The 2016–17 World Rugby Sevens Series, known for sponsorship reasons as the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, was the 18th annual series of rugby sevens tournaments for national rugby sevens teams. The Sevens Series has been run by World Rugby since 1999–2000. South Africa won the Series with a comfortable 28-point margin over England; South Africa won five of the ten tournaments.
| 2016–17 World Rugby Sevens | |
|---|---|
| Series XVIII | |
| Hosts | |
| Date | 2 Dec 2016 – 21 May 2017 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  South Africa |
| Runners-up |  England |
| Third |  Fiji |
← 2015–16 2017–18 → | |
The 2016–17 Series also served as a qualifying tournament for the 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens. Nine of the core teams had already qualified but the four highest-placed finishers from among the remaining six core teams also gained qualification for the 2018 RWC Sevens.[1]
Core teams
editTour venues
editThe official schedule for the 2016–17 World Rugby Sevens Series was as follows:[3]
| Leg | Stadium | City | Date | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dubai | The Sevens | Dubai | 2–3 December 2016 | South Africa
|
| South Africa | Cape Town Stadium | Cape Town | 10–11 December 2016 | England
|
| New Zealand | Wellington Regional Stadium | Wellington | 28–29 January 2017 | South Africa
|
| Australia | Sydney Football Stadium | Sydney | 4–5 February 2017 | South Africa
|
| United States | Sam Boyd Stadium | Las Vegas | 3–5 March 2017 | South Africa
|
| Canada | BC Place | Vancouver | 11–12 March 2017 | England
|
| Hong Kong | Hong Kong Stadium | Hong Kong | 7–9 April 2017 | Fiji
|
| Singapore | National Stadium | Singapore | 15–16 April 2017 |  Canada
|
| France | Stade Jean-Bouin | Paris | 13–14 May 2017 | South Africa
|
| England | Twickenham Stadium | London | 20–21 May 2017 |  Scotland
|
There were no major changes to the schedule.
Standings
editFinal table:
| Pos. |
Event Team
|
 Dubai |
Cape Town |
 Wellington |
 Sydney |
 Las Vegas |
Vancouver |
 Hong Kong |
 Singapore |
 Paris |
London |
Points total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Africa
|
22 | 19 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 19 | 19 | 12 | 22 | 13 | 192 |
| 2 | England
|
17 | 22 | 10 | 19 | 13 | 22 | 10 | 17 | 15 | 19 | 164 |
| 3 | Fiji
|
19 | 13 | 19 | 13 | 19 | 17 | 22 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 150 |
| 4 | New Zealand
|
10 | 17 | 12 | 17 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 17 | 10 | 137 |
| 5 | United States
|
8 | 10 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 15 | 15 | 19 | 13 | 15 | 129 |
| 6 | Australia
|
13 | 5 | 7 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 17 | 15 | 7 | 12 | 113 |
| 7 | Scotland
|
12 | 15 | 17 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 19 | 22 | 109 |
| 8 | Canada
|
3 | 3 | 15 | 3 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 22 | 5 | 17 | 98 |
| 9 |  Argentina
|
5 | 7 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 3 | 8 | 10 | 90 |
| 10 |  Wales
|
15 | 10 | 5 | 10 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 73 |
| 11 | France
|
10 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 5 | 66 |
| 12 |  Kenya
|
5 | 12 | 8 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 63 |
| 13 |  Samoa
|
7 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 12 | 3 | 51 |
| 14 |  Russia
|
1 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 29 |
| 15 |  Japan
|
1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 20 |
| 16 |  Chile
|
– | – | – | – | 1 | 5 | – | – | – | – | 6 |
| 17 |  Uganda
|
2 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 4 |
| 18 |  Papua New Guinea
|
– | – | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 |
| 19 |  Spain
|
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 20 |  South Korea
|
– | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | 1 |
| 21 | Hong Kong
|
– | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | 1 |
Source: World Rugby. Archived [4]
Legend Qualification for the 2017–18 World Sevens Series No colour Core team in 2016–17 and re-qualified as a core team for the 2017–18 World Rugby Sevens Series Pink Relegated as the lowest placed core team at the end of the 2016–17 season Yellow Not a core team Qualification for 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens Already confirmed for 2018 (host country United States and 2013 quarterfinalists) Qualified as one of the four highest placed eligible teams from the 2016–17 World Rugby Sevens Series not already qualified.[5]
Players
editScoring leaders
edit| Rank | Player | Tries |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Perry Baker |
57 |
| 2 | Dan Norton |
51 |
| 3 | Justin Douglas |
40 |
| 4 | Seabelo Senatla |
32 |
| 5 | James Fleming |
32 |
| Rank | Player | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Perry Baker |
285 |
| 2 | Ethan Davies |
281 |
| 3 | Madison Hughes |
279 |
| 4 | Nathan Hirayama |
269 |
| 5 | Scott Wight |
266 |
Updated: 22 May 2017
Dream Team
edit| Forwards | Backs |
|---|---|
| Chris Dry Kalione Nasoko Danny Barrett |
Jerry Tuwai Rosko Specman Dan Norton Perry Baker
|
Placings summary
editTallies of top four tournament placings during the 2016–17 series, by team:
| Cup | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team |  Gold
|
 Silver
|
 Bronze
|
Fourth | Total |
| South Africa
|
5 | 3 | - | - | 8 |
| England
|
2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
| Fiji
|
1 | 3 | 1 | - | 5 |
| Scotland
|
1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Canada
|
1 | - | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| United States
|
- | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| New Zealand
|
- | - | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Australia
|
- | - | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Wales
|
- | - | - | 1 | 1 |
| Totals | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 40 |
Tournaments
editIn this series, World Rugby abolished the minor trophies of Plate, Bowl and Shield that were previously awarded in the finals play-offs at each tournament. While the winner's Cup was retained as the major trophy, the awarding of gold, silver and bronze medals to players from the three top-placed teams was introduced for this series with the third-placed match now renamed as the bronze-medal match. A Challenge Trophy was established for teams competing in the lower bracket of the finals play-offs at each tournament.[6] Additionally, the playing time for Cup final matches was reduced from 20 minutes to 14 minutes, in line with all other tournament matches.[7]
Dubai
edit| Event | Winners | Score | Finalists | Semi-finalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cup | South Africa
|
26–14 | Fiji
|
England (Bronze) Wales
|
| 5th Place | Australia
|
19–12 | Scotland
|
France New Zealand
|
| Challenge Trophy | United States
|
28–14 | Samoa
|
Argentina Kenya
|
| 13th Place | Canada
|
20–17 | Uganda
|
Japan Russia
|
Cape Town
edit| Event | Winners | Score | Finalists | Semi-finalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cup | England
|
19–17 | South Africa
|
New Zealand (Bronze) Scotland
|
| 5th Place | Fiji
|
33–21 | Kenya
|
Wales United States
|
| Challenge Trophy | France
|
19–7 | Argentina
|
Australia Russia
|
| 13th Place | Canada
|
19–10 | Uganda
|
Japan Samoa
|
Wellington
edit| Event | Winners | Score | Finalists | Semi-finalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cup | South Africa
|
26–5 | Fiji
|
Scotland (Bronze) Canada
|
| 5th Place | Argentina
|
17–12 | New Zealand
|
England France
|
| Challenge Trophy | Kenya
|
19–17 | Australia
|
United States Wales
|
| 13th Place | Samoa
|
19–12 | Russia
|
Japan Papua New Guinea
|
Sydney
edit| Event | Winners | Score | Finalists | Semi-finalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cup | South Africa
|
29–14 | England
|
New Zealand (Bronze) Australia
|
| 5th Place | Fiji
|
35–12 | United States
|
Argentina Wales
|
| Challenge Trophy | Russia
|
26–0 | France
|
Samoa Japan
|
| 13th Place | Canada
|
10–5 | Kenya
|
Papua New Guinea Scotland
|
Las Vegas
edit| Event | Winners | Score | Finalists | Semi-finalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cup | South Africa
|
19–12 | Fiji
|
United States (Bronze) New Zealand
|
| 5th Place | England
|
10–7 | Australia
|
Argentina Canada
|
| Challenge Trophy | Kenya
|
21–14 | Samoa
|
France Scotland
|
| 13th Place | Wales
|
21–19 | Japan
|
Chile Russia
|
Vancouver
edit| Event | Winners | Score | Finalists | Semi-finalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cup | England
|
19–7 | South Africa
|
Fiji (Bronze) United States
|
| 5th Place | New Zealand
|
17–14 | Argentina
|
Canada Australia
|
| Challenge Trophy | Wales
|
19–12 | Samoa
|
Kenya Chile
|
| 13th Place | Scotland
|
24–19 | Japan
|
France Russia
|
Hong Kong
edit| Event | Winners | Score | Finalists | Semi-finalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cup | Fiji
|
22–0 | South Africa
|
Australia (Bronze) United States
|
| 5th Place | New Zealand
|
10–7 | Argentina
|
Canada England
|
| Challenge Trophy | Scotland
|
21–19 | Kenya
|
France Russia
|
| 13th Place | Japan
|
28–21 | Wales
|
South Korea Samoa
|
| World Series Qualifier | Spain
|
12–7 |  Germany
|
Chile Papua New Guinea
|
Singapore
edit| Event | Winners | Score | Finalists | Semi-finalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cup | Canada
|
26–19 | United States
|
England (Bronze) Australia
|
| 5th Place | New Zealand
|
17–12 | South Africa
|
Kenya Fiji
|
| Challenge Trophy | Wales
|
24–12 | Scotland
|
Samoa France
|
| 13th Place | Argentina
|
40–19 | Russia
|
Japan Hong Kong
|
Paris
edit| Event | Winners | Score | Finalists | Semi-finalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cup | South Africa
|
15–5 | Scotland
|
New Zealand (Bronze) England
|
| 5th Place | United States
|
24–19 | Samoa
|
Fiji France
|
| Challenge Trophy | Argentina
|
33–12 | Australia
|
Canada Wales
|
| 13th Place | Japan
|
19–10 | Russia
|
Spain Kenya
|
London
edit| Event | Winners | Score | Finalists | Semi-finalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cup | Scotland
|
12–7 | England
|
Canada (Bronze) United States
|
| 5th Place | South Africa
|
28–17 | Australia
|
Argentina New Zealand
|
| Challenge Trophy | Fiji
|
26–14 | Wales
|
France Kenya
|
| 13th Place | Samoa
|
24–19 | Russia
|
Japan Spain
|
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ "World Rugby". Archived from the original on 2016-12-20.
- ^ "Japan win promotion to 2016-17 Series"
- ^ "HSBC Sevens World Series". Worldrugby.org. 2016-05-23. Retrieved 2016-05-27.
- ^ "HSBC Sevens World Series Standings". World Rugby. Archived from the original on 6 July 2017. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
- ^ Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018 qualification process Archived 2018-06-12 at the Wayback Machine. World Rugby.
- ^ "Men's and women's sevens winners to strike gold". World Rugby.org. 3 October 2016. Archived from the original on 4 October 2016.
- ^ Newman, Beth (19 November 2016). "Big Sevens finals cut to seven minutes". rugby.com.au. Archived from the original on 19 May 2017.