Rugby Sevens

Rugby Sevens: Spain Wins Women’s Olympic Repechage Tournament

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Spain went undefeated to win the 2016 Women’s Rugby Sevens Olympic Repechage Tournament. 16 nations were split into four groups of four with the top two advancing to the quarter-final. The winner of the tournament qualified as the final team to the Olympics. The Women’s Rugby Sevens Olympic Repechage Tournament was held in Dublin, Ireland from June 25th to June 26th 2016.

Pool A was dominated by Russia as they defeated all three of their opponents scoring more than 47 points each and conceding none. Second place of the group went to Samoa as they defeated Zimbabwe and Madagascar 57-5 and 22-10 respectively. Madagascar finished third by defeating Zimbabwe 19-17.

Pool B was similarly dominated by Spain whom defeated their opponents by a combined score of 121-0.  Tunisia also advanced to the quarter-final with 22-0 and 17-10 victories over Mexico and Venezuela respectively. Since Mexico and Venezuela tied 5-5 in their match third place was decided through point differential where Venezuela’s -52 prevailed over Mexico’s -60.

Pool C had China and Ireland score two victories over Portugal and Trinidad and Tobago to set up a deciding match between the two. Ireland would win the match and the group with a 12-0 victory over China. Portugal finished the group in third place with a 42-0 victory over Trinidad and Tobago.

In Pool D Kazakhstan was the least dominant of the pool winners though finished with a +47 point differential. Argentina finished second in the group after narrow 17-12 and 17-15 victories against Cook Islands and Hong Kong respectively. For third place, since Cook Islands and Hong Kong tied 12-12 in their match third place was decided through point differential where Hong Kong’s -11 was just enough to finish ahead of Cook Islands’ -12.

The quarter-final had the group winners all come out victorious and without conceding a point as Russia defeated Argentina 34-0, Ireland defeated Tunisia 38-0, Kazakhstan defeated Samoa 26-0 and Spain defeated China 21-0. The semi-final between Russia and Ireland was close as Russia at times required to play defense, but were able to prevail with a 19-10 victory. Spain booked its spot to the final with a 28-0 victory over Kazakhstan. The final was also an even affair, but it was Spain whom did just enough to win the match and a spot at the Olympics via a 19-12 victory over Russia. Ireland finished third with a 17-5 victory over Kazakhstan.

This was the final opportunity for nations to qualify in rugby sevens. We now know the 12 men and 12 women teams which will compete when rugby sevens makes its debut at the Olympics.

 

Tournament Rankings

  • 1. Spain
  • 2. Russia
  • 3. Ireland
  • 4. Kazakhstan
  • 5. China
  • 6. Argentina
  • 7. Samoa
  • 7. Tunisia
  • 9. Cook Islands
  • 10. Hong Kong
  • 11. Portugal
  • 11. Venezuela
  • 13. Madagascar
  • 14. Zimbabwe
  • 15. Mexico
  • 15. Trinidad and Tobago

 

References

Rugby Sevens: Spain Wins Repechage Tournament to Book its Spot to the Olympics

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In a bit of an upset Spain grabbed the final quota place at the 2016 Men’s Rugby Sevens Final Olympic Qualification Tournament. The 16 team tournament contained four groups of four teams where the top two advanced to the quarter-final. The winner of the tournament qualified to the Olympics. The Men’s Rugby Sevens Final Olympic Qualification Tournament was held in Fontvieille, Monaco from June 18th to June 19th 2016.

Pool A was considered to be the group of death. Rugby Sevens World Series core team Samoa suffered a 27-21 upset against Ireland as the team went on to win all three games. Samoa would also qualify to the quarter-final as they defeated Tonga and Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe finished third with a 21-14 victory over Tonga.

Pool B was dominated by Canada and Germany as the two teams easily dispatched Sri Lanka and Uruguay. It was thought Canada would safely win the group, but the core team suffered a shock 21-19 defeat to Germany in the final match of the group as both teams advanced to the quarter-final. Uruguay finished third with a 40-14 victory over Sri Lanka.

In Pool C World Series core member Russia struggled in their first two matches where they defeated Morocco and Tunisia 26-19 and 24-12 respectively. They would however, perform up to their ability against Chile in the final match of the group where they won 26-0. Chile also advanced to the quarter-final with victories over Morocco and Tunisia. Morocco would finish third in the group with a 19-14 victory over Tunisia.

Pool D saw Hong Kong and Spain win their first two matches against Mexico and South Korea. Hong Kong would end up winning the group in a 19-0 match as both teams advanced to the quarter-final. South Korea finished in third with a 42-12 victory over Mexico.

The quarter-final matches began with two close matches as both Spain and Russia narrowly defeated Ireland and Canada 12-7 and 14-12 respectively. Samoa was able to recover from its day 1 poor performance as it defeated Hong Kong 31-12 while Germany also advanced to the semi-final in a 26-0 win over Chile.

Spain was the first nation to book its spot to the final as they defeated Russia 17-12. Samoa also qualified to the final with a 26-14 victory over Germany. The final was a close affair with both teams looking like they could win, but it was Spain which did just enough to secure the 22-19 win and qualify to the Olympics.

This was the final opportunity for nations to qualify to the Olympics in the men’s tournament. This was a heart-break particularly for Samoa as rugby sevens was seen as their best opportunity to win their first Olympic medal.

 

Tournament Rankings

  •  1. Spain
  • 2. Samoa
  • 3. Russia
  • 4. Germany
  • 5. Canada
  • 6. Hong Kong
  • 7. Chile
  • 7. Ireland
  • 9. Zimbabwe
  • 10. Tonga
  • 11. Morocco
  • 11. Uruguay
  • 13. South Korea
  • 14.Sri Lanka
  • 15. Mexico
  • 15. Tunisia

 

References

Rugby Sevens: South Africa Women Withdraws, Kenya Women In

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South Africa has formally withdrew its spot in the rugby sevens women’s tournament at the Olympics. This development is not surprising as the nation has tough qualification rules where their athletes cannot qualify through continental qualification events. The same thing has happened earlier to their field hockey teams and it could happen to their men’s football team as their qualification rules state that they must win the continental tournament because their is no world qualification phase.

The women’s spot has been to reallocated to the next highest ranked team at the African qualification tournament, Kenya. This also boosts Madagascar into the final qualification tournament to be held in 2016.

Reference

Rugby Sevens: Japan’s Women Win Asian Olympic Qualifier Series

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Japan’s women will compete in rugby seven’s debut at the Olympics after they won the Women’s Asian Sevens Qualifier Series. The six team round robin championships were held over two legs where the nation with the best combined ranking will be given a spot to compete at the Olympics. The first tournament was held in Hong Kong, China from November 7th to November 8th 2015 while the second tournament was held in Tokyo, Japan from November 28th to November 29th 2015.

The first tournament began with a narrow 7-5 victory of Japan over Kazakhstan. The first upset came at the hands of China as they were defeated 5-0 by Hong Kong. A 22-0 loss to Kazakhstan essentially ended China’s hopes for a final appearance, but they were able to get a consolation victory over Japan as they won the match 12-5. The final between Japan and Kazakhstan was an easier affair relative to their first match as Japan won the first leg by a score of 22-0. Hong Kong would repeat their shocking victory in the third place final as they took the bronze medal via a score of 12-7.

The second tournament went similarly as the first. Both Japan and Kazakhstan essentially booked a spot to the final by defeating China 20-7 and 14-0 respectively. In a reverse from the previous tournament China was able to defeat Hong Kong 17-7 while Kazakhstan caused a bit of an upset by defeating Japan 7-5 in the final game of the round robin. In the cup final Japan was able to put away its loss as they booked their spot to the Olympics by winning the second tournament over Kazakhstan 14-7. China repeated its round robin performance to defeat Hong Kong 19-10 for the bronze medal.

11 out of the 12 teams are now known for rugby sevens’ debut in 2016. The final spot will be decided at the final Olympic qualification tournament to be decided in 2016. Kazakhstan, China and Hong Kong will get a second chance and will compete in that tournament.

 

Tournament Leaderboard

  • Japan – 40
  • Kazakhstan – 36
  • China – 32
  • Hong Kong – 32
  • Sri Lanka – 22
  • Guam – 22

 

References

 

Rugby Sevens: Kenya Wins Men’s African Championship

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A comeback win for Kenya was needed to secure their second title at the 2015 Men’s African Sevens Championship. The tournament contained 12 teams split into three groups where the top eight performers advanced to the quarterfinals. The winner will be given a spot to compete at the Olympics. The Men’s African Sevens Championship was held in Johannesburg, South Africa from November 14th to November 15th 2015.

With South Africa already previously qualified fellow World Series core member Kenya was the big favourite. Kenya showed why it was considered the favourite by winning Group A by a combined score of 123-5. Madagascar had a great start by defeating Senegal 33-7, but a 29-27 loss to Mauritius spelt trouble for them. However, Senegal would go on to defeat Mauritius 19-17 which caused Madagascar to advance to the quarterfinals. Sadly Senegal was the odd third place team out and did not advance to the quarterfinals.

Group B was similarly dominated by Zimbabwe as they won all three matches by a combined score of 122-12. Uganda was able to secure second place by defeating Nigeria in a closely contested match 19-12. Nigeria also advanced to the quarterfinals by dispatching Zambia 19-14.

Group C was considered to be debatable between Morocco, Namibia and Tunisia. In the end it was Namibia which topped the group with wins over Morocco and Tunisia by scores of 24-21 and 45-10 respectively. Tunisia secured second place by defeating Morocco 21-17. Morocco advanced as one of the best third place teams as they defeated Botswana, 38-5.

Kenya and Zimbabwe were able to win their quarterfinals with ease as they defeated Madagascar and Nigeria 41-0 and 31-10 respectively. Tunisia won by a try over Uganda 19-14 while Morocco got a bit of revenge from its group stage loss by defeating Namibia in a tight score of 17-15. Kenya and Zimbabwe continued their strong showing at this championship by winning their semifinals 42-12 and 26-0 against Tunisia and Morocco respectively. The final was a very close affair when Zimbabwe took the lead towards the end of the match. Kenya would respond with a last second try to win the tournament and a spot at the Olympics by a score of 21-17. Morocco took the bronze medal by a score of 19-12.

This was the first Kenyan team to qualify to the Olympics since the women’s volleyball team back in 2004. Zimbabwe, Morocco and Tunisia will all have a final chance to qualify to the Olympics at the final Olympic qualifier to be held in 2016.

Tournament Rankings

  1. Kenya
  2. Zimbabwe
  3. Morocco
  4. Tunisia
  5. Namibia
  6. Madagascar
  7. Uganda
  8. Nigeria
  9. Botswana
  10. Mauritius
  11. Senegal
  12. Zambia

References

Rugby Sevens: Australia and Fiji Win Oceania Sevens Championship

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The Australian men and Fijian women booked their spots to the Olympics by winning the 2015 Oceania Sevens Championships. The men’s tournament was an 8-team tournament with two groups where all teams advanced to the quarterfinals while the women’s tournament was a 5-team tournament with a single group where teams attempted to qualify to the semifinals. The winner of both tournaments was given a spot to compete at the Olympics. The Oceania Sevens Championship was held in Auckland, New Zealand from November 14th to November 15th 2015.

In the men’s tournament Fiji and New Zealand did not compete as they had already qualified previously. In Group A it was a dominant display by Australia as they topped the group with a combined score of 159-7. Tonga grabbed the second seed with its win over the Cook Islands and debutant Nauru.

Group B was similarly dominated by Samoa, though their final group game against Papua New Guinea was initially close until Samoa blew open the floodgates to win the match 41-7. Papua New Guinea finished second in the group with a dominant display over the Solomon Islands and American Samoa.

The quarterfinals were largely uneventful as the favourites all won, but Papua New Guinea struggled to distance itself against the Cook Islands, winning the match 19-7. A major upset occurred in the semifinals when Tonga defeated World Series core member Samoa in a 41-5 blowout to reach the final. Australia booked the other spot to the final with a strong 36-0 win over Papua New Guinea. Australia continued its fine form in the finals where they defeated Tonga 50-0 to qualify to the Olympics. Samoa won the third place match 54-0.

In the women’s tournament Australia and New Zealand did not compete as they had already qualified previously. As the only remaining World Series core team Fiji dominated the group with a combined score of 204-0. The Cook Islands finished second in the group as they were able to score a narrow win over Samoa as they won by a score of 19-7. Tonga was the nation eliminated as they lost 20-5 against Papua New Guinea.

Fiji booked its spot to the final with a 40-0 win over Papua New Guinea while Samoa got a matter of revenge over the Cook Islands by narrowly winning 17-15. Fiji was able to finish the tournament without conceding a try as they defeated Samoa 55-0 to book its spot to the Olympics. The bronze medal went to the Cook Islands as they defeated Papua New Guinea 32-0.

Both Australia and Fiji have now qualified teams in both genders. All is not over for some teams as Tonga and Samoa for the men and Samoa and Cook Islands for the women have all qualified to the final Olympic qualification tournament to be held some time in 2016.

Men’s Tournament Rankings

  1. Australia
  2. Tonga
  3. Samoa
  4. Papua New Guinea
  5. Cook Islands
  6. Solomon Islands
  7. American Samoa
  8. Nauru

Women’s Tournament Rankings

  1. Fiji
  2. Samoa
  3. Cook Islands
  4. Papua New Guinea
  5. Tonga

References

Rugby Sevens: Japan Wins Men’s Asian Sevens Championship

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Japan defeated rivals Hong Kong in the final at the 2015 Asian Men’s Rugby Sevens Championship. 10 teams were split into two groups of five where the top two advanced to the semifinals and the winner of the tournament was given a spot to compete at the Olympics. The Asian Men’s Rugby Sevens Championship was held in Hong Kong, China from November 7th to November 8th 2015.

Japan was untested in Group A where they defeated all teams by at least 30 points on route to scoring 185 points and conceding none. The big match as to which nation will take the second position was between China and South Korea. In a close match South Korea was able to win by a try as they won 19-14 and advance to the semi-finals.

Hong Kong was mostly able to repeat Japan’s feats in Group B, but was put to the test against Sri Lanka where it took a late flurry of tries to widen the lead to a 27-12 win. Sri Lanka comfortably finished second in the group with 24-10 and a smashing 50-5 wins over Malaysia and the Philippines respectively.

In the semi-finals Japan continued its dominant force to defeat Sri Lanka 43-0 while Hong Kong struggled to distant itself in its 19-10 win over South Korea, setting up a final against the two biggest rivals in Asia. Hong Kong’s relative struggles finally surfaced in the second half of the final as Japan was soon able to take control of the match and while Hong Kong gave them the stiffest competition Japan ultimately won the title and Olympic qualification 24-10. South Korea won the third place match 26-21.

Hong Kong, South Korea and Sri Lanka will all have one more opportunity to qualify to the Olympics at the final Olympic qualification tournament to be held in 2016.

Tournament Rankings

  1. Japan
  2. Hong Kong
  3. South Korea
  4. Sri Lanka
  5. China
  6. Malaysia
  7. Philippines
  8. Singapore
  9. Chinese Taipei
  10. Iran

References

Rugby Sevens: South Africa’s Women Power Through to African Title

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South Africa continued its dominance of women’s rugby sevens in Africa by winning the 2015 Women’s Rugby Sevens African Championship. The 10 team tournament was split into two groups of five teams where the top two advance to the semifinals. The winner of the tournament was given a spot to compete at the Olympics. The Women’s Rugby Sevens African Championship was held in Johannesburg, South Africa from September 26th to September 27th 2015.

Group A was dominated by South Africa as they went undefeated and did not concede a try. Zimbabwe was the runner-up comfortably defeating their other opponents, but they fell to South Africa in a 33-0 match.

Group B was won by Kenya whom also went undefeated in group play. There was almost an upset early in the group stage as Madagascar pushed Tunisia to the limit. In the end Tunisia won the match 15-12. The other big match was between Tunisia and Kenya where Kenya used the 19-7 win to ultimately win the group.

In the semifinals both South Africa and Kenya won their matches comfortably against Tunisia and Zimbabwe as they won 34-0 and 39-0 respectively to advance to the finals. In the final Kenya became the first team to score a try against South Africa as they took an early lead. The lead was short-lived though as South Africa took control of the match to win and qualify to the Olympics with a score of 31-5. Tunisia won the bronze medal by defeating Zimbabwe 33-0.

While South Africa recently lost its core status for the women’s World Series they will use the next year to improve their fitness and show that they belong among the top nations. For the other three semi-finalists they will all get a second chance to qualify to the Olympics at the final Olympic qualification tournament to be held in 2016.

Tournament Rankings

  1. South Africa
  2. Kenya
  3. Tunisia
  4. Zimbabwe
  5. Madagascar
  6. Senegal
  7. Uganda
  8. Namibia
  9. Botswana
  10. Zambia

References

Rugby Sevens: France Sweeps 2015 Men’s European Grand Prix Series

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France’s men’s rugby sevens team has qualified to the Olympics by being the top ranked nation from the Men’s 2015 Rugby Sevens European Grand Prix Series. The Grand Prix is a series of rugby seven tournaments where nations receive points based on their performance. The three-legged, 12 team tournaments were held in Moscow, Russia from June 6th to 7th, Lyon, France from June 13th to 14th and Exeter, Great Britain from July 11th to 12th 2015. The team with the most points qualifies to the Olympics. The exception would be England and Wales as they cannot qualify since Great Britain has already qualified.

In the first tournament world core teams France, Portugal and the newly promoted Russia all finished the first day with perfect records. In the quarterfinals France and Russia won their matches easily, but Portugal lost to Spain in a narrow 15-14 decision. England was the fourth semi-finalist. France and Russia continued their perfect run as they defeated England and Spain respectively to meet in the final. The final was initially close with France taking a 14-12 lead going into the half, but they were able to take over the match, winning it 40-17.

The second tournament had France and Spain finish with perfect records, but it was Belgium that was the talk of the group stage. With victories over core teams Wales and Russia and a draw against England they were able to top Group B. Belgium’s fortune continued as they defeated Italy 12-0 to reach the semifinals while Germany caused an upset of their own by defeating Russia 17-10. France and Spain however maintained their perfect records by defeating Portugal and Lithuania respectively in the quarterfinals before beating Germany and Belgium in the semifinals. The first half of the finals was a tight affair with both teams displaying their defensive capabilities. Spain led after the first half 7-5, however, three unanswered tries in the second gave France its second win as they won 20-7.

Needing only a semi-final appearance to clinch the Olympic quota France along with England and Russia finished undefeated at the end of the group stage in the third tournament. France officially clinched its spot to the Olympics with a 31-5 win over Wales in the quarterfinals. They were joined by Germany, Spain and England as they defeated Georgia, Russia and Lithuania respectively. France reached its third consecutive final by defeating Germany 24-5 where a third team challenged them for the title, this time England as they defeat Spain 19-0. France defeated England in a close 14-5 match as they swept the entire Grand Prix Series where they remained undefeated throughout the three tournaments.

By finishing second in the overall rankings Spain has qualified to the final Olympic qualification tournament. The other teams, with the exception of England and Wales will compete in a repechage tournament next week with Poland, Ukraine, Latvia and Ireland to determine the three teams that will join Spain in the final Olympic qualification tournament.

Grand Prix Rankings

  1. France – 60
  2. Spain – 50
  3. England – 44
  4. Russia – 38
  5. Germany – 38
  6. Portugal – 24
  7. Wales – 22
  8. Belgium – 20
  9. Lithuania – 17
  10. Georgia – 14
  11. Italy – 11
  12. Romania – 4

References

Rugby Sevens: France Wins Women’s Grand Prix Sevens

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France’s women’s rugby seven team booked its spot to the Olympics after winning the overall title from the Women’s Grand Prix Sevens. The Grand Prix Sevens consisted of two 12 team competitions where nations are given ranking points based on their performance. The first competition was held in Kazan, Russia from June 13th to June 14th 2015 while the second event was held in Malemort, France from June 20th to June 21st 2015. The team with the most points qualified to the Olympics while the second place team qualified to the final Olympic qualifying tournament. While England, Wales and Scotland competed at the grand prix they cannot qualify to the Olympics as Great Britain has already qualified.

The group stage of the first competition went as expected with World Seven Series core teams England, France and Russia winning all of their matches. All three along with fellow core team Spain reached the semifinals. In the end Russia and France powered through Spain and England respectively to reach the final. In the final France took an early lead of 10-7 at the half. Russia however using the points it gained through successful conversions was able to come back and win the first tournament 19-15.

The group stage for the second competition was going as expected until Netherlands upset France in the final game winning, 20-10. The upset caused France and Russia to meet each other in the semifinals. Like in their first match France went into an early lead, leading 14-5 at half-time. However Russia was unable to come back a second time as France won the match 14-10. France met Spain at the final and with Russia winning the third place match France needed to win the tournament if they wanted to qualify to the Olympics. France was able to do just that by shutting out Spain with a score of 20-0.

While Russia just missed out in qualifying to the Olympics they will have another chance at the final qualification tournament. All the other nations that competed at the Grand Prix, minus England, Wales and Scotland will compete at the repechage tournament with other European nations to determine the other three teams that will join Russia at the final qualification tournament.

Grand Prix Rankings

  1. France – 38
  2. Russia – 36
  3. Spain – 32
  4. England – 30
  5. Ireland – 24
  6. Netherlands – 20
  7. Wales – 14
  8. Italy – 9
  9. Ukraine – 8
  10. Portugal – 7
  11. Scotland – 6
  12. Germany – 4

References