The 2021–22 World Rugby Sevens Series was the 23rd annual series of rugby sevens tournaments for national men's rugby sevens teams. The Sevens Series has been run by World Rugby since 1999.
| 2021–22 World Rugby Sevens | |
|---|---|
| Series XXIII | |
| Hosts | |
| Date | 26 November 2021 – 28 August 2022 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Australia |
| Runners-up |  South Africa |
| Third |  Fiji |
| Series details | |
| Top try scorer |  Terry Kennedy (50) |
| Top point scorer | Dietrich Roache (343) |
← 2021 2022–23 → | |
The series was won by Australia 7s, claiming their first World Series title. Second-placed South Africa opened the competition by winning the first four tournaments, with a 36-match winning streak that lasted until the 2022 Singapore Sevens where they were beaten by the United States in pool play,[1] but they did not make the semifinals in any of the remaining events.
There was no relegation required at the end of the season as the number of core teams was reduced when England, Scotland and Wales were combined to play as Great Britain for the 2022–23 series.[2]
Core teams
editThe core teams remained unchanged from the previous series due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic which curtailed the last two seasons.[3][4] The sixteen core teams qualified to participate in all 2021–22 tournaments were:
- Notes
- ^ Japan did not compete in the 2021 series but had core team status for it after winning the Challenger Series in 2020 [5] and kept that status for 2021–22.
- ^ As there was no relegation in the previous two seasons, Wales retained core status despite being the lowest-placed core team in 2019–20.[6]
Tour venues
editThe schedule for the series was:[7][8]
| Leg | Stadium | City | Dates | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dubai (2 events) | The Sevens | Dubai | 26–27 November 2021 | South Africa
|
| 3–4 December 2021 | South Africa
| |||
| Spain (2 events) | Estadio Ciudad de Málaga | Málaga | 21–23 January 2022 | South Africa
|
| Estadio de La Cartuja | Seville | 28–30 January 2022 | South Africa
| |
| Singapore | National Stadium | Singapore | 9–10 April 2022 | Fiji
|
| Canada | BC Place | Vancouver | 16–17 April 2022[a] |  Argentina
|
| France | Stade Ernest-Wallon[10] | Toulouse | 20–22 May 2022 | Fiji
|
| England | Twickenham Stadium | London | 28–29 May 2022 | Australia
|
| United States | Dignity Health Sports Park | Los Angeles | 27–28 August 2022[b] |  New Zealand
|
- Notes
Standings
editDue to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, World Rugby revised the method used for the series standings in the interest of fairness to teams not able to participate in all rounds of the 2021–22 season.[11] This system excluded the two lowest-scored rounds from each team in the final standings. So, with nine tournaments in the series, only the best seven tournament results for each team contributed to the ranking points.[11]
The points awarded to teams at each event, as well as the overall season totals, are shown in the table below. Points for the event winners are indicated in bold. An asterisk (*) indicates a tied placing. An obelisk (†) is recorded in the event column where a low-scoring round is excluded from a core team's ranking points. A dash (—) is recorded where a team did not compete.
| Pos |
Event Team
|
 Dubai I |
Dubai II |
 Málaga |
Seville |
 Singapore |
 Vancouver |
 Toulouse |
 London |
 Los Angeles |
Total points |
Ranking points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australia
|
13† | 19 | 15 | 19 | 17 | 17 | 10† | 22 | 17 | 149 | 126 |
| 2 | South Africa
|
22 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 10 | 13 | 5† | 13 | 3† | 132 | 124 |
| 3 | Fiji[a]
|
15 | 8 | —1† | —† | 22 | 19 | 22 | 17 | 19 | 123 | 122 |
| 4 | Argentina
|
17 | 17 | 19 | 17 | 13† | 22 | 13 | 8† | 13 | 139 | 118 |
| 5 | Ireland
|
11 | 10† | 10 | 15 | 15 | 8† | 19 | 12 | 10 | 110 | 92 |
| 6 | United States
|
19 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 3† | 10 | 7† | 10 | 97 | 87 |
| 7 | France
|
8† | 15 | 13 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 17 | 5† | 8 | 94 | 81 |
| 8 | New Zealand[b]
|
—† | —† | — | — | 19 | 12 | 8 | 19 | 22 | 80 | 80 |
| 9 |  Samoa[a]
|
—† | —† | — | —1 | 10 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 71 | 71[c] |
| 10 | England[d]
|
—4† | —5 | 17 | 12 | 3† | 10 | 12 | 10 | 5 | 78 | 71[c] |
| 11 | Spain
|
7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 2† | 5 | 10 | 1† | 54 | 51 |
| 12 |  Kenya
|
10 | 12 | 1† | 8 | 5 | 1† | 1 | 1 | 12 | 51 | 49 |
| 13 |  Scotland[d]
|
—4† | —5 | 5 | 10 | 1† | 5 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 49 | 44 |
| 14 | Canada
|
6 | 5 | 10 | 2 | 1† | 7 | 1† | 3 | 1† | 36 | 34[e] |
| 15 |  Wales[d]
|
—4 | —5 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 2† | 1† | 5 | 37 | 34[e] |
| 16 |  Japan
|
5 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 2† | 1† | 3 | 2 | 2 | 29 | 26 |
| 17 |  Great Britain[d]
|
12 | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 25 | 25 |
| 18 |  Germany
|
— | — | 5 | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | 10 | 10 |
| 19 |  Jamaica
|
— | — | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | 3 |
Source: World Rugby
Legend No colour Core team Yellow Invited team
- Notes
- ^ a b Fiji and Samoa did not play in the two tournaments in Spain following positive COVID-19 tests in their squads.[12][13] As Fiji was not replaced in the schedule for Málaga [14] and Samoa not replaced for Seville,[15] their opponents advanced by walkover in those tournaments. As such, Fiji finished equal-last in Málaga and received one point in the season standings.[16] Similarly, Samoa finished equal-last in Seville and received one point in the season standings.[16]
- ^ New Zealand missed the first four tournaments due to travel logistics and travel-related restrictions from the COVID-19 pandemic.
- ^ a b Tie-breaker margin of points scored for and against (from all matches in only the best seven tournaments for each team, respectively): Samoa +125, England –115.[17]
- ^ a b c d England, Scotland and Wales were represented by Great Britain in the first two events held in Dubai. For the remaining events, they competed as separate national unions.[8] Each team received one-third of the points earned by Great Britain in the first two rounds: four points each for Dubai I, five points each for Dubai II.[16]
- ^ a b Tie-breaker margin of points scored for and against (from all matches in only the best seven tournaments for each team, respectively): Canada –289, Wales –322.[17]
Placings summary
editTallies of top-four placings in tournaments during the 2021–22 series, by team:
| Team |  Gold
|
 Silver
|
 Bronze
|
Fourth | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Africa
|
4 | — | — | — | 4 |
| Fiji
|
2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| Australia
|
1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
| New Zealand
|
1 | 2 | — | — | 3 |
| Argentina
|
1 | 1 | 3 | — | 5 |
| Ireland
|
— | 1 | — | 2 | 3 |
| United States
|
— | 1 | — | — | 1 |
| France
|
— | — | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| England
|
— | — | 1 | — | 1 |
| Samoa
|
— | — | — | 4 | 4 |
Player statistics
editDream Team
edit| Nick Malouf Luciano González Rizzoni Zain Davids Marcos Moneta Waisea Nacuqu Terry Kennedy Corey Toole
|
Reference:[18]
Scoring
edit
|
|
Updated: 29 August 2022
Performance
edit
|
Key: T = Tackles (1 pt), B = Line breaks (3 pts), O = Offloads (2 pts), C = Carries (1 pt) |
Updated: 29 August 2022
Tournaments
editDubai I
edit| Event | Winners | Score | Finalists | Semifinalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cup | South Africa
|
42–7 | United States
|
Argentina (Bronze)
|
| 5th Place | Australia
|
35–21 | Great Britain
|
Ireland (7th)
|
| 9th Place | France
|
28–26 | Spain
|
Canada (11th)
|
Dubai II
edit| Event | Winners | Score | Finalists | Semifinalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cup | South Africa
|
10–7 | Australia
|
Argentina (Bronze)
|
| 5th Place | Great Britain
|
10–5 | Kenya
|
United States (7th)
|
| 9th Place | Fiji
|
31–7 | Spain
|
Japan (11th)
|
Malaga
edit| Event | Winners | Score | Finalists | Semifinalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cup | South Africa
|
24–17 | Argentina
|
England (Bronze)
|
| 5th Place | France
|
28–12 | United States
|
Ireland
|
| 9th Place | Spain
|
34–5 | Wales
|
Scotland
|
| 13th Place | Japan
|
29–24 | Jamaica
|
Kenya
|
Seville
edit| Event | Winners | Score | Finalists | Semifinalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cup | South Africa
|
33–7 | Australia
|
Argentina (Bronze)
|
| 5th Place | United States
|
22–17 | England
|
France
|
| 9th Place | Kenya
|
24–19 | Spain
|
Germany
|
| 13th Place | Wales
|
19–14 | Canada
|
Jamaica
|
Singapore
edit| Event | Winners | Score | Finalists | Semifinalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cup | Fiji
|
28–17 | New Zealand
|
Australia (Bronze)
|
| 5th Place | Argentina
|
42–24 | United States
|
Samoa
|
| 9th Place | France
|
24–19 | Spain
|
Kenya
|
| 13th Place | England
|
28–14 | Japan
|
Canada
|
Vancouver
edit| Event | Winners | Score | Finalists | Semifinalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cup | Argentina
|
29–10 | Fiji
|
Australia (Bronze)
|
| 5th Place | South Africa
|
17–15 | New Zealand
|
England
|
| 9th Place | Ireland
|
17–7 | Canada
|
Scotland
|
| 13th Place | United States
|
33–24 | Spain
|
Japan
|
Toulouse
edit| Event | Winners | Score | Finalists | Semifinalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cup | Fiji
|
29–17 | Ireland
|
France (Bronze)
|
| 5th Place | Argentina
|
21–12 | England
|
Australia
|
| 9th Place | New Zealand
|
42–7 | Scotland
|
South Africa
|
| 13th Place | Japan
|
28–14 | Wales
|
Canada
|
London
edit| Event | Winners | Score | Finalists | Semifinalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cup | Australia
|
19–14 | New Zealand
|
Fiji (Bronze)
|
| 5th Place | South Africa
|
14–5 | Ireland
|
England
|
| 9th Place | Argentina
|
31–5 | United States
|
France
|
| 13th Place | Canada
|
26–19 | Japan
|
Kenya
|
Los Angeles
edit| Event | Winners | Score | Finalists | Semifinalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cup | New Zealand
|
28–21 | Fiji
|
Australia (Bronze)
|
| 5th Place | Argentina
|
29–7 | Kenya
|
Ireland
|
| 9th Place | France
|
33–0 | Scotland
|
England
|
| 13th Place | South Africa
|
26–0 | Japan
|
Spain
|
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Org, Worldrugby. "Singapore set for thrilling finals day as South Africa's sevens winning streak ends".
- ^ "Great Britain Sevens to compete in HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series". World Rugby. 20 July 2022.
- ^ "World Rugby cancels Sevens events in Cape Town and Singapore". ESPN. 4 September 2021. Archived from the original on 4 September 2021.
- ^ "HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series to double-up in Canada and Dubai". World Rugby. 3 September 2021. Archived from the original on 4 September 2021.
- ^ "Plans revised for HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2021". World Rugby. 29 July 2020. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
- ^ "New Zealand awarded titles as HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2020 concluded". World.Rugby. Archived from the original on 7 March 2021. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
- ^ "HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series". World.Rugby. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
- ^ a b "HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2022 schedule unveiled". World Rugby. 12 October 2021.
- ^ a b "New dates for Vancouver and Los Angeles in HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2022". World Rugby. 20 January 2022.
- ^ "Toulouse to host World Rugby Sevens date". Barrons. 12 October 2021.
- ^ a b "Everything you need to know about the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2022". World Rugby. 1 December 2021. Archived from the original on 1 December 2021.
- ^ Naivalurua, Navitalai (21 January 2022). "Fiji Men's and Women's 7s teams pull out of Spain tournaments". Fiji Village.
- ^ "Manu Samoa 7s Pulled Out of Spain Due to High Number of Covid Positive Results". Samoa Global News. 17 January 2022. Archived from the original on 17 January 2022.
- ^ "Malaga: Pools". World Rugby. Archived from the original on 23 January 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
- ^ "Men's HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series Seville: Fixures and results". Retrieved 28 January 2022.
- ^ a b c "Men's Standings". world.rugby. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
- ^ a b DHL Highlights HSBC LA Sevens Day Two (Television production). World Rugby. 28 May 2022. Event occurs at 8:25.
- ^ "Moneta and González Rizzoni named to 7s Series Dream Team". americas rugby news. 29 August 2022. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
- ^ "DHL Impact Player". World Rugby. Archived from the original on 28 November 2021.
- ^ @WorldRugby7s (December 4, 2021). "What a list of Sevens talent! @DHLRugby" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "DHL Impact Player". World Rugby. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022.
- ^ "DHL Impact Player". World Rugby. Archived from the original on 1 February 2022.
- ^ @WorldRugby7s (April 10, 2022). "An integral day two performance from @Aussie7s' Corey Toole, gave him the edge to lead the #ImpactPlayer standings in Singapore @DHLRugby" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "DHL Impact Player". World Rugby. 18 April 2022. Archived from the original on 18 April 2022.
- ^ "Kenya 7s duo ranked among top impact players in Toulouse 7s". Scrummage. 22 May 2022. Retrieved 22 March 2024.