The 2008–09 IRB Sevens World Series

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, and also sometimes called the World Sevens Series, is a series of international rugby union sevens tournaments organised for the first time in the...

 was the tenth of an annual series of rugby union sevens tournaments for full national sides run by the International Rugby Board since 1999–2000. South Africa

South Africa national rugby union team (sevens)

The South African national rugby union sevens team compete in the World Sevens Series, the Rugby World Cup Sevens and the Commonwealth Games.-Current squad:2011–12 IRB Sevens World Series 14-man squad :#Cecil Afrika...

 clinched the 2008-09 World Series on Day 1 of the Edinburgh Sevens, its first Series title. The defending series champions were New Zealand

New Zealand national rugby union team (sevens)

The New Zealand national rugby union sevens team is the New Zealand representative team in rugby union sevens and competes in the IRB Sevens World Series, Rugby World Cup Sevens and the Commonwealth Games.-IRB Sevens:...

, who won the 2007–08 series by winning the season's first 5 tournaments. New Zealand won the 2007–08 series with one tournament remaining after winning the Plate Final of the London leg.[1]

Sevens is a stripped-down version of rugby union, with seven players on each side rather than fifteen. Games are much shorter, seven or ten minutes each half, and tend to be very fast-paced. Sevens is traditionally played in a two-day tournament format. However, the most famous event, the Hong Kong Sevens, is played over three days, largely because it involves 24 teams instead of the normal 16. Starting in 2008–09, the Australia leg (which involves the normal 16 teams) was spread out over a three-day period.

The series' tournaments are identical to 2007–2008 and span the globe: |- bgcolor="#efefef"
! colspan=4 style="border-right:0px;"; | 2008-09 Itinerary
|- bgcolor="#efefef"
! width=8%|Leg
! width=10%|Venue
! width=8%|Date
! width=5%|Winner
|-
>

Dubai 2008 Dubai Sevens The Emirates Airline Dubai Sevens is played annually as part of the IRB Sevens World Series for international rugby sevens . The 2008 competition was held on November 28 and November 29 at The Sevens, a brand-new facility built to host the 2009 Rugby World Cup Sevens. It was the first of eight...

The Sevens The Sevens (stadium) The Sevens, also written as "7he Sevens", is a purpose-built rugby sevens stadium in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.It was the venue for the first HSBC A5N Youth Rugby Festival in February 2009.-External links:* * *...

November 28–29, 2008

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South Africa 2008 South Africa Sevens The Emirates Airlines South Africa Sevens is played annually as part of the IRB Sevens World Series for international rugby sevens...

Outeniqua Park Outeniqua Park Outeniqua Park is a multi-purpose stadium in George, South Africa. It is currently used mostly for rugby union matches and was the home stadium of the South African leg of the IRB Sevens World Series from 2001 through 2010, after which it moved to Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth.The... , George George, Western Cape George is a city with 203,253 inhabitants in South Africa's Western Cape province. The city is a popular holiday and conference centre and the administrative and commercial hub of the Garden Route.- Location :...

December 5–6, 2008

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New Zealand 2009 Wellington Sevens The NZI Wellington Sevens is played annually as part of the IRB Sevens World Series for international rugby sevens...

Westpac Stadium Westpac Stadium Westpac Stadium, is a major sporting venue in Wellington, New Zealand. Due to its shape and silver coloured external walls, it is colloquially known as The Cake-Tin to the locals and other New Zealanders... , Wellington Wellington Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...

February 6–7, 2009

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United States 2009 USA Sevens The USA Sevens is played annually as part of the IRB Sevens World Series for international rugby sevens . The 2009 competition, which took place on February 14 and February 15 at PETCO Park in San Diego, California, was the fourth Cup trophy in the 2008-09 IRB Sevens World Series.This was the last...

PETCO Park PETCO Park Petco Park is an open-air ballpark in downtown San Diego, California, USA. It opened in 2004, replacing Qualcomm Stadium as the home park of Major League Baseball's San Diego Padres. Before then, the Padres shared Qualcomm Stadium with the NFL's San Diego Chargers... , San Diego, California

February 14–15, 2009

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Hong Kong 2009 Hong Kong Sevens The Hong Kong Sevens, referred to as the Cathay Pacific Credit Suisse Hong Kong Sevens for sponsorship reasons, is the 5th stop on the IRB Sevens World Series. The 2009 event was played between the 27–29 March, and was won by Fiji...

Hong Kong Stadium Hong Kong Stadium Hong Kong Stadium is the main sports venue of Hong Kong. Redeveloped from the old Government Stadium it reincarnated as Hong Kong Stadium in 1994...

March 27–29, 2009

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Australia 2009 Adelaide Sevens The Adelaide Sevens, is played annually as part of the IRB Sevens World Series for international rugby sevens...

Adelaide Oval Adelaide Oval The Adelaide Oval is a sports ground in Adelaide, South Australia, located in the parklands between the Central Business District and North Adelaide... , Adelaide Adelaide Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...

April 3–5, 2009

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London 2009 London Sevens The London Sevens is played annually as part of the IRB Sevens World Series for international rugby sevens . The 2009 competition took place on May 23 and May 24 in London, England, and was the seventh Cup trophy in the 2008-09 IRB Sevens World Series...

Twickenham Twickenham Stadium Twickenham Stadium is a stadium located in Twickenham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is the largest rugby union stadium in the United Kingdom and has recently been enlarged to seat 82,000...

May 23–24, 2009

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Scotland 2009 Edinburgh Sevens The Edinburgh Sevens is played annually as part of the IRB Sevens World Series for international rugby sevens...

Murrayfield Murrayfield Stadium Murrayfield Stadium is a sports stadium located in the west end of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Its all-seater capacity was recently reduced from 67,800 to 67,130 to incorporate the largest permanent "big screen" in the country though it still remains the largest stadium in Scotland and one... , Edinburgh Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

May 30–31, 2009

The 2009 Rugby World Cup Sevens

2009 Rugby World Cup Sevens

The 2009 Rugby Sevens World Cup was the fifth edition of the Rugby sevens world cup. The International Rugby Board selected Dubai in the United Arab Emirates as the host venue for the tournament ahead of bids from four other countries. The format included nine direct qualifiers and a further...

 is not a part of the 2008-09 series. Unlike the 2005 edition

2005 Rugby World Cup Sevens

-The winning team::Fiji national rugby sevens team*Waisale Serevi*Sireli Bobo*Vilimoni Delasau*William Ryder*Marika Vunibaka*Semisi Naevo*Nasoni Roko*Ifereimi Rawaqa*Jone Daunivucu*Lepani Nabuliwaqa*Norman Ligairi*Viliame Satala*Apolosi Satala...

 held in Hong Kong, the 2009 edition did not replace one of the 2008-09 series events. The World Cup was held in Dubai from March 5–7, 2009 and won by Wales

Wales national rugby union team (sevens)

The Wales national rugby union sevens team is the international rugby sevens side for Welsh rugby union players. They currently compete in the IRB Sevens World Series, the Rugby World Cup Sevens and in the Commonwealth Games....

.

Core teams

Prior to the season, the IRB announced the 12 "core teams" that would receive guaranteed berths in each event in the 2008–09 series:

The one new core team was the USA, which replaced its neighbor Canada

Canada national rugby union team (sevens)

The Canadian national rugby union sevens team compete in the IRB Sevens World Series, Rugby World Cup Sevens, Pan American Games and the Commonwealth Games.-Current squad:12-man squad for the 2011 Dubai Sevens:-See also:* World Sevens Series...

.

Points schedule

The season championship is determined by points earned in each tournament. For most events, points are awarded on the following schedule:

• Cup winner (1st place): 20 points
• Cup runner-up (2nd place): 16 points
• Losing Cup semifinalists (3rd & 4th place): 12 points
• Plate winner (5th place): 8 points
• Plate runner-up (6th place): 6 points
• Losing Plate semifinalists (7th & 8th place): 4 points
• Bowl winner (9th place): 2 points

Points are awarded on a different schedule for the Hong Kong Sevens:

• Cup winner (1st place): 30 points
• Cup runner-up (2nd place): 24 points
• Losing Cup semifinalists (3rd & 4th place): 18 points
• Losing Cup quarterfinalists (5th, 6th, 7th & 8th place): 8 points
• Plate winner (9th place): 4 points
• Plate runner-up (10th place): 3 points
• Losing Plate semifinalists (11th & 12th place): 2 points
• Bowl winner (17th place): 1 point

Tournament structure

In all tournaments except Hong Kong, 16 teams participate. Due to its place as the sports most prestigious annual event, the Hong Kong tournament as 24 teams. 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. The first tiebreaker is the head-to-head result between the tied teams, followed by difference in points scored during the tournament.

Four trophies are awarded in each tournament, except for Hong Kong. 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 is not awarded. Each trophy is awarded at the end of a knockout tournament.

In a 16 team tournament, 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-place finishers in each pool, while the Shield is contested by the last-place teams from each pool. In Hong Kong, the six pool winners, plus the two highest-finishing second-place teams, advance to the Cup. The Plate participants are the eight highest-ranked teams remaining, while the lowest eight drop to the Bowl.

Table

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|- bgcolor="#efefef"
! colspan=12 style="border-right:0px;"; | 2008-09 Standings
|- bgcolor="#efefef"
! width=5%|Pos.
! Country
! width=8%|Dubai
! width=8%|South Africa
(George)
! width=8%|New Zealand
(Wellington)
! width=8%|USA
(San Diego)
! width=8%|Hong Kong
! width=8%|Australia
(Adelaide)
! width=8%|England
(London)
! width=8%|Scotland
(Edinburgh)
! width=8%|Overall
|-
|| 1 || || 20 || 20 || 8 || 12 || 24 || 20 || 12 || 16 || 132
|-
|| 2 || || 12 || 12 || 4 || 4 || 30 || 12 || 8 || 20 || 102
|-
|| 3 || || 16 || 8 || 20 || 16 || 8 || 8 || 20 || 2 || 98
|-
|| 4 || || 12 || 16 || 16 || 8 || 8 || 4 || 16 || 8 || 88
|-
|| 5 || || 4 || 12 || 12 || 20 || 8 || 12 || 0 || 0 || 68
|-
|| 6 || || 6 || 0 || 12 || 6 || 18 || 16 || 2 || 4 || 64
|-
|| 7 || || 8 || 4 || 0 || 4 || 18 || 2 || 0 || 4 || 40
|-
|| 8 || || 4 || 0 || 0 || 2 || 8 || 6 || 4 || 6 || 30
|-
|| 9= || || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 12 || 12 || 24
|-
|| 9= || || 0 || 0 || 6 || 0 || 2 || 4 || 0 || 12 || 24
|-
|| 11 || || 0 || 4 || 4 || 12 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0|| 20
|-
|| 12 || || 2 || 6 || - || - || 1 || 0 || 6 || 0 || 15
|-
|| 13 || || 0 || 2 || 0 || 0 || 2 || 0 || 4 || 0 || 8
|-
|| 14 || || - || - || 0 || - || 4 || 0 || - || - || 4
|-
|| 15 || || - || - || 0 || 0 || 3 || - || 0 || 0 || 3
|-
|| 16 || || - || - || 2 || - || - || 0 || - || - || 2
|-
|| 17= || || 0 || 0 || - || - || 0 || - || - || - || 0
|-
|| 17= || || - || - || - || 0 || 0 || 0 || - || - || 0
|-
|| 17= || Arabian Gulf

Arabian Gulf rugby union team

The Arabian Gulf rugby union team was a combined team of players from Arab states of Persian Gulf — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates that represented the Arabian Peninsula area in international rugby union competitions...

 || 0 || - || - || - || - || - || - || - || 0
|-
|| 17= || || 0 || 0 || - || - || - || - || 0 || 0|| 0
|-
|| 17= || || - || - || - || - || - || - || 0 || -|| 0
|-
|| 17= || || - || - || 0 || - || - || - || - || - || 0
|-
|| 17= || || - || - || - || 0 || - || - || - || - || 0
|-
|| 17= || || - || 0 || - || - || - || - || - || - || 0
|-
|| 17= || || - || - || - || 0 || 0 || - || - || - || 0
|-
|| 17= || || - || - || - || - || 0 || - || - || - || 0
|-
|| 17= || || - || - || - || - || 0 || - || - || - || 0
|-
|| 17= || || - || - || - || - || 0 || - || - || - || 0
|-
|| 17= || || - || - || - || - || 0 || - || - || - || 0
|-
|| 17= || || - || - || - || - || 0 || - || - || - || 0
|-
|| 17= || || - || - || - || - || 0 || - || - || - || 0
|-
|| 17= || || - || - || - || - || - || - || - || 0 || 0
|-
|}

Individual points

|- bgcolor="#efefef"
! colspan=4 style="border-right:0px;"; | Individual points

|- bgcolor="#efefef"
! width=5%|Pos.
! Player
! Country
! Points
|->

1

Ben Gollings Ben Gollings Ben Gollings is a rugby union footballer who plays fly-half for Rugby Lions and formerly for England Sevens.-Career:...

>-

2

Collins Injera Collins Injera Collins Injera is a rugby player from Kenya. He is known for his achievements with Kenyan national rugby sevens team.- Career :...

>-

3

Richard Kingi

>-

4

Renfred Dazel

>-

5

Lolo Lui Lolo Lui Lolo Lui, is a Samoan rugby union player and the current captain of the Samoa Sevens, champions of the 2009–10 IRB Sevens World Series...

>-

6

Tomasi Cama

>-

7

Pedro Leal Pedro Leal Pedro Leal is a Portuguese international rugby player and a regular on the International Rugby Board World Sevens circuit....

>-

8

Lavin Asego

>-

9

Paul Albaladejo

>-

=10

Ollie Phillips

>-

=10

Mzwandile Stick

161

Individual tries

|- bgcolor="#efefef"
! colspan=4 style="border-right:0px;"; | Individual tries

|- bgcolor="#efefef"
! width=5%|Pos.
! Player
! Country
! Tries
|->

1

Collins Injera Collins Injera Collins Injera is a rugby player from Kenya. He is known for his achievements with Kenyan national rugby sevens team.- Career :...

>-

2=

Ryno Benjamin

>-

2=

Santiago Gomez Cora Santiago Gomez Cora Santiago Gómez Cora is a rugby union sevens player for Argentina . As of June 2008, he holds the all-time record for number of tries scored on the IRB Sevens World Series circuit with 230 tries. Gomez Cora is now a full-back for the Pumas. In March 2008 it was confirmed he would move to Welsh club...

>-

4

Luke Morahan

>-

5

Vereniki Goneva Vereniki Goneva Vereniki Goneva is a Fijian rugby footballer. He plays as a centre or wing.He was first spotted by the Fiji sevens coach, Waisale Serevi playing as a wing for Nadi in the Digicel Cup competition and he was impressed by his workrate and included him in the 2007-08 IRB Sevens World Series and he...

>-

6

Ollie Phillips

>-

7=

Alafoti Fa'osiliva

>-

7=

Renfred Dazel

>-

7=

Robert Ebersohn

>-

7=

Pio Tuwai

>-

7=

Vuyo Zangqa

>-

Dubai

Event	Winners	Score	Finalists	Semi Finalists
Cup		19 - 12
Plate		12 - 7
Bowl		24 - 0
Shield		31 - 7

South Africa

Event	Winners	Score	Finalists	Semi Finalists
Cup		12 - 7
Plate		24 - 7
Bowl		21 - 12
Shield		26 - 0

New Zealand

Event	Winners	Score	Finalists	Semi Finalists
Cup		19 - 17
Plate		26 - 12
Bowl		24 - 10
Shield		24 - 0

USA

Event	Winners	Score	Finalists	Semi Finalists
Cup		19 - 14
Plate		22 - 7
Bowl		40 - 0
Shield		31 - 7

Hong Kong

Event	Winners	Score	Finalists	Semi Finalists	Quarter Finalists
Cup		26 - 24
Plate		14 - 12
Bowl		14 - 12

Australia

Event	Winners	Score	Finalists	Semi Finalists
Cup		26 - 7
Plate		24 - 19
Bowl		35 - 14
Shield		24 - 21

London

Event	Winners	Score	Finalists	Semi Finalists
Cup		31 - 26
Plate		24 - 10
Bowl		12 - 7
Shield		27 - 7

Scotland

Event	Winners	Score	Finalists	Semi Finalists
Cup		20 - 19
Plate		34 - 12
Bowl		26 - 15
Shield		12 - 10

External links

• Official tournament site