84-685: The Hong Kong Sevens (Chinese: 香港國際七人欖球賽 ) 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
168-611: A 7 aside tournament would be cheaper. Rugby sponsorship was just being introduced and Tokkie ADC Smith , Chairman of HKRFU and worked with Ian Gow of Rothmans Hong Kong to discusse the possibility of a sponsored international rugby tournament in Hong Kong. Tokkie Smith promoted the idea to his President Vernon Roberts and to the Rugby Union Committee but on account of numbers and costs it was decided that any sponsored international tournament would need to be Sevens. Jock Campbell of Cathay Pacific then offered to sponsor travel and
252-540: A Friday and concluding on Sunday. The tournament is organised each year by the Hong Kong Rugby Union (HKRU). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic , the tournament was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 respectively. The latest Hong Kong Rugby Sevens is being held on Friday 5 April, Saturday 6 April, Sunday 7 April 2024. The season-ending Blarney Stone Sevens had traditionally been a part of the game’s program in Hong Kong, but HKRFU
336-432: A Sevens tournament was Argentina; arriving again via Scottish expatriates. The Buenos Aires Cricket & Rugby Club hosted their own Sevens event on 9 July 1921. The Buenos Aires club defeated Belgrano Athletic Club in the final. The Buenos Aires club went on to host Sevens tournaments on 9 July every year; however a pitch-invasion tradition at the final meant that no further winners were recorded until 1937. The 9 July
420-888: A combined British sevens team in 2011 for the 2016 Olympics and beyond. Another issue is the status of Northern Ireland. World Rugby recognises the Irish Rugby Football Union as the sport's governing body for the entire island of Ireland. By contrast, the International Olympic Committee recognises the British Olympic Association as the governing body of the UK Olympic team, while the Olympic Council of Ireland usually fields teams representing all of Ireland in sports which are organised on an all-Ireland basis. Northern Irish sevens players play for
504-495: A competition with national representative sevens sides competing, and with this growth, the tournament moved to the Hong Kong Stadium in 1982. The Hong Kong Sevens were ahead of their time, and an influential force in the modernisation of rugby union, for example, the Hong Kong Sevens were one of the first rugby union tournaments to attract major sponsorship, when Cathay Pacific sponsored the 1976 tournament. They also provided
588-476: A kick for touch and a line out, resulting in the ball being put back in play more quickly. When a player is tackled and a ruck is formed, the ball tends to exit the ruck more quickly, as the attacking team generally has only three players involved in the ruck – the tackled player, one support player, and one scrum-half. At Loretto School in Musselburgh , Scotland, the then headmaster Hely Hutchinson Almond got
672-480: A level of cosmopolitan international competition, which tended not to exist in rugby before the first Rugby World Cup in 1987, especially since Hong Kong was not seen as one of the "Big Eight", and other than some involvement with France , the Commonwealth teams tended to be notoriously clannish. By 1986, the Hong Kong Sevens were held up as a positive example to others: This Seven-a-Side international tournament
756-571: A long heritage in the seven-a-side game. The world record rugby league crowd for sevens was 80,000 in Roundhay Park, Leeds, 1932, before a royal audience. In the modern era, however, small-sided rugby league has concentrated on the Nines format, which boasts similar adaptations to the league code as sevens does with the union code. Both Bradford and Wigan rugby league sides have defeated rugby union teams in major rugby union sevens tournaments, demonstrating
840-582: A long wait for any future English Sevens tournaments to arrive, with the exception of a Whitsuntide event, which included sevens, at Hexham in 1894 which seemed to go ahead without official backing. The Hexham Whitsuntide Sports committee tried to invite Hawick RFC as their star guests, but without backing this did not come off. For a long time the English Rugby Union held against rugby sevens being played in England. English clubs, particularly those close to
924-473: A range of running and handling skills which demanded unqualified praise. Papua New Guinea , Sri Lanka and the Solomon Islands were inevitably outgunned by the teams from the major Rugby-playing nations but they still have a remarkably high level of skill which promises well for the future of the game. The week of the Hong Kong tournament allows 24 Rugby-playing nations to intermingle for several days, and
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#17330857635771008-408: A relaxed atmosphere than fifteen-a-side games, and are often known as "festivals". Sevens tournaments gained their "popularity as an end of season diversion from the dourer and sterner stuff that provides the bulk of a normal season's watching." Fans frequently attend in fancy dress , and entertainment is put on for them. The Hong Kong Sevens tournament has been especially important in popularising
1092-679: A rugby sevens match, as the Dalhousie players favoured rugby union; and the Chamba players, that had already beaten Dalhousie in cricket and association football, confidently obliged. The Dalhousie side unsurprisingly won the match; with the newspaper report seeming to blame Chamba's native players for the loss, a sad reflection of the times. Sevens then spread from Scotland to Dunedin ; a Scottish expatriate city in New Zealand. The first Dunedin Sevens tournament
1176-496: A time when standard admission was a shilling , and stand seats cost five shillings. This became England's premier Sevens tournament:- it had some formidable figures on its sub-committee such as Wavell Wakefield and Bill Ramsay ; it was close to London – and 10,000 spectators attended the second Middlesex tournament; and it helped rugby in London develop – featuring the aforementioned Wavell Wakefield, Carl Aarvold (later Recorder of
1260-427: A two-minute half-time break. Previously, the final of a competition could be played over two halves of ten minutes each, but beginning in 2017, final-round matches were limited to seven-minute halves (excluding ties) in an effort to reduce injuries. Sevens scores are generally comparable to regular rugby scores, but scoring occurs much more frequently in sevens, since the defenders are more spaced out. The scoring system
1344-404: A win, 2 for a draw, 1 for a loss. The first tiebreaker is the head-to-head result between the tied teams, followed by difference in points scored during the tournament. Like all other World Series tournaments, four trophies are awarded at the end of a knockout tournament. Before the reorganisation of the tournament in 2013, the six pool winners, plus the two top-rated second-place teams, played for
1428-452: Is Argentina's Independence Day holiday; and a feast is often prepared in celebration. It is said that the pitch invasion tradition started when a bell, announcing that food was ready, rang out during the final. The first-ever officially sanctioned tournament for national teams was the 1973 International Seven-A-Side Tournament held at Murrayfield as part of the " Scottish Rugby Union 's Celebration of Rugby" centenary celebrations. Due to
1512-447: Is a minority sport... While tournaments like the Hong Kong Sevens continue to be played, Rugby administrators can be confident that the game will continue to thrive in over 100 countries worldwide. Bill McLaren , in his autobiography Talking of Rugby writes at length about his Hong Kong Sevens experiences: However, despite this apparent diversity, some of the same old problems which had dogged international rugby were still manifest in
1596-439: Is an H-shaped goal. There are several variations in laws which apply to rugby sevens, primarily to speed up the game and to account for the reduced number of players. The main changes can be summarised as follows: Teams are composed of seven players – three forwards and four backs. Scrums are made up of three players from each team. The chart below shows a team's typical formation at scrum time, with three forwards bound into
1680-469: Is the same as regular rugby union, namely five points for a try, three points for a penalty or drop goal and two points for a post-try conversion. The shorter match length allows rugby sevens tournaments to be completed in a day or a weekend. Many sevens tournaments have a competition for a cup, a plate, a bowl, and a shield, allowing many teams of different standards to avoid leaving empty-handed. Sevens tournaments are traditionally known for having more of
1764-519: Is traditionally one of the biggest events, if not the biggest, on the Hong Kong sporting calendar. As such, there is a tremendous party atmosphere, with the involvement of the entire rugby-playing community. A two-day women's tournament, Hong Kong Women's Rugby Sevens, precedes the men's contests. Under the auspices of the Hong Kong Mini Rugby Football Union , children with local clubs aged between 6 and 12 years play tournaments before
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#17330857635771848-700: Is without a doubt the most spectacular, exotic, best organised Rugby competition of its kind in the world, and it has consistently produced the highest standard of Sevens Rugby seen anywhere. I was not surprised on my first visit to see quality play from the Australian, New Zealand, Fijian, and British players, but I was staggered at the amazingly high quality play produced by countries I never even knew played Rugby. South Korea and Western Samoa were every bit as good as Japan and Tonga . Malaysia , Thailand and Singapore found their lack of sheer size and bulk an insuperable handicap, but against each other they displayed
1932-528: The Asian Games , and in 2018 a women's tournament was played for the first time at the Commonwealth Games . Rugby sevens is sanctioned by World Rugby , and is played under similar laws (with exceptions noted below ) and on a field of the same dimensions as the 15 player game . Whereas a regular rugby union match lasts at least 80 minutes, a normal sevens match consists of two halves of seven minutes with
2016-637: The Melrose Cup is contested, was launched in 1993. Rugby sevens continues to be popular in the Scottish Borders , where the ten most prestigious tournaments make up a league competition known as the Kings of the Sevens . In honour of the role of Melrose RFC in the creation of rugby sevens, the club was inducted, along with Haig, to the IRB Hall of Fame in 2008. Top club sides and international sides frequently enter
2100-657: The 1970s and was later followed by the inclusion of the sport into the Commonwealth Games for the first time in 1998 and the establishment of the annual World Rugby Sevens Series in 1999 and the World Rugby Women's Sevens Series in 2012. In 2016 , rugby sevens was contested in the Summer Olympics for the first time. It has also been played in events such as the Games of the Small States of Europe , Pan American Games and
2184-550: The 2009–10 crown. Other strong contenders include England and Australia , each of whom have had several top four finishes in recent seasons. The 2015 London Sevens , saw the United States win their first-ever tournament in the World Series. Notable World Series players include England's Dan Norton , who has scored more tries (>230) than any other player; and England's Ben Gollings , who has scored more points (2,652) than any other player. The Rugby Women's Sevens Series
2268-430: The 2012–13 edition. The teams are divided into six pools of four teams, who play a round-robin within the pool. The winning team of the tournament acquires 30 points towards its rankings in the World Series instead of the normal 22, and the runner-up earns 25 points instead of the normal 19. Through the 2008–09 World Series, the Hong Kong Sevens awarded 24 points to the runner-up, and 16-team events offered only 20 points for
2352-621: The 2013 event, only the 16 teams in the main draw compete for trophies. The format is identical to that of other series events, with the top two teams in each pool advancing to the Cup and Plate tournaments, and the remaining teams contesting the Bowl and Shield. The losers of the Cup quarterfinals drop to the Plate tournament, and the losers of the Bowl quarterfinals drop to the Shield tournament. The Hong Kong Rugby Sevens
2436-544: The Borders spread north throughout Scotland:- Aberdeen hosting Sevens in 1889; Edinburgh hosting Sevens in 1896; Glasgow hosting Sevens in 1898; Dundee hosting Sevens in 1901. The popularity of Sevens exploded in the 1920s and 1930s. From the 19th century to today, over 150 Sevens tournaments in Scotland are known; and though some tournaments have folded; new tournaments continue to be born. Sevens remain popular in Scotland; and
2520-669: The City of London ) of Blackheath FC , Wick Powell of London Welsh RFC , and John Tallent, who would later become chairman of the Four Home Unions Tours Committee. Invitation sides graced the Sevens tournament:- such as Sale RFC in 1936, which included such players as Wilf Wooller and Claude Davey of Wales and Ken Fyfe of Scotland amongst their backs; and in 1939, Cardiff RFC , which included players such as Wilf Wooller again, and Les Spence and Wendy Davis. The Earl of Dalhousie became Governor-General of India in
2604-556: The Committee led by President Vernon Roberts, Chairman Tokkie Smith, Treasurer Bob Gaff and Honorary Secretary Mike Pratt in 1975 made the decision to organize an international Sevens Tournament. Friendly rugby countries throughout Asia and the Pacific were invited to send teams, creating the highly successful, multiracial tournament. The founding program announced: Rothmans-Cathay Pacific International Seven-a-Side Championship, 28 March 1976, at
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2688-424: The Cup and Plate. The Cup is awarded to the overall tournament champion. As for the other World Series tournaments, four quarterfinal losers dropped into the bracket for the Plate. The Bowl was contested by the four remaining second-place teams, plus the four top-rated third-place teams, while the Shield was contested by the eight remaining teams. The Shield was contested in Hong Kong for the first time in 2010. Since
2772-536: The Hong Kong Football Club, and the participating countries as Australia, Fiji, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Thailand, and Tonga with Hong Kong as the Home Team. In view of the enormous success of the Sevens, the Rugby Union Committee determined to continue annually, and Tokkie Smith, still as Chairman, also managed the expanding tournaments in 1977 and 1978, establishing
2856-487: The Hong Kong Sevens in the 1980s – for example, in a photograph of the Hong Kong v Bahrain game at the tournament in 1984, the teams do not appear to include anyone who is ethnically Arabian or Chinese, instead both teams are quite clearly of northern European ethnic origin. In 1994, the venue was deemed too small for the tournament and was rebuilt into a 40,000-seat stadium now named the Hong Kong Stadium . New Zealand were
2940-526: The Irish team. In the men's competition Fiji won the gold medal in the sport's Olympic debut, with Great Britain taking the silver and South Africa the bronze. The women's gold medal was won by Australia, with New Zealand taking silver and Canada bronze. The Rugby World Cup Sevens is held every four years and is the premier international rugby sevens tournament outside of the Olympic Games. The first tournament
3024-461: The Melrose Sevens annually attracts around 12,000 spectators to the small Borders town. The Melrose Sevens centenary tournament in 1983 attracted 17,500 fans. A rugby sevens tournament was played by St. Helens Cricket Club on 29 May 1886; and the final took place a week later. A rugby sevens tournament was organised by Warrington F.C. (a rugby club) on their athletics day on 14 August 1886 but it
3108-680: The Pre-Qualifier grouped the entrants into four-team pools. The top two teams from each pool, plus the top two third-place teams, advanced to a quarterfinal round, with the winners of all four matches, along with the Asian Sevens Series winner, advancing to the World Series Core Team Qualifier at the London Sevens . The IRB further changed the promotion/relegation process in advance of the 2013–14 series . The Pre-Qualifier
3192-601: The Scottish border and aware of the game's success in Scotland, wanted to play their own tournaments. Their pleas went in vain. England finally hosted its first Sevens tournament in 1921 as the Scottish game crept south over the border. This was on 23 April 1921 by Carlisle rugby club; they beat a Hawick 'B' side in the final. Next was on 3 September 1921 in north east England at the Percy Park Sevens in North Shields . It
3276-666: The Sevens tournaments in Scotland; the Melrose Sevens , as the founding event of the sport, being the most prestigious. Sevens has also taken strong root in the Pacific island nations of Fiji , Tonga , and Samoa , as well as in Kenya . In many minor rugby nations, such as in Poland , development has tended to concentrate on rugby sevens as a means of introducing the sport to people. Rugby sevens has become popular in places such as Hong Kong , Singapore and Dubai , which are not so successful in
3360-770: The South Stand, Mexican waves, and streakers running across the pitch (prosecutable). Outside the stadium, the 'Sevens Village' at the Indian Recreation Club nearby is an alternative venue to gather and watch matches on giant screens, eat and drink to excess while matches are in progress; and after the match, partying continues with champagne and live music and DJs in the champagne tent. An annual public awareness campaign called "Save Our Sevens" sponsored by KELY Support Group, Hong Kong Rugby Union and supported by Start JG Hong Kong Limited encourages responsible drinking among spectators and interventions among underage drinkers while at
3444-498: The adaptability of rugby league players generally. The World Series was a series held every season since the 1999–2000 inaugural season. Each season the Sevens Series held from seven to eleven tournaments, from around October and concluding around June. Most tournaments see 16 teams competing – mostly "core teams" that participate in each event, but also some teams that win the right to participate in select events. The last tournament
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3528-694: The best individualists from other clubs to maintain their position. In 1895 the Scottish Referee newspaper was still criticising West of Scotland for not using the collective method. In England, the push for smaller sides eventually resulted in the formation of rugby league; and there was experimentation with numbers in the north of England prior to the split. There was a six-a-side tournament in Huddersfield in September 1879, played under regular rules but with 10 minute halves. Other tournaments were played over
3612-459: The bidding for inclusion in the 2016 program. The event debuted in an Olympic program at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics . Two issues related to differences between the structures of rugby union and the Olympics were sorted out before the 2016 Olympic Games. The issue of a combined British team has proven less of a problem in rugby union. World Rugby chief executive Mike Miller endorsed the concept of
3696-407: The crossbars at the south end of the stadium before dodging back into the stands and disappearing, organisers stepped up security and announced a zero-tolerance policy of invaders. Since 2014, the Hong Kong Sevens has also featured a qualifying competition where the winner is promoted to "core team" status for the World Rugby Sevens Series the following season. At each Hong Kong Sevens since 1980,
3780-622: The dominant team in the mid 1990s, winning three straight from 1994 to 1996, led by legends Eric Rush and Jonah Lomu . Today, 24 national representative sides compete in the tournament. These include the 16 'core' members of the IRB Sevens World Series , plus eight further invited teams. In 1997 and 2005, the Hong Kong Sevens was not held; taking its place was the Rugby World Cup Sevens, which Hong Kong hosted in both years. Fiji won both World Cup Sevens tournaments. In 1998,
3864-480: The event was a comparatively huge success. In 2011, after HSBC negotiated title sponsorship to the entire World Sevens Series tournaments, it was no longer possible for Credit Suisse to sponsor the Hong Kong leg after 14 years. The Hong Kong Sevens is the sport's most prestigious annual rugby sevens event organised as part of the World Rugby Sevens Series . Historically, it had been contested by 24 teams; all other World Series tournaments had 16 teams participating until
3948-474: The event. Rugby sevens Rugby sevens (commonly known as simply sevens and originally known as seven-a-side rugby ) 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
4032-417: The fifteen-a-side code. In addition, seven of the 15 current "core teams" that compete in all legs of the World Series represent nations that are not within the recognised top tier of the 15-man game – Fiji , Samoa , Kenya , the United States , Canada , Portugal , and Japan . Recently there has been the introduction of many new teams to the sevens circuit such as Russia and Germany. Rugby league also has
4116-399: The first tournament after the transfer of sovereignty to China , tickets were not sold internationally and the event was stricken with a bankrupt sponsor Peregrine . The Union's Organising Committee worked hard, and successfully implemented its marketing strategy to get the local population involved through "Friday Night is Party Night" and secured CSFB as sponsors "on a spur-of-the-moment",
4200-555: The game in Asia, and rugby sevens has been important as a form of international rugby "evangelism"; hence it is perhaps the most widely played form of the game, with tournaments in places as far apart as Bogota and Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Kenya, Singapore and Scandinavia, as well as the countries in which rugby union is well known. Sevens is played on a standard rugby union playing field. The field measures up to 100 metres (330 ft) long and 70 metres (230 ft) wide. On each goal line
4284-412: The game, sevens players are often backs or loose forwards in fifteens rugby. The differences are most notable on game restarts. Because scrums in sevens involve three players forming one row instead of eight players forming three rows, scrums tend to assemble more quickly, require fewer restarts, and the ball exits the scrum more quickly. Penalties in sevens are generally taken with a quick tap, instead of
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#17330857635774368-436: The huge cross-fertilisation of ideas can only be beneficial in the long term for the emerging nations. After the first day of the play when the top eight seeded teams meet the smaller fish in a pool system, the second day is divided into three different competitions... The strength of this great tournament is that on the opening day the most famous players in the world share a pitch with unknown opponents from countries where Rugby
4452-453: The inaugural tournament in 1976. They also provided a level of cosmopolitan international competition, which tended not to exist in rugby before the first Rugby World Cup in 1987, especially since Hong Kong was not seen as one of the "Big Eight". By 1986, the Hong Kong Sevens were held up as a positive example to others, although many of the smaller nations' teams were largely made up of expatriates. The Rugby World Cup Sevens , in which
4536-536: The international game of Sevens. For Australia , former captain George Gregan first demonstrated his ability at the Hong Kong Sevens in the same team as Joe Roff and Ben Tune . For Wales , Jamie Roberts and James Hook are among those who went on to the 15-man national team after playing in the Hong Kong Sevens. South Africa, also, have seen Jean de Villiers , Bryan Habana , Ricky Januarie , Brent Russell and Kabamba Floors showcase their variety of skills at
4620-402: The line, the attacking team often attempts to move the ball to create an overload. The defensive line can be put under pressure if the defending team makes a tackle and commits players to the ruck; with fewer players in the defending line, it leaves more space for the attacking team to exploit. Rugby sevens tends to be played at a faster pace than rugby fifteens. Because of the faster nature of
4704-492: The losing quarter-finalists in the Cup parachuting into the Plate semi-finals. Further major changes were made to the event for 2013. These changes resulted from the decision of World Rugby , then known as the International Rugby Board (IRB), to institute a formal promotion and relegation process for core teams (i.e., teams assured of playing in all series events) starting with the 2012–13 series . For starters,
4788-452: The main matches each day. They also take part in the March Past immediately before the semi-final round of the main tournament. For spectators, particular emphasis is placed on the South Stand, where hordes of fans dress up and dance for most of the duration of Saturday. Activities that typically ensue as the weekend progresses include the throwing of empty beer jugs (banned circa 2006) around
4872-552: The middle of the nineteenth century. He took his summers in the Indian western Himalayas. His base there, also called Dalhousie, and the neighbouring Khajjiar region, remains known as a 'Little Scotland of India'. Teams from Dalhousie and Chamba played various sports against one another at the Khajjiar Gymkhana. The Chamba side was a mixed civilian and native side; the Dalhousie side was a military side. On 29 June 1886 at 1am they played
4956-512: The most dominant team in the series since its establishment by winning four of the six competitions held up to and including 2018. In 2023 World Rugby re-branded the Sevens series to a new World Rugby SVNS Series (known for sponsorship reasons as the HSBC SVNS). World Rugby announced it will fully combine the men’s and women’s tours aligning with the Olympic competition model, with both taking place on
5040-510: The next few years across the North before being replaced by a nine-a-side game. Matches attracted large crowds and raised thousands to support the clubs or local hospital charities. In August 1890, Yorkshire suspended 8 teams and in September Lancashire banned games with less than 15-a-side over allegations of professionalism ; short sided games effectively ended in England. Rugby sevens
5124-591: The number of teams involved in the event increased from 24 to 28. However, only 16 of these teams compete for series points. The 15 core teams were joined in the main draw by the winner of the most recent edition of the HSBC Asian Sevens Series. The remaining 12 teams, specifically two qualifiers from each of the IRB's six regional zones, participated in the World Series Pre-Qualifier. Like the main draw,
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#17330857635775208-424: The player who "most exemplifies the spirit and skills needed in rugby sevens" has received 'The Leslie Williams Award for Best and Fairest Player'. It is named for the late Leslie Williams, who lived in Hong Kong from 1955 to 1971 and played for Hong Kong Football Club and the national team . The trophy has been awarded every year since 1980 with the exception of the Rugby World Cup Sevens in 1997 and 2005 when there
5292-602: The same weekends in the same cities and venues starting in December 2023 in Dubai and will conclude in Madrid in June 2024. The idea is to bring about a festival type atmosphere in each city across the world. Both men and women's teams will earn the same with equal participation fees. The new format will showcase the twelve best men's and women's teams, which will conclude in a Grand Final weekend where
5376-486: The schoolboys to play short-sided matches in the 1860s and 1870s. This was to improve the players' passing. A full rugby union match, at the time, was twenty-a-side and individualism was the style. Almond stated that he: urged on his boys in the sixties that if only they would pass constantly and systematically to each other, they would baffle any side unaccustomed to such tactics. Almond, a pioneer in collectivism in rugby union, struggled to get his schoolboys to get used to
5460-418: The scrum, a scrum-half waiting to retrieve the ball once it exits the scrum, and three backs positioned to receive a pass. The numbers shown here are for illustrative purposes only. Unlike rugby fifteens, where a player's number corresponds to his position, numbering in rugby sevens is more flexible. In a squad of twelve players, the players will be numbered one through twelve. The starting players can have any of
5544-554: The series and changing rugby forever. This was an important step as this was one of the first rugby tournaments that attracted commercial sponsorship. Of the countries represented in the inaugural sevens tournament, only Australia and New Zealand did not send national sides, instead being represented by the Wallaroos and the Cantabrians respectively. These two clubs met in the final where the Cantabrians won 24–8. The series then grew into
5628-491: The success of the format, the Scottish connection continued in the establishment of the Hong Kong Sevens in the 1970s. Founded largely by expats such as "Tokkie" Smith , the Hong Kong Sevens were ahead of their time and an influential force in the modernisation of rugby union. For example, the Hong Kong Sevens was one of the first rugby union tournaments to attract major sponsorship when the airline Cathay Pacific sponsored
5712-520: 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. Rugby sevens originated in the 1880s in the Scottish town of Melrose ; the Melrose Sevens tournament is still played annually. The popularity of rugby sevens increased further with the development of the Hong Kong Sevens in
5796-522: The system. The schoolboys stated this was 'funking'; but by 1872 he was organising eleven-a-side matches with Edinburgh Academicals . In 2007, Almond was nominated for the IRB Hall of Fame but was not inducted. Collectivism did eventually take hold with new clubs, and Scotland exported it through Sevens around the world, and sides like New Zealand and South Africa quickly realised the benefits of collectivism. The bigger clubs in Scotland were reluctant to change their ways. They were winning, and could attract
5880-405: The three-day event. Since 2007 the South Stand has been made officially accessible to over-18s only, due to its hyper and somewhat provocative atmosphere. Streakers were formerly a regular feature, and still occasionally make a showing on the pitch, to the acclamation of the crowd. Nonetheless, most pitch invaders are caught and arrested. Following an incident in 2010 when one spectator climbed onto
5964-513: The top eight teams will compete to be crowned Series champions. The teams ranked ninth to twelfth will compete against the top four teams from a new Challenger Series in a relegation play-off to see who secures their place in the 2024–2025 season. The International Olympic Committee voted in 2009 to include rugby sevens on the program for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro , Brazil. There were two open spots for sports and initially seven sports began
6048-710: The tournament beating the Waratahs and the Berserkers. In Ireland, Douglas RFC of Cork attempted to host a Sevens tournament on 8 December 1900. However, due to inclement weather this did not come off. The first Sevens tournament in Ireland was then the Belfast tournament of 30 April 1921 in aid of the Warriors Day fund. This was run by the northern branch of the IRFU. The next country to host
6132-424: The twelve numbers, not necessarily one through seven. No set numbers differentiate positions; for example, numbers one through three are not reserved for forwards, but can be worn by any squad player. In open play, a typical defensive formation involves a line of six defenders, with one sweeper behind the line. With the attacking team using all seven players against the defending team's six in
6216-402: The winner and 16 for the runner-up. The 2010 edition saw several significant changes to the tournament format. Foremost among these changes was the introduction of the fourth-level Shield trophy, which had not previously been awarded in Hong Kong. More important within the context of the World Series as a whole, the Cup and Plate are now contested in the same manner as in other competitions, with
6300-618: Was a different individual award. Fijian legend Waisale Serevi is the only player to have won the Leslie Williams Trophy three times and he was also named Player of the Tournament at both RWC events. The Hong Kong Sevens has proven a fertile ground for nurturing young players who go on to star in the 15-man game. For New Zealand , Jonah Lomu , Christian Cullen , Zinzan Brooke , John Schuster , Rodney So'oialo , Joe Rokocoko , Mils Muliaina and Rico Gear were first introduced to
6384-529: Was affiliated to the RFU and internationally the game was controlled by the rugby powers. The Scottish Centenary at Easter 1973 had been a recent international Sevens tournament but to which only the establishment countries were invited. The Hong Kong 7's were originally the idea of Rodney Bentham-Wood, the Rothmans manager for SE Asia. He originally wanted to do a 15 aside but a conversation with Tokkie Smith pointed out that
6468-473: Was close to the Scottish Borders and Scottish sides were invited to play in the tournament with local English sides. The final was contested between Selkirk and Melrose ; with Selkirk winning the event. First played in 1926, the Middlesex Sevens were set-up by Dr J.A. Russell-Cargill, a London-based Scot. The tournament was intended as a fundraiser for King Edward VII Hospital . It raised £1,600; at
6552-488: Was folded into the Core Team Qualifier, which now involves 12 teams competing for a single promotion place as part of that season's Hong Kong Sevens. The total prize money stands at US$ 150,000. The Cup Champion wins US$ 100,000, and the runner-up takes home US$ 25,000; each semi-finalist loser receives US$ 12,500. Points are awarded in each pool on a different schedule from most tournaments in 15-a-side rugby union—3 for
6636-527: Was held at Murrayfield in 1993 with England becoming the first team to win the event. Fiji and New Zealand are the most successful, with Fiji winning two World Cups and New Zealand winning three World Cups. In the men's competition teams compete for the Melrose Cup and in the women's competition, launched in 2009, teams compete for the Women's Rugby World Cup Sevens Trophy. South Korea national rugby sevens team The South Korea national rugby sevens team
6720-424: Was held every season since the 2012–13 inaugural season. Each season the Sevens Series held from five to six tournaments, usually starting around November and concluding around June. Most tournaments see 12 teams competing – mostly "core teams" that participate in each event, but also some teams that win the right to participate in select events. The last series was held in the 2022–2023 season New Zealand have been
6804-458: Was held in the 2022–2023 season. New Zealand has been the dominant force in the Sevens Series, winning 13 out of the 23 seasons, including the first six seasons from 1999–2000 to 2004–05. In recent years, however, several other teams have challenged New Zealand's dominance. Fiji won the Series in 2005–06 and again in 2014–15 and 2015–16; South Africa won in 2008–09 and 2016–17; and Samoa claimed
6888-542: Was initially conceived in 1883 by Ned Haig and David Sanderson, who were butchers from Melrose , Scotland as a fund-raising event for their local club, Melrose RFC . The first-ever sevens match was played at The Greenyards , the Melrose ground, where it was well received. Two years later, Tynedale was the first non-Scottish club to win one of the Borders Sevens titles at Gala in 1885. Rugby union sevens' popularity in
6972-523: Was not repeated. A rugby sevens match was played in Chorley, Lancashire as part of the Chorley Rugby and Athletic club's sports day on 22 July 1888; another match looks to have taken place the following year on 24 August 1889. The Rainford Athletics Club hosted a Sports Day on 7 August 1888 with a 3 team rugby sevens tournament, but this was a one-off and not repeated. Sevens then ended in England and it would be
7056-714: Was the Charity tournament in aid of Dunedin hospital on 28 September 1889. From Dunedin, sevens spread north to Christchurch where Canterbury Rugby Union held a Sevens tournament on 16 September 1893. On 23 May 1894, sevens had almost reached the North Island with a tournament in Nelson . The first notice of a Sevens tournament in Australia is that of Central Queensland Rugby Union's tournament in Rockhampton on 4 July 1891. The Wanderers won
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