2007–08 IRB Sevens World Series

The 2007–08 IRB Sevens World Series was the ninth of an annual IRB Sevens World Series of rugby sevens tournaments for full national sides run by the International Rugby Board since 1999–2000.

2007–08 IRB Sevens World Series
Hosts United Arab Emirates
 South Africa
 New Zealand
 United States
 Hong Kong
 Australia
 England
 Scotland
Date30 November 2007 – 1 June 2008
Nations32
Final positions
Champions New Zealand
Runners-up South Africa
Third Samoa

The defending series champions, New Zealand, dominated this season's competition, winning the first five events, setting new records for consecutive tournament wins and consecutive match wins,[1] and clinching the 2007–08 series with one tournament remaining after winning the Plate Final of the London leg.[2] They ended with six wins out of the eight events.

Sevens is traditionally played in a two-day tournament format; however, the most famous event, the Hong Kong Sevens, is played over three days.

Tournaments

The series' tournaments, which were identical to those in 2006–2007, span the globe:

2007-08 Itinerary[3]
Leg Venue Date Winner
DubaiDubai Exiles Rugby GroundNov 30–Dec 1, 2007 New Zealand
South AfricaOuteniqua Park, GeorgeDecember 7–8 2007 New Zealand
New ZealandWestpac Stadium, WellingtonFebruary 1–2 2008 New Zealand
United StatesPetco Park, San DiegoFebruary 9–10 2008 New Zealand
Hong KongHong Kong StadiumMarch 28–30 2008 New Zealand
AustraliaAdelaide Oval, AdelaideApril 5–6 2008 South Africa
LondonTwickenhamMay 24–25 2008 Samoa
ScotlandMurrayfield, EdinburghMay 31–June 1, 2008 New Zealand

Tournament structure

In all tournaments except Hong Kong, 16 teams participate. Because of 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.[4]

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.[5]

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.[4] 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.[6]

Points schedule

The season championship is determined by points earned in each tournament. For most events, points are awarded on the following schedule:[5]

  • 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:[5]

  • 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

Standings
Final 2007-08 Standings[7]
Pos. Country Dubai South Africa
(George)		 New Zealand
(Wellington)		 USA
(San Diego)		 Hong Kong Australia
(Adelaide)		 England
(London)		 Scotland
(Edin­burgh)		 Overall
1 New Zealand202020203016820154
2 South Africa1212816242068106
3 Samoa64161218122012100
4 Fiji161648181216494
5 England1202480121654
6 Argentina812063212043
7 Kenya48012860038
8= Australia20120842230
8= Wales02628001230
10 Scotland4444004626
11 Tonga--12-28--22
12 France000040048
13 United States060000--6
14= Cook Islands--0--4--4
14= Portugal----0-404
16 Canada000020002
17 Russia----1-001
18= Moldova------000
18= Spain------000
18= Japan----00--0
18= Zimbabwe00--0---0
18= Tunisia00--0---0
18= Hong Kong----0---0
18= China----0---0
18= Chinese Taipei----0---0
18= South Korea----0---0
18= Sri Lanka----0---0
18= West Indies---0----0
18= Chile---0----0
18= Mexico---0----0
18= Papua New Guinea--0-----0
18= Uganda-0------0
18=  Arabian Gulf0-------0

Player scoring

Individual points
Individual points [8]
Updated:2008-04-04
Pos. Player Country Points
1Tomasi Cama New Zealand188
2Fabian Juries South Africa150
3Neumi Nanuku Fiji146
4Renfred Dazel South Africa137
5Lote Raikabula New Zealand136
6Steven Yates New Zealand130
7=Mikaele Pesamino Samoa127
7=Emosi Vucago Fiji127
9Philip Mack Canada126
10Ben Gollings England124

Individual tries
Individual tries [9]
Updated:2012-02-01
Pos. Player Country Points
1Fabian Juries South Africa41
2Alafoti Fa'osiliva Samoa35
3Mikaele Pesamino Samoa31
4Tomasi Cama New Zealand29
5=Steven Yates New Zealand27
5=Victor Vito New Zealand27
5=Santiago Gomez Cora Argentina27
8=Chris Wyles United States26
8=DJ Forbes New Zealand26
10Emosi Vucago Fiji25

Tournaments

Dubai
Main article: 2007 Dubai Sevens
Event Winners Score Finalists Semi Finalists
Cup  New Zealand 31-21  Fiji  South Africa
 England
Plate  Argentina 15-14  Samoa  Scotland
 Kenya
Bowl  Australia 31 – 0  Canada  France
 Wales
Shield  Zimbabwe 22 – 19  Tunisia  Arabian Gulf
 United States

South Africa
Main article: 2007 South Africa Sevens
Event Winners Score Finalists Semi Finalists
Cup  New Zealand 34 – 7  Fiji  South Africa
 Argentina
Plate  Kenya 15 – 14  United States  Scotland
 Samoa
Bowl  Wales 21 – 19  England  Australia
 France
Shield  Canada 31 – 14  Zimbabwe  Uganda
 Tunisia

New Zealand
Main article: 2008 Wellington Sevens
Event Winners Score Finalists Semi Finalists
Cup  New Zealand 22 – 7  Samoa  Australia
 Tonga
Plate  South Africa 19 – 12  Wales  Scotland
 Fiji
Bowl  England 12 – 7  Argentina  France
 Cook Islands
Shield  United States 22 – 17  Kenya  Canada
 Papua New Guinea

USA
Main article: 2008 USA Sevens
Event Winners Score Finalists Semi Finalists
Cup  New Zealand 27 – 12  South Africa  Kenya
 Samoa
Plate  Fiji 26 – 21  Argentina  England
 Scotland
Bowl  Wales 21 – 19  United States  Canada
 France
Shield  Australia 24 – 12  Chile  Mexico
 West Indies

Hong Kong
Main article: 2008 Hong Kong Sevens
Event Winners Score Finalists Semi Finalists Quarter Finalists
Cup  New Zealand 26 – 12  South Africa  Samoa
 Fiji		  Wales
 Australia
 Kenya
 England
Plate  France 17 – 14  Argentina  Tonga
 Canada		  Scotland
 Portugal
 Tunisia
 United States
Bowl  Russia 19 – 14  Zimbabwe  Hong Kong
 South Korea		  Chinese Taipei
 Japan
 China
 Sri Lanka

Australia
Main article: 2008 Adelaide Sevens
Event Winners Score Finalists Semi Finalists
Cup  South Africa 15 – 7  New Zealand  Fiji
 Samoa
Plate  Tonga 14 – 12  Kenya  Australia
 Cook Islands
Bowl  Argentina 26 – 21  United States  Scotland
 France
Shield  Wales 12 – 7  Canada  England
 Japan

London
Main article: 2008 London Sevens
Event Winners Score Finalists Semi Finalists
Cup  Samoa 19 – 14  Fiji  England
 Argentina
Plate  New Zealand 19 – 12  South Africa  Portugal
 Scotland
Bowl  Australia 19 – 12  Wales  Canada
 France
Shield  Spain 10 – 7  Kenya  Russia
 Moldova

Scotland
Main article: 2008 Edinburgh Sevens
Event Winners Score Finalists Semi Finalists
Cup  New Zealand 24 – 14  England  Samoa
 Wales
Plate  South Africa 14 – 5  Scotland  Fiji
 France
Bowl  Australia 24 – 14  Canada  Spain
 Argentina
Shield  Portugal 10 – 5  Russia  Moldova
 Kenya

Notes and references
  1. "South Africa halt kiwi winning streak" (Press release). International Rugby Board. 2008-04-06. Archived from the original on 2008-04-10. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
  2. "Rugby sevens: NZ lose, but still win world title". nzherald.co.nz. 2008-05-26. Retrieved 2008-05-26.
  3. "IRB Sevens World Series set for another record breaking year". International Rugby Board. 2007-08-01. Archived from the original on 2007-10-24. Retrieved 2007-08-03.
  4. "Rules: 16-Team Tournament". International Rugby Board. 2007. Archived from the original on 21 March 2008. Retrieved 4 April 2008.
  5. "Rules". International Rugby Board. Archived from the original on 5 April 2008. Retrieved 4 April 2008.
  6. "Rules: 24-Team Tournament". International Rugby Board. 2007. Archived from the original on 21 March 2008. Retrieved 4 April 2008.
  7. "Overall Standings". International Rugby Board. Archived from the original on 2008-12-02. Retrieved 2008-06-01.
  8. "Season Player Points". International Rugby Board. Archived from the original on 9 April 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-04.
  9. "Season Player Tries". International Rugby Board. Archived from the original on 2008-04-09. Retrieved 2012-02-01.
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