IRB Sevens World Series
The IRB Sevens World Series, known officially as the HSBC Sevens World Series as of the 2010-11 season, through sponsorship from banking group HSBC,[1] and also sometimes called the World Sevens Series, is a series of international rugby union sevens tournaments organised for the first time in the 1999-2000 season. The tournaments, run by the International Rugby Board, feature national sevens teams. The series was first 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. Each season's circuit currently 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. Depending on the venue and scheduling of the quadrennial Rugby World Cup Sevens, one of the tournaments may be folded into the World Cup. For example, because the 2005 World Cup was held in Hong Kong and scheduled for roughly the same time as the annual Hong Kong Sevens, the Hong Kong Sevens was folded into the World Cup. However, none of the 2008–09 events were folded into the 2009 World Cup, as that year's World Cup fell three weeks after the USA Sevens and three weeks before the Hong Kong Sevens.
Tournaments
As of the current 2011–12 series, there are nine legs of the World Series tour, after the IRB's announcement on 18 August 2011 that Japan would become the newest stop on the circuit.[2] Prior to this announcement, the IRB had contemplated adding two stops to the previously eight-event circuit. Trevor Gregory, vice-president of the Asian Rugby Football Union, believed that destinations in South America and Asia could be added, and that Tokyo would be added in 2012 or 2013.[3]
- Australia – Gold Coast Sevens (Skilled Park): late November (2 days)
- The Australian leg was previously known as the Adelaide Sevens, and was held in early April.[4]
- UAE – Dubai Sevens (The Sevens): early December (2 days)
- South Africa – South Africa Sevens (Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth): mid December (2 days)
- The 2011–12 edition will be the first in Port Elizabeth. Previously, the South African leg was held at George.[5]
- New Zealand – Wellington Sevens, (Westpac Stadium, Wellington): early February (2 days)
- USA – USA Sevens (Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas): mid February (3 days in 2012, normally 2 days)
- Hong Kong – Hong Kong Sevens (Hong Kong Stadium): late March (3 days)
- Japan – Japan Sevens (Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium, Tokyo): end March/early April (2 days)
- Scotland – Scotland Sevens (Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow): early May (2 days)
- The Scotland leg was alternatively known as the Edinburgh Sevens, but was moved to Glasgow effective with the 2012 edition.[6]
- England – London Sevens (Twickenham): mid May (2 days)
- The Scotland and England legs have changed their order on the schedule; previously, the Scotland leg was the last.
Air time
According to the IRB, the tour received 1147 hours of air time in 2005–06; 530 of which was live, and was broadcast to 136 countries.[7] 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.[8] 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.[9] In 2010–11, 3,657 hours of coverage were aired (1,161.5 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.[10]
In early October, 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.[1]
Seasons
Past tables
Overall table from 1999-2000 to 2010-11
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.
Rank
|
Team |
Participations |
Points |
Ø-Points |
| 01. |
New Zealand |
12 |
1579 |
131,58 |
| 02. |
Fiji |
12 |
1346 |
112,16 |
| 03. |
South Africa |
12 |
1086 |
90,50 |
| 04. |
England |
12 |
998 |
83,16 |
| 05. |
Samoa |
12 |
990 |
82,50 |
| 06. |
Australia |
12 |
808 |
67,33 |
| 07. |
Argentina |
12 |
562 |
46,83 |
| 08. |
France |
12 |
247 |
20,58 |
| 09. |
Wales |
11 |
209 |
19,00 |
| 010. |
Kenya |
12 |
175 |
14,58 |
| 011. |
Scotland |
12 |
148 |
12,33 |
| 012. |
Canada |
12 |
114 |
9,50 |
| 013. |
Tonga |
12 |
66 |
5,50 |
| 014. |
United States |
12 |
63 |
5,25 |
| 015. |
Portugal |
12 |
29 |
2,41 |
| 016. |
Cook Islands |
10 |
23 |
2,30 |
| 017. |
Georgia |
8 |
20 |
2,50 |
| 018. |
South Korea |
4 |
16 |
4,00 |
| 019. |
Tunisia |
10 |
10 |
1,00 |
| 020. |
Japan |
9 |
8 |
0,88 |
| 020. |
Papua New Guinea |
3 |
8 |
2,66 |
| 020. |
Uruguay |
9 |
8 |
0,88 |
| 023. |
Morocco |
2 |
5 |
2,50 |
| 024. |
Chile |
1 |
4 |
4,00 |
| 024. |
Italy |
9 |
4 |
0,44 |
| 024. |
Namibia |
8 |
4 |
0,50 |
| 024. |
Zimbabwe |
3 |
4 |
1,33 |
| 027. |
Ireland |
8 |
2 |
0,25 |
| 027. |
Russia |
12 |
2 |
0,16 |
| 027. |
Spain |
2 |
2 |
1,00 |
| 030. |
China |
8 |
1 |
1,12 |
| 030. |
Hong Kong |
9 |
1 |
0,11 |
| 032. |
Arabian Gulf |
2 |
0 |
0 |
| 032. |
Germany |
9 |
0 |
0 |
| 032. |
Guyana |
2 |
0 |
0 |
| 032. |
Malaysia |
1 |
0 |
0 |
| 032. |
Mexico |
9 |
0 |
0 |
| 032. |
Niue |
8 |
0 |
0 |
| 032. |
Singapore |
5 |
0 |
0 |
| 032. |
Chinese Taipei |
8 |
0 |
0 |
| 032. |
Thailand |
6 |
0 |
0 |
| 032. |
Uganda |
9 |
0 |
0 |
| 032. |
West Indies |
8 |
0 |
0 |
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. New Zealand has been by far the dominant force in the IRB World Sevens Series, winning eight out of the 11 seasons. However, in recent years, 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.[12] Many minor rugby nations have become competitive as well. Four of the current 12 "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, Kenya, and the USA.
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. Before each season, 12 "core teams" are announced, based on their performances in recent seasons. Each team has a guaranteed place in all of that season's events. The 2011–12 core teams are:[13]
The most recent addition to the roster of core teams was the USA, which replaced its neighbor Canada for 2008–09.[14]
In a normal event, 16 teams are entered; in Hong Kong, 24 teams enter. The participants are the 12 core teams, plus sufficient invitees to fill out the field. The IRB operates satellite tournaments in each continent alongside the Sevens World Series which serve as qualifiers for Series events.[14]
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:[15]
- Head-to-head result between the tied teams.
- Difference in points scored and allowed during pool play.
- Difference in tries scored and allowed during pool play.
- Points scored during pool play.
- 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.[16] 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.
In the Hong Kong Sevens, the six pool winners, plus the two highest-finishing second-place teams, advance to the Cup. Starting with the 2010 event:[17]
- The losing quarterfinalists in the Cup competition will contest the Plate competition.
- The four remaining second-place teams and the four best third-place teams, which contested the Plate in previous years, now compete for the Bowl.
- The remaining eight teams in the competition, which contested the Bowl in previous years, now compete for the Shield.
A third-place match is now conducted between the losing Cup semifinalists in all tournaments; this was introduced for the 2011–12 series.[18]
Statistics
Players in bold were active in the 2009–10 series.
Source
Points schedule
The season championship is determined by points earned in each tournament. The IRB introduced a new scoring system for the 2011–12 series, in which all teams participating in a tournament are guaranteed points. Initially, the IRB announced the new points schedule only for the standard 16-team events; the allocations for the Hong Kong Sevens will be announced later.[18]
- 16-team events (all except for Hong Kong)
- Cup winner (1st place): 22 points
- Cup runner-up (2nd place): 19 points
- Cup third-place play-off winner (3rd place): 17 points
- Cup third-place play-off loser (4th place): 15 points
- Plate winner (5th place): 13 points
- Plate runner-up (6th place): 12 points
- Losing Plate semi-finalists (joint 7th place): 10 points
- Bowl winner (9th place): 8 points
- Bowl runner-up (10th place): 7 points
- Losing Bowl semi-finalists (joint 11th place): 5 points
- Shield winner (13th place): 3 points
- Shield runner-up (14th place): 2 points
- Losing Shield semi-finalists (joint 15th place): 1 point
- 24-team event (Hong Kong)
If two or more teams are level on series points at the end of the season, the following tiebreakers are used to determine placement:[15]
- Overall difference in points scored and allowed during the season.
- Total try count during the season.
- If neither of the above produces a winner, the teams are considered tied.
See also
Notes and references
External links
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Africa
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Asia
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Europe
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Oceania
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South America
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IRB Sevens World Series
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| 2011–12 Events |
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| Current stadiums |
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| Former events |
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| Seasons |
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