2008–09 IRB Sevens World Series

The 2008–09 IRB Sevens World Series was the tenth of an annual IRB Sevens World Series of rugby union sevens tournaments for full national sides run by the International Rugby Board since 1999–2000.

2008–09 IRB Sevens World Series
Hosts United Arab Emirates
 South Africa
 New Zealand
 United States
 Hong Kong
 Australia
 England
 Scotland
Date28 November 2008 – 31 May 2009
Nations32
Final positions
Champions South Africa
Runners-up Fiji
Third England
Series details
Top point scorer Ben Gollings
Top try scorer Collins Injera

South Africa clinched the 2008–09 World Series, its first Series title. The defending series champions New Zealand finished fourth.

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.

Tournaments

The series' tournaments are identical to 2007–2008 and span the globe:

2008-09 Itinerary[1]
Leg Venue Date Winner
DubaiThe Sevens[2]November 28–29, 2008 South Africa
South AfricaOuteniqua Park, GeorgeDecember 5–6, 2008 South Africa
New ZealandWestpac Stadium, WellingtonFebruary 6–7, 2009 England
United StatesPetco Park, San DiegoFebruary 14–15, 2009 Argentina
Hong KongHong Kong StadiumMarch 27–29, 2009 Fiji
AustraliaAdelaide Oval, AdelaideApril 3–5, 2009 South Africa
LondonTwickenhamMay 23–24, 2009 England
ScotlandMurrayfield, EdinburghMay 30–31, 2009 Fiji

The 2009 Rugby World Cup Sevens was not a part of the 2008-09 series. Unlike the 2005 edition 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.

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:[3]

The one new core team was the USA, which replaced its neighbor Canada.[3]

Points schedule

The season championship is determined by points earned in each tournament. For most events, points are awarded on the following schedule:[4]

  • 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:[4]

  • 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 has 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.[5]

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.[4]

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.[5] 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]

Standings
2008-09 Standings[7]
Pos. Country Dubai South Africa
(George)		 New Zealand
(Wellington)		 USA
(San Diego)		 Hong Kong Australia
(Adelaide)		 England
(London)		 Scotland
(Edin­burgh)		 Overall
1 South Africa202081224201216132
2 Fiji1212443012820102
3 England16820168820298
4 New Zealand12161688416888
5 Argentina41212208120068
6 Kenya6012618162464
7 Samoa84041820440
8 Australia4002864630
9= Scotland000000121224
9= Wales00602401224
11 United States04412000020
12 Portugal26--106015
13 France020020408
14 Tonga--0-40--4
15 Canada--003-003
16 Cook Islands--2--0--2
17= Zimbabwe00--0---0
17= Japan---000--0
17=  Arabian Gulf0-------0
17= Georgia00----000
17= Germany------0-0
17= Niue--0-----0
17= Mexico---0----0
17= Tunisia-0------0
17= Uruguay---00---0
17= West Indies----0---0
17= Hong Kong----0---0
17= China----0---0
17= Sri Lanka----0---0
17= Chinese Taipei----0---0
17= South Korea----0---0
17= Spain-------00

Player statistics

Most points
Individual points [8]
Pos. Player Country Points
1Ben Gollings England260
2Collins Injera Kenya210
3Richard Kingi Australia205
4Renfred Dazel South Africa191
5Lolo Lui Samoa187
6Tomasi Cama New Zealand174
7Pedro Leal Portugal168
8Lavin Asego Kenya166
9Paul Albaladejo France165
=10Ollie Phillips England161
=10Mzwandile Stick South Africa161

Most tries
Individual tries [9]
Pos. Player Country Tries
1Collins Injera Kenya42
2=Rayno Benjamin South Africa28
2=Santiago Gomez Cora Argentina28
4Luke Morahan Australia27
5Vereniki Goneva Fiji24
6Ollie Phillips England23
7=Alafoti Fa'osiliva Samoa22
7=Renfred Dazel South Africa22
7=Robert Ebersohn South Africa22
7=Pio Tuwai Fiji22
7=Vuyo Zangqa South Africa22

Tournaments

Dubai
Main article: 2008 Dubai Sevens
Event Winners Score Finalists Semi Finalists
Cup  South Africa 19 – 12  England  New Zealand
 Fiji
Plate  Samoa 12 – 7  Kenya  Argentina
 Australia
Bowl  Portugal 24 – 0  France  Wales
 Zimbabwe
Shield  United States 31 – 7  Arabian Gulf  Georgia
 Scotland

South Africa
Main article: 2008 South Africa Sevens
Event Winners Score Finalists Semi Finalists
Cup  South Africa 12 – 7  New Zealand  Argentina
 Fiji
Plate  England 24 – 7  Portugal  Samoa
 United States
Bowl  France 21 – 12  Australia  Kenya
 Wales
Shield  Zimbabwe 26 – 0  Scotland  Georgia
 Tunisia

New Zealand
Main article: 2009 Wellington Sevens
Event Winners Score Finalists Semi Finalists
Cup  England 19 – 17  New Zealand  Argentina
 Kenya
Plate  South Africa 26 – 12  Wales  Fiji
 United States
Bowl  Cook Islands 24 – 10  Tonga  France
 Australia
Shield  Scotland 24 – 0  Niue  Samoa
 Canada

USA
Main article: 2009 USA Sevens
Event Winners Score Finalists Semi Finalists
Cup  Argentina 19 – 14  England  South Africa
 United States
Plate  New Zealand 22 – 7  Kenya  Fiji
 Samoa
Bowl  Australia 40 – 0  France  Scotland
 Wales
Shield  Canada 31 – 7  Uruguay  Mexico
 Japan

Hong Kong
Main article: 2009 Hong Kong Sevens
Event Winners Score Finalists Semi Finalists Quarter Finalists
Cup  Fiji 26 – 24  South Africa  Kenya
 Samoa		  England
 New Zealand
 Argentina
 Australia
Plate  Tonga 14 – 12  Canada  Wales
 France		  United States
 Hong Kong
 Scotland
 South Korea
Bowl  Portugal 14 – 12  Uruguay  Zimbabwe
 Japan		  Chinese Taipei
 West Indies
 China
 Sri Lanka

Australia
Main article: 2009 Adelaide Sevens
Event Winners Score Finalists Semi Finalists
Cup  South Africa 26 – 7  Kenya  Argentina
 Fiji
Plate  England 24 – 19  Australia  Wales
 New Zealand
Bowl  Samoa 35 – 14  France  Tonga
 Cook Islands
Shield  United States 24 – 21  Scotland  Japan
 Portugal

London
Main article: 2009 London Sevens
Event Winners Score Finalists Semi Finalists
Cup  England 31 – 26  New Zealand  Scotland
 South Africa
Plate  Fiji 24 – 10  Portugal  France
 Australia
Bowl  Kenya 12 – 7  Wales  Samoa
 Argentina
Shield  Canada 27 – 7  United States  Germany
 Georgia

Scotland
Main article: 2009 Edinburgh Sevens
Event Winners Score Finalists Semi Finalists
Cup  Fiji 20 – 19  South Africa  Scotland
 Wales
Plate  New Zealand 34 – 12  Australia  Samoa
 Kenya
Bowl  England 26 – 15  France  Argentina
 Portugal
Shield  United States 12 – 10  Canada  Georgia
 Spain

References
  1. "IRB Sevens World Series 2008-09 (Referee) Selections" (PDF). International Rugby Board. 2008-09-01. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-05-19. Retrieved 2008-09-17.
  2. "Emirates unveils Dubai venue 'The Sevens'". International Rugby Board. 2008-07-02. Archived from the original on 2008-07-31. Retrieved 2008-09-17.
  3. "USA Rugby receives major Sevens boost" (Press release). International Rugby Board. 2008-09-22. Archived from the original on 2009-06-12. Retrieved 2009-03-05.
  4. "Rules". International Rugby Board. Archived from the original on 5 April 2008. Retrieved 4 April 2008.
  5. "Rules: 16-Team Tournament". International Rugby Board. 2007. Archived from the original on 21 March 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 2 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-07.
  8. "Season Player Points". International Rugby Board. Archived from the original on 2 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-07.
  9. "Season Player Tries". International Rugby Board. Archived from the original on 2008-04-09. Retrieved 2008-12-07.
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