,143 hours live) carried by 34 broadcasters in 141 countries and 16 languages.[13] In 2010–11, 3,657 hours of coverage were aired (1,161 hours live), with the same number of broadcasters as the previous season but six new countries added. For that season, Sevens World Series programming was available in 332 million homes worldwide, with a potential audience of 760 million.[14]

Sponsorship

In October 2010, the International Rugby Board announced that they had concluded a 5-year deal with HSBC which granted them status as the first ever title sponsor of the IRB Sevens World Series. Through the accord, HSBC acquired title naming rights to all tournaments in the IRB Series, beginning with the Dubai Sevens on 3 December 2010.[1] HSBC has since opted to sub-license the naming rights to individual tournaments, while retaining its name sponsorship of the overall series.

Crowd cheering at the 2009 Hong Kong Sevens.
Tournament Naming Rights
Tournament Sponsor
Gold Coast No name sponsor
Dubai Emirates Airline
South Africa Cell C/Nelson Mandela Bay
New Zealand Hertz
USA No name sponsor
Hong Kong Cathay Pacific/HSBC
Japan No name sponsor
Scotland Emirates Airline
London Marriott

Seasons

Season Rounds Champion Top Scorer Most tries[15] Player of the Year
1999–00 10  New Zealand (186 points) Fiji Vilimoni Delasau (83) No Award
2000–01 9  New Zealand (162 points) New Zealand Karl Te Nana (42) No Award
2001–02 11  New Zealand (198 points) South Africa Brent Russell (46) No Award
2002–03 7  New Zealand (112 points) Fiji Nasoni Roko (39) No Award
2003–04 8  New Zealand (128 points) South Africa Fabian Juries &
England Rob Thirlby (39) 		England Simon Amor
2004–05 7  New Zealand (116 points) Samoa David Lemi (46) New Zealand Orene Ai'i
2005–06 8  Fiji (144 points) England Ben Gollings (343) Samoa Timoteo Iosua (40) Samoa Uale Mai
2006–07 8  New Zealand (130 points) Fiji William Ryder (416) Samoa Mikaele Pesamino (43) New Zealand Afeleke Pelenise
2007–08 8  New Zealand (154 points) New Zealand Tomasi Cama Jr. (319) South Africa Fabian Juries (41) New Zealand DJ Forbes
2008–09 8  South Africa (132 points) England Ben Gollings (260) Kenya Collins Injera (42) England Ollie Phillips
2009–10 8  Samoa (164 points) England Ben Gollings (332) Samoa Mikaele Pesamino (56) Samoa Mikaele Pesamino
2010–11 8  New Zealand (166 points) South Africa Cecil Afrika (381) South Africa Cecil Afrika (40) South Africa Cecil Afrika
2011–12 9  New Zealand (167 points) New Zealand Tomasi Cama Jr. (390) England Matt Turner (38) New Zealand Tomasi Cama Jr.
2012–13 9  New Zealand (173 points) England Dan Norton (264) England Dan Norton (52) New Zealand Tim Mikkelson
2013–14 9  New Zealand (180 points) England Tom Mitchell (358) Fiji Samisoni Viriviri (52) Fiji Samisoni Viriviri

Past tables

Final 2012/13 table
Points Team
173  New Zealand
132  South Africa
121  Fiji
104  Samoa
99  Kenya
92  England
Final 2011/12 table
Points Team
167  New Zealand
161  Fiji
135  England
133  Samoa
125  South Africa
112  Australia
Final 2010/11 table
Points Team
166  New Zealand
140  South Africa
127  England
122  Fiji
120  Samoa
80  Australia
Final 2009/10 table
Points Team
164  Samoa
149  New Zealand
122  Australia
108  Fiji
96  England
80  South Africa
Final 2008/09 table
Points Team
132  South Africa
102  Fiji
98  England
88  New Zealand
68  Argentina
64  Kenya
Final 2007/08 table
Points Team
154  New Zealand
106  South Africa
100  Samoa
94  Fiji
54  England
43  Argentina
Final 2006/07 table
Points Team
130  New Zealand
128  Fiji
122  Samoa
92  South Africa
52  England
38  Wales
Final 2005/06 table
Points Team
144  Fiji
122  England
110  South Africa
76  New Zealand
72  Samoa
64  Argentina
Final 2004/05 table
Points Team
116  New Zealand
88  Fiji
86  England
76  South Africa
68  Argentina
46  Australia
Final 2003/04 table
Points Team
128  New Zealand
122  England
98  Argentina
84  Fiji
74  South Africa
60  Samoa
Final 2002/03 table
Points Team
112  New Zealand
108  England
94  Fiji
82  South Africa
66  Australia
58  Samoa
Final 2001/02 table
Points Team
198  New Zealand
136  South Africa
126  England
122  Fiji
108  Australia
90  Samoa
Final 2000/01 table
Points Team
162  New Zealand
150  Australia
124  Fiji
92  Samoa
82  South Africa
50  Argentina
Final 1999/00 table
Points Team
186  New Zealand
180  Fiji
118  Australia
82  Samoa
80  South Africa
60  Canada

Overall table

The all-time table of the IRB Sevens World Series shows the accumulated results of every team that has ever participated in the IRB Sevens World Series. The equity issues to include cases of partial participation in the various stages, even in these cases participation is considered total.

Updated to the 2014 Hong Kong Sevens

Core teams, promotion and relegation

A group of 15 "core teams" is announced for each season, based on performances in the previous season, and each core team has a guaranteed place in all of that season's events. The core teams have been selected through a designated promotion/relegation process since the 2012-13 season. The core teams for the 2013-14 season are:

Through the 2011–12 series, the number of core teams was 12,[16] but the number of core teams was expanded to 15 for 2012–13.[17] The three extra teams were determined by a 12-team qualifying tournament held as part of the 2012 Hong Kong Sevens.[18] The increase in the number of core teams did not directly lead to an increase in the size of the existing tournaments. However, two of the events were expanded because they became part of the IRB's new promotion and relegation system for core teams.

In the 2012–13 season, the top 12 core teams in the season table after the next-to-last round of the series in Glasgow retained their status for the following season. The remaining three core teams for 2013–14 were determined in a two-stage qualifying process:[19]

  • The first stage was a World Series Qualifier held as part of the Hong Kong Sevens. Two qualifiers from each of the IRB's six regions competed. The 12 teams were drawn into pools, with the top eight teams advancing to a quarterfinal round. The winners of the four quarterfinal matches advanced to the final qualifying stage.
  • The final qualifying stage, the World Series Core Team Qualifier, was held as part of the London Sevens. The qualifying teams were joined by the winner of the HSBC Asian Sevens Series, plus the bottom three core teams following the Scotland Sevens. The qualifying tournament was conducted with a pool stage followed by knockout play, with the two finalists and the winner of the third-place match becoming core teams for the following season.

The IRB announced significant changes to the core team promotion/relegation process, effective with the 2013–14 series, on 9 October 2013:[20]

  • The number of promotion/relegation places will be reduced from three to one.
  • The Pre-Qualifier will be folded into the Core Team Qualifier, which will involve 12 teams determined in regional qualifying and will be contested entirely at the Hong Kong Sevens. The champion of the Qualifier will receive core team status for the following season's series.
  • Relegation will be determined at the end of the London Sevens. The bottom-placed core team will be automatically relegated, with no opportunity to retain core status.

Format

Sevens is a stripped-down version of rugby union from Scotland with seven players each side on a normal-sized field. Games are much shorter, lasting only seven or ten minutes each half, and tend to be very fast-paced, open, affairs. The game is quicker and higher-scoring than 15-a-side rugby and the rules are far simpler, which explains part of its appeal. It also gives players the space for superb feats of individual skill.

Sevens is traditionally played in a two-day tournament format, with the Hong Kong Sevens (an anomaly as a three-day event) being the most famous. Currently, in a normal event, 16 teams are entered. The Hong Kong Sevens had 24 teams through the 2011–12 series, but has featured 28 teams since 2012–13, with 15 core teams and the winner of the HSBC Asian Sevens Series competing for series points. At the 2013 event, the remaining 12 teams were those in the World Series Pre-Qualifier;[19] from 2014 forward, the remaining 12 teams are those in the Core Team Qualifier.[20] In 2012–13, the season-ending London Sevens expanded to 20 teams, with 12 competing for series points and eight involved in the Core Team Qualifier.[19] With the promotion place now determined at the Hong Kong Sevens, the London Sevens will revert to the traditional 16-team format in 2013–14. The IRB operates satellite tournaments in each continent alongside the Sevens World Series which serve as qualifiers for Series events;[4] in 2012–13 they also determined the entrants in the World Series Pre-Qualifier,[19] and from 2013–14 determine the entrants in the Core Team Qualifier.[20]

In each tournament, the teams are divided into pools of four teams, who play a round-robin within the pool. Points are awarded in each pool on a different schedule from most rugby tournaments—3 for a win, 2 for a draw, 1 for a loss, 0 for a no-show. In case teams are tied after pool play, the tiebreakers are:[21]

  1. Head-to-head result between the tied teams.
  2. Difference in points scored and allowed during pool play.
  3. Difference in tries scored and allowed during pool play.
  4. Points scored during pool play.
  5. Coin toss.

As of the 2009–10 series, four trophies are awarded in each tournament. In descending order of prestige, they are the Cup, whose winner is the overall tournament champion, Plate, Bowl and Shield. In Hong Kong, the Shield was awarded for the first time in 2010.[22] Each trophy is awarded at the end of a knockout tournament.

In a normal event, the top two teams in each pool advance to the Cup competition. The four quarterfinal losers drop into the bracket for the Plate. The Bowl is contested by the third and fourth-place finishers in each pool, while the Shield is contested by the losing quarterfinalists of the Bowl.

Originally, the six pool winners of the Hong Kong Sevens, plus the two highest-finishing second-place teams, advanced to the Cup. In 2010 and 2011, a different system was used:[23]

  • The losing quarterfinalists in the Cup competition contested the Plate competition.
  • The four remaining second-place teams and the four best third-place teams, which contested the Plate in previous years, competed for the Bowl.
  • The remaining eight teams in the competition, which contested the Bowl in previous years, competed for the Shield.

In the transitional year of 2012, the Hong Kong Sevens was split into two separate competitions. The 12 core teams competed for the Cup, Plate and Bowl under a format similar to that of a regular event. The 12 invited teams all competed for the Shield, with the top three sides in that competition also earning core status for 2012–13. From 2013 on, the four trophies in Hong Kong will be contested under the same format used in regular 16-team tournaments. Only the 15 core teams, plus the winner of the HSBC Asian Sevens Series, now compete in the main draw of that event.

A third-place match is now conducted between the losing Cup semifinalists in all tournaments; this was introduced for the 2011–12 series.[24]

Player records

Players in bold are active.

Tries

Updated Feb 8 2014

Points

Updated Feb 8 2014

Appearances

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=SVNS&oldid=608178526"