2008 European Sevens Championship
The 2008 European Sevens Championship was a rugby sevens competition, with the final held in Hanover, Germany. It was the seventh edition of the European Sevens championship and also functioned as a qualifying tournament for the 2009 Rugby World Cup Sevens. The event was organised by rugby's European governing body, the FIRA – Association of European Rugby (FIRA-AER).
 | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host nation |  |
| Dates | July 12 – July 13 |
| No. of nations | 12 |
Champions  |  |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 42 |
| Top scorer(s) | |
← 2007 2009 → | |
Outcome
The finals tournament held in Hanover, Germany on 12 and 13 July 2008, as well as being the European Sevens Championship, functioned as a qualifying tournament for the world cup. England, France and Scotland had already qualified through their past performance.[1] The five best nations out of the twelve participating ones qualified for the Dubai tournament. Teams finished in the following order:[2]
| Place | Country |
| 1st | |
| 2nd | .svg.png){kind=small} |
| 3rd |  |
| 4th |  |
| 5th |  |
| 6th |  |
| 7th | |
| 8th |  |
| 9th |  |
| 10th |  |
| 11th |  |
| 12th | .svg.png){kind=small} |
Bid
On 16 June 2007, the FIRA congress in Monaco decided to award the finals tournament to Hanover, beating bids from Russia, Greece and Bosnia-Herzegovina in the process.[3]
Tournament history
From 2002, FIRA, the governing body of European rugby, has been organising an annual European Sevens Championship tournament. A number of qualifying tournaments lead up to a finals tournament, which functions as the European championship and, in 2008, also as the qualifying stage for the Sevens World Cup.[4]
The first European Championship was held in 2002 in Heidelberg, Germany, and was won by Portugal, the team that won every championship since except 2007, when Russia won.
The next year, the tournament was again held in Heidelberg and in 2004, Palma de Mallorca, Spain was the host.
From 2005 to 2007, Moscow was the host of the tournament.
Hanover held the tournament for the first time in 2008 and will do so again in 2009.
Tournament
Stadium
The finals tournament was held at the AWD-Arena in Hanover, home ground of the football club Hannover 96. The stadium holds 50.000 spectators, 43,000 of them on seats, the rest standing.[5]
The tournament was seen by over 30,000 spectators, a good turn out in a country like Germany, where rugby is not a mainstream sport.[6] After selling more than 35,000 tickets in advance, mostly within Germany, the organisers were forced to open up the upper tier of the stadium to meet demand.[7]
Qualifying
Twelve teams qualified through the seven qualifying tournaments, held at the following locations:
| Location | Country | Date | Winner | Runner-up |
| Odense | Denmark | 10–11 May | |
|
| Sopot | Poland | 24–25 May | |
|
| Zagreb | Croatia | 31 May-1 June | |
|
| Tbilisi | Georgia | 7–8 June | |
|
| Ostrava | Czech Republic | 14–15 June | |
|
| Corfu | Greece | 20–21 June | |
|
| Moscow | Russia | 28–29 June | |
|
Source:"Qualifying". Hanover Sevens website. Retrieved 2009-01-25.
Group stage
The tournament was divided into a group and a finals stage. In the group stage, two groups of six teams were drawn. Within each group, each team played each other once. The top two teams went to the Cup stage of the tournament while the third and fourth placed team qualified for the Plate stage. Five and six went to the Bowl finals.
| Qualified for the Cup stage |
| Qualified for the Plate stage |
| Qualified for the Bowl stage |
Group A
| POR | GEO | ESP | GER | RUS | ROM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portugal | – | 26–10 | 28–5 | 14–12 | 45–5 | 38–0 |
| Georgia | – | – | 28–5 | 26–0 | 5–0 | 12–0 |
| Spain | – | – | – | 26–22 | 7–29 | 14–0 |
| Germany | – | – | – | – | 17–12 | 24–21 |
| Russia | – | – | – | – | – | 19–19 |
| Romania | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | +/- | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 151 | 32 | +119 | 15 |
|
5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 81 | 31 | +50 | 13 |
|
5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 57 | 107 | -50 | 9 |
|
5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 75 | 99 | -24 | 9 |
|
5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 74 | 100 | -26 | 8 |
|
5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 31 | 100 | -69 | 6 |
Group B
| WAL | IRE | ITA | UKR | POL | Bel | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wales | – | 26–14 | 33–12 | 21–17 | 38–7 | 33–12 |
| Ireland | – | – | 17–12 | 26–7 | 17–7 | 31–0 |
| Italy | – | – | – | 31–15 | 40–0 | 17–10 |
| Ukraine | – | – | – | – | 21–14 | 22–12 |
| Poland | – | – | – | – | – | 21–19 |
| Belgium | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | +/- | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 151 | 64 | +87 | 15 |
|
5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 105 | 54 | +51 | 13 |
|
5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 114 | 75 | +39 | 11 |
|
5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 84 | 104 | -20 | 9 |
|
5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 49 | 135 | -86 | 7 |
|
5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 53 | 124 | -71 | 5 |
Finals
Three separate rounds of finals were held, Bowl, the lowest, Plate and Cup. The semi final winners of each group went on to the final while the losers played each other. All teams from the Cup stage were qualified for the next sevens world cup and also the Plate winner.
Bowl
Winner: Russia
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 27 | |||||
| 0 | |||||
| 29 | |||||
| 12 | |||||
| 7 | |||||
| 21 | |||||
| 3rd place | ||||||
| 0 | |||||
| 26 | |||||
Top point scorers
| Points | Name | Team | Tries | Con | Pen | Drop |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 74 | Pedro Leal | | 6 | 22 | 0 | 0 |
| 52 | Merab Kvirikashvili | | 6 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| 45 | Martin Roberts | | 5 | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | Ian Keatley | | 4 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | Mustafa Güngör | | 4 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | Oleh Kvasnytsya | | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | Andrew Maxwell | | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | Alexander Gvozdovskiy | | 3 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | Juan Cano | | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | César Sempere | | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | Matthieu Franke | | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
Key: Con = conversions; Pen = penalties; Drop = drop goals
Teams
Belgium
Head coach: Neil Massinon
Manager: Thierry Massinon
| Player | Club |
| Mathieu Verschelden | |
| Alexandre Van Pestel | |
| Johann Bombaerts | |
| Jérémy Maes | |
| Kevin Williams |  |
| David Nemsadze |  |
| Shane Massinon | |
| Morgan Croisy | |
| Jérôme Cauwe | |
| Simon Marote | |
| Neil Massinon | |
| Jerôme Bize | |
Source:"Team Belgium". Hanover Sevens website. Archived from the original on 2008-08-09. Retrieved 2009-01-26.
Georgia
Head coach: Kakhaber Alania
| Player | Club |
| Shalva Sutiashvili | |
| Simon Maisuradze | |
| Giorgi Chkhaidze | |
| Bidzina Samkharadze | |
| Merab Kvirikashvili | |
| Alexander Todua | |
| Giorgi Shkinini | |
| Jaba Bregvadze | |
| Lasha Khmaladze | |
| Alexander Nizharadze | |
| Beka Tsiklauri | |
| Irakli Gundishvili | |
Source:"Team Georgia". Hanover Sevens website. Retrieved 2009-01-26.
Germany
Head coach: 
| Player | Club |
| Franck Moutsinga | |
| Mustafa Güngör | |
| Tim Kasten |  |
| Markus Walger | |
| Clemens von Grumbkow | |
| Christopher Weselek | |
| Matthieu Franke | |
| Alexander Pipa | |
| Benjamin Simm | |
| Mike Härtel | |
| Stefan Kunde | |
| Benjamin Krause | |
Source:"Team Germany". Hanover Sevens website. Retrieved 2009-01-26.
Ireland
Head coach: Jon Skurr
| Player | Club |
| Cian Aherne | |
| Richard Briggs | |
| Kieran Campbell | |
| Darren Cave | |
| James Coughlan | |
| Eoghan Grace | |
| Chris Henry | |
| Ian Keatley | |
| Seamus Mallon | |
| Conor McPhillips | |
| Andrew Maxwell |  |
| Brian Tuohy | |
Source:"Team Ireland". Hanover Sevens website. Retrieved 2009-01-26.
Italy
Head coach:
| Player | Club |
| Kristopher Burton | |
| Benjamin De Jager | |
| Gabriele Gentile | |
| Alvaro Lopez-Gonzalez | |
| Antonio Mannato | |
| Roberto Mariani | |
| Alessandro Onori | |
| Davide Pastormerlo | |
| Tomas Pucciariello | |
| Michele Sepe | |
| Marko Stanojevic | |
| Benjamin Tomaghelli | |
Source:"Team Italy". Hanover Sevens website. Retrieved 2009-01-26.
Poland
Head coach:
| Player | Club |
| Tomasz Grodecki | |
| Maciej Maciejewski | |
| Artur Maros | |
| Tomasz Kozakiewicz | |
| Rafał Janeczko | |
| Wojciech Łukasiewicz | |
| Jakub Lisiewski | |
| Mariusz Motyl | |
| Marek Płonka | |
| Patryk Narwojsz | |
| Dawid Banaszek | |
| Donald Gargasson | |
Source:"Team Poland". Hanover Sevens website. Retrieved 2009-01-26.
Portugal
Head coach:
| Player | Club |
| Aderito Esteves | |
| David Mateus | |
| Goncalo Foro | |
| Vasco Uva | |
| Pedro Silva | |
| Pedro Leal | |
| Antonio Pinto | |
| Diogo Mateus | |
| Frederico Oliveira | |
| Pedro Cabral | |
| Sebastiao Cunha | |
| Antonio Aguilar |
Source:"Team Portugal". Hanover Sevens website. Retrieved 2009-01-26.
Romania
Head coach:
| Player | Club |
| Carl Cimpoias | |
| Florin Vlaicu | |
| Bogdan Bradu | |
| Florin Surugiu | |
| Andrei Filip | |
| Ionut Florea | |
| Madalin Lemnaru | |
| Viorel Lucaci | |
| Valentin Ivan | |
| Marian Dumitru | |
| Daniel Nainer | |
| Razvan Suteu | |
Source:"Team Romania". Hanover Sevens website. Retrieved 2009-01-26.
Russia
Head coach:
| Player | Club |
| Evgeny Bystryakov | "Slava" Moscow |
| Igor Galinovskiy | "Krasniy Yar" Krasnoyarsk |
| Andrey Kuzin | "VVA-Podmoskovje" Moscow region |
| Andrey Garbuzov | "Krasniy Yar" Krasnoyarsk |
| Evgeny Matveev | "VVA-Podmoskovje" Moscow region |
| Alexey Panasenko | "VVA-Podmoskovje" Moscow region |
| Yuri Kushnarev | "VVA-Podmoskovje" Moscow region |
| Alexander Shakirov | "VVA-Podmoskovje" Moscow region |
| Alexander Gvozdovskiy | "Krasniy Yar" Krasnoyarsk |
| Oleg Kobzev | "VVA-Podmoskovje" Moscow region |
| Victor Gresev | "VVA-Podmoskovje" Moscow region |
| Sergey Gavryushin | "VVA-Podmoskovje" Moscow region |
Source:"Team Russia". Hanover Sevens website. Retrieved 2009-01-26.
Spain
Head coach: José Ignacio Inchausti
| Player | Club |
| Jaime Nava | |
| Diego Á. Gorosito | |
| Rafael Camacho | |
| Juan Cano | |
| Javier Canosa | |
| Pablo Feijoo | |
| Sergi Guerrero | |
| Facundo Lavino | |
| Víctor Marlet | |
| Ignacio Martín | |
| Pedro Martín | |
| Cesar Sempere | |
Source:"Team Spain". Hanover Sevens website. Retrieved 2009-01-26.
Ukraine
Head coach: Michel Bishop
| Player | Club |
| Ruslan Tserkovnyy | |
| Vitaly Orlov | |
| Maksim Kravchenko | |
| Sergey Tserkovnyy | |
| George Gegidze | |
| Oleg Kvasnitsa | |
| Jaba Malaguradze | |
| Vyacheslav Ponamorenko | |
| Alexandr Lubyy | |
| Giorgi Todradze | |
| Bogdan Zhulavskyi | |
Source:"Team Ukraine". Hanover Sevens website. Retrieved 2009-01-26.
Wales
Head coach:
| Player | Club |
| Johnathan Edwards | |
| Lee Beach | |
| Rhodri McAtee | |
| Lee Williams | |
| Martin Roberts | |
| James Lewis | |
| Gareth Chapman | |
| Alec Jenkins | |
| James Merriman | |
| Dafydd Hewitt | |
| Andy Powell | |
| Richie Pugh | |
Source:"Team Wales". Hanover Sevens website. Retrieved 2009-01-26.
References
- Portugal take Hannover 7's Title therugbyworldcup.co.uk, accessed: 26 January 2009
- Die Endplatzierungen Archived 2009-02-20 at the Wayback Machine (in German) Hanover Sevens website, accessed: 25 January 2009
- And now for something completely different: ENC 7's 2008 in Hannover accessed: 26 January 2009
- The 7s European Championship Hanover Sevens website – History of the tournament, accessed: 25 January 2009
- AWD-Arena – facts Hanover Sevens website – stadium information, accessed: 25 January 2009
- Ultimate Sevens website Archived 2009-01-26 at the Wayback Machine Article on the Hanover Sevens, accessed: 26 January 2009
- Germans go sevens-crazy The Independent, accessed: 26 January 2009
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to European Sevens 2008. |
- Portugal lead Euro charge to 2009 RWC Sevens IRB website – Article on the 2009 Sevens world cup qualifying
- Hannover sevens website (in English, French, and German)
- FIRA-AER official website