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Rugby World Cup Sevens

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This article is about rugby sevens. For other rugby, see World cup of rugby.

Rugby World Cup Sevens
SportRugby union sevens
Instituted1993 (men), 2009 (women)
Number of teams24 (men), 16 (women)
Holders New Zealand (men)
 New Zealand (women) (2018)

The Rugby World Cup Sevens is the premier stand-alone international rugby sevens competition outside the Olympic Games. The event is contested every four years, with tournaments for men's and women's national teams co-hosted at the same venues. It is organised by World Rugby, the sport's governing body.

The first tournament was held in 1993 in Scotland, the birthplace of rugby sevens. 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] The women's tournament was inaugurated at the 2009 Rugby World Cup Sevens held in Dubai.

In men's Rugby World Cup Sevens, the New Zealand have won the tournament three times, Fiji have won it twice, and England and Wales have won a single tournament each, while Argentina, Australia and South Africa have reached tournament finals but not secured a title.

For women's Rugby World Cup Sevens, Australia won the first tournament in 2009 and New Zealand won the second and third tournaments in 2013 and 2018. New Zealand are the current men's and women's world champions having won both tournaments in 2018.

In May 2009, the International Rugby Board (now World Rugby) stated that if Olympic rugby sevens were added to the Rio de Janeiro games, their intention was to end the World Cup Sevens.[2] In 2013, following two weeks of consultation, the board announced that the competition would be retained and integrated into the Olympic calendar, meaning that a meaningful elite level competition would take place every two years from 2016. In common with other Olympic team sports, the World Cup hosts a larger number of teams than the Olympic tournament.[3] The first competition after Olympic integration took place in 2018, which entailed a one-off five-year gap from the 2013 competition.

The 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens tournament for both men and women's teams was held from Friday 20 July 2018 to Sunday 22 July 2018 in AT&T Park, San Francisco in the United States. Unlike previous Rugby World Cup Sevens tournaments and the annual World Rugby Sevens Series events, in each of the genders, both competitions were played in knock-out only formats.

The 2022 Rugby World Cup Sevens tournament for both men and women's teams will be held at the Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town in South Africa.

History

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.[4] 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.[4]

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.[2] The adoption of rugby sevens and golf was recommended to the full International Olympic Committee council by its executive board in August 2009.[5] The International Olympic Committee voted in 2009 for rugby sevens to become a medal sport at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro.[6]

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.[7] The IRB intended that the exposure to rugby from hosting the World Cup Sevens would accelerate the growth of rugby in Russia.[7]

The IRB had said the 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens – featuring 24 men's teams and 16 women's teams – would be the last one. However, following feedback from its member unions, the IRB's general assembly voted for the tournament to continue. The principal concern is that Sevens at the Olympics would accommodate only 12 teams.[8]

The IRB announced on June 12, 2013 that the Rugby World Cup Sevens would continue after 2013, with the next tournament set for 2018, and for every four years after that.[9] Following the IRB's announcement, several nations officially announced their intention to bid to host the 2018 tournament – including the United States[10] and Wales.[11] On May 13, 2015 it was decided that the United States would host the 2018 edition of the tournament with the two venues being announced when they won the bid.[12]

Men's tournament

Year Host Final Semi-finalists
Winner Score Runner-up
1993 Scotland
Edinburgh, Scotland
England 		21–17
Australia
Fiji
Ireland
1997 Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Fiji 		24–21
South Africa
New Zealand
Samoa
2001 Argentina
Mar del Plata, Argentina
New Zealand 		31–12
Australia
Argentina
Fiji
2005 Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Fiji 		29–19
New Zealand
Australia
England
2009 United Arab Emirates
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Wales 		19–12
Argentina
Kenya
Samoa
2013 Russia
Moscow, Russia
New Zealand 		33–0
England
Fiji
Kenya
2018 United States
San Francisco, United States
New Zealand 		33–12
England
Fiji
South Africa
2022 South Africa
Cape Town, South Africa

Notable players

Player of the Tournament
Year Champion Player
1993  England England Lawrence Dallaglio
1997  Fiji Fiji Waisale Serevi[13]
2001  New Zealand New Zealand Jonah Lomu
2005  Fiji Fiji Waisale Serevi[13]
2009  Wales Wales Tal Selley[14]
2013  New Zealand New Zealand Tim Mikkelson[15]
2018  New Zealand New Zealand Scott Curry
2022

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.

Most career tries
Rank Player Tries
1 Fiji Marika Vunibaka 23
2 Fiji Waisale Serevi 19
3 Samoa Brian Lima 17
4 Scotland Andrew Turnbull 16
5 New Zealand Roger Randle 14

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.[16] 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.[17]

Results by nation

Team Scotland
1993		 Hong Kong
1997		 Argentina
2001		 Hong Kong
2005		 United Arab Emirates
2009		 Russia
2013		 United States
2018		 South Africa
2022		 Years
Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf Arabian Gulf 21st 1
 Argentina 9th 13th 3rd 5th 2nd 11th 5th 7
 Australia 2nd 5th 2nd 3rd 10th 5th 10th 7
 Canada 15th 21st 5th 18th 13th 9th 12th 7
 Chile 17th 17th 2
 Cook Islands 11th 13th 2
 Chinese Taipei 21st 21st 21st 3
 England 1st 5th 5th 3rd 5th 2nd 2nd 7
 Fiji 3rd 1st 3rd 1st 5th 3rd 4th 7
 France 15th 5th 21st 5th 13th 5th 8th 7
 Georgia 10th 11th 21st 19th 4
 Ireland 3rd 19th 19th 13th 18th 9th 6
 Italy 17th 17th 21st 3
 Hong Kong 17th 10th 21st 21st 19th 21st 18th 7
 Jamaica 24th 1
 Japan 13th 17th 13th 13th 21st 18th 15th 7
 Kenya 19th 19th 3rd 4th 16th 5
 South Korea 11th 5th 13th 21st 4
 Latvia 21st 1
 Morocco 19th 1
 Namibia 21st 21st 2
 Netherlands 21st 1
 New Zealand 7th 3rd 1st 2nd 5th 1st 1st 7
 Papua New Guinea 21st 1
 Philippines 21st 1
 Portugal 21st 18th 10th 11th 13th 5
 Romania 17th 13th 2
 Russia 9th 11th 17th 14th 4
 South Africa 5th 2nd 5th 5th 5th 5th 3rd Q 8
 Samoa 5th 3rd 5th 9th 3rd 10th 13th 7
 Scotland 14th 11th 5th 9th 11th 7th 6
 Spain 10th 13th 11th 21st 4
 Tonga 7th 9th 19th 11th 13th 22nd 6
 Tunisia 13th 13th 21st 3
 Uganda 19th 1
 Uruguay 21st 19th 19th 20th 4
 United States 17th 18th 13th 13th 13th 13th 6th 7
 Wales 11th 13th 11th 1st 5th 11th 6
 Zimbabwe 21st 21st 17th 13th 23rd 5

Women's tournament

Year Host Final Semi-finalists
Winner Score Runner-up
2009 United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
Australia 		15–10
New Zealand
United States
South Africa
2013 Russia
Moscow, Russia
New Zealand 		29–12
Canada
United States
Spain
2018 United States
San Francisco, United States
New Zealand 		29–0
France
Australia
United States
2022 South Africa
Cape Town, South Africa

Results by nation

Team United Arab Emirates
2009		 Russia
2013		 United States
2018		 South Africa
2022		 Years
 Australia 1st 5th 3rd 3
 Brazil 10th 13th 13th 3
 Canada 6th 2nd 7th 3
 China 9th 11th 12th 3
 England 5th 6th 9th 3
 Fiji 9th 11th 2
 France 7th 11th 2nd 3
 Ireland 7th 6th 2
 Italy 11th 1
 Japan 13th 13th 10th 3
 Mexico 16th 1
 Netherlands 13th 10th 2
 New Zealand 2nd 1st 1st 3
 Papua New Guinea 15th 1
 Russia 11th 7th 8th 3
 South Africa 4th 13th 14th Q 4
 Spain 7th 4th 5th 3
 Thailand 13th 1
 Tunisia 13th 1
 United States 3rd 3rd 4th 3
 Uganda 13th 1

See also

References

  1. ^ "Scotland 7s players Melrose bound - Scottish Rugby Union". Scottishrugby.org.
  2. ^ a b RWC Sevens to be scrapped for Olympics, ESPN, 27 May 2009 Retrieved 24 February 2011
  3. ^ "Future of Rugby World Cup Sevens confirmed". RWC Sevens. 12 June 2013. Archived from the original on 14 August 2013.
  4. ^ a b "Tietjens backs sevens Olympic bid", ESPN, (13 August 2009), Retrieved 29 March 2011
  5. ^ Lowe, Alex (7 October 2009). "Lomu lends his weight to rugby sevens Olympic bid", The Scotsman. Retrieved 29 March 2011
  6. ^ John Duce, (27 Mar 2011). "New Zealand Beat England 29–17 to Win Hong Kong Rugby Sevens", Bloomberg, Retrieved 29 March 2011
  7. ^ a b IRB.com, Russia to host Rugby World Cup Sevens 2013, May 12, 2010, "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 20 October 2014. Retrieved 17 June 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. ^ Sallay, Alvin (29 Mar 2011). "IRB under pressure to save World Cup Sevens", South China Morning Post
  9. ^ IRB.com. Future of Rugby World Cup Sevens confirmed, June 12, 2013, "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 14 August 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. ^ "USA Rugby to bid for 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens". Usarugby.org. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  11. ^ "WRU bid to host 2018 Sevens World Cup". Wru.co.uk.
  12. ^ "USA to host Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018". Worldrugby.org.
  13. ^ a b "Hong Kong Sevens - Fiji's Waisale Serevi Is Sixth Member of 'The Hong Kong Magnificent Seven'". hksevens.com.
  14. ^ Clutton, Graham (18 March 2009). "Wales Sevens coach Paul John rings changes ahead of World Series in Hong Kong" – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  15. ^ "Mooloos set to lose Tim Mikkelson to sevens". Stuff.
  16. ^ "Sevens heaven - The best in the business".
  17. ^ "Serevi, Vunibaka still stand tall". Fijisun.com.fj. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
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