2015–16 World Rugby Sevens Series
| 2015–16 World Rugby Sevens | |
|---|---|
| Series XVII | |
| Hosts | |
| Date | 4 Dec 2015 – 22 May 2016 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | File:Flag of Fiji.svg Fiji |
| Runners-up | File:Flag of South Africa.svg South Africa |
| Third | File:Flag of New Zealand.svg New Zealand |
← 2014–15 2016–17 → | |
The 2015–16 World Rugby Sevens Series, known for sponsorship reasons as the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, was the 17th annual series of rugby union sevens tournaments for national men's rugby sevens teams. The Sevens Series has been run by World Rugby since 1999–2000. This season, the series expanded from nine to ten events.[1]
Core teams
Fourteen teams from the 2014-15 season retained core status for the 2015–16 season. A fifteenth team, Russia, claimed core team status for the 2015–16 series at the 2015 Hong Kong Sevens qualifier. The core teams were:
- File:Flag of Argentina.svg Argentina
- File:Flag of Australia (converted).svg Australia
- File:Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada
- File:Flag of England.svg England
- File:Flag of Fiji.svg Fiji
- File:Flag of France.svg France
- File:Flag of Kenya.svg Kenya
- File:Flag of New Zealand.svg New Zealand
- File:Flag of Portugal.svg Portugal
- File:Flag of Russia.svg Russia
- File:Flag of Samoa.svg Samoa
- File:Flag of Scotland.svg Scotland
- File:Flag of South Africa.svg South Africa
- File:Flag of the United States.svg United States
- File:Flag of Wales (1959–present).svg Wales
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Russia replaced Japan, which lost core team status having finished last of the fifteen core teams in the 2014–15 Sevens World Series.
Tour venues
The official schedule for the 2015–16 World Rugby Sevens Series was as follows:[2]
| Leg | Stadium | City | Date | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dubai | The Sevens | Dubai | 4–5 December 2015 | File:Flag of Fiji.svg Fiji |
| South Africa | Cape Town Stadium | Cape Town | 12–13 December 2015 | File:Flag of South Africa.svg South Africa |
| New Zealand | Westpac Stadium | Wellington | 30–31 January 2016 | File:Flag of New Zealand.svg New Zealand |
| Australia | Allianz Stadium | Sydney | 6–7 February 2016 | File:Flag of New Zealand.svg New Zealand |
| United States | Sam Boyd Stadium | Las Vegas | 4–6 March 2016 | File:Flag of Fiji.svg Fiji |
| Canada | BC Place | Vancouver | 12–13 March 2016 | File:Flag of New Zealand.svg New Zealand |
| Hong Kong | Hong Kong Stadium | Hong Kong | 8–10 April 2016 | File:Flag of Fiji.svg Fiji |
| Singapore | National Stadium | Singapore | 16–17 April 2016 | File:Flag of Kenya.svg Kenya |
| France | Stade Jean-Bouin | Paris | 13–15 May 2016 | File:Flag of Samoa.svg Samoa |
| England | Twickenham Stadium | London | 21–22 May 2016 | File:Flag of Scotland.svg Scotland |
Changes
There were three new tournaments in the series, with two events being discontinued:
- The Canada Sevens was a new stop at BC Place in Vancouver, paired with the USA Sevens.[3]
- The Singapore Sevens returned, replacing the Japan Sevens.
- The France Sevens returned for the first time since 2006, replacing the Scotland Sevens.
Two other existing tournaments had venue changes:
- The Australian Sevens moved from Gold Coast to Sydney.[4]
- The South Africa Sevens moved from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town.[5]
Standings
Final standings after completion of the ten tournaments in the series:
Source: World Rugby. Archived [6]
Legend No colour Core team in 2015–16 and re-qualified as a core team for the 2016–17 World Rugby Sevens Series Pink Relegated as the lowest placed core team at the end of the 2015–16 season Yellow Not a core team
Tournaments
Dubai
The opening event of the season saw Fiji starting their defense of the title by taking out the opening event of the season in Dubai. On the opening day of competition, Fiji, South Africa and England each recorded three straight wins to finish on top. New Zealand finished on top in their group but not before losing to the United States in Pool C.[7] South Africa got knocked out in the quarter-finals by the United States but would still end up taking home the plate after they defeated Australia in the final. While for Fiji, they would take the Dubai Sevens after they initially came from behind to win against England and taking the early lead.[8]
South Africa
After Dubai, the teams had a back to back with Cape Town being the next stop in the series.
New Zealand
Australia
United States
Canada
Hong Kong
Singapore
France
England
Team statistics
Players
Scoring leaders
| Rank | Player | Tries |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Africa Seabelo Senatla | 66 |
| 2 | United States Perry Baker | 48 |
| 3 | Samoa Samoa Toloa | 37 |
| 4 | Fiji Savenaca Rawaca | 35 |
| 5 | Kenya Collins Injera | 32 |
| Rank | Player | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States Madison Hughes | 331 |
| 2 | South Africa Seabelo Senatla | 330 |
| 3 | Canada Nathan Hirayama | 295 |
| 4 | Fiji Vatemo Ravouvou | 287 |
| 5 | United States Perry Baker | 240 |
Updated: 24 May 2016
Dream Team
See also
References
- ↑ "Gosper: Monumental 12 months for rugby sevens ahead". WorldRugby.org (Press release). 31 March 2015. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
- ↑ "HSBC partners with World Rugby for record-breaking sevens properties". Australian Rugby. 30 June 2015. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
- ↑ Kingston, Gary (23 February 2015). "BC Place to host World Rugby Sevens". Vancouver Sun. Archived from the original on 2 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
- ↑ "Australian leg of rugby Sevens World Series set to move to Sydney from Gold Coast in 2016". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
- ↑ "Cape Town confirmed as Sevens host". Sport24. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
- ↑ "HSBC Sevens World Series Standings". World Rugby. Archived from the original on 22 June 2016.
- ↑ "Top two reign supreme, while USA create drama in sizzling Dubai". World Rugby. 4 December 2015. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
- ↑ "Supreme Fiji lift Dubai title". World Rugby. 5 December 2015. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
- ↑ "HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series awards: As it happened!", World Rugby. Accessed 23 May 2016.