2002–03 IRB Sevens World Series

The 2002–03 Sevens World Series was the fourth edition of the global circuit for men's national rugby sevens teams, organised by the International Rugby Board. The season ran from December 2002 to June 2003 and was played out over a series of only seven tournaments. A further three tournaments had originally been scheduled but were cancelled due to concerns about the SARS virus. New Zealand won its fourth consecutive series, with England finishing as runner-up.

2002–03 IRB Sevens
Series IV
Hosts
Nations34
Final positions
Champions New Zealand
Runners-up England
Third Fiji

Itinerary

Due to concerns stemming from the spread of respiratory virus SARS, tournaments scheduled for China, Malaysia, and Singapore were cancelled.[1] Further concerns also resulted in two nations — Italy and France — foregoing the opportunity to compete at the Hong Kong Sevens.[2]

Final standings

The points awarded to teams at each event, as well as the overall season totals, are shown in the table below. Points for the event winners are indicated in bold. A zero (0) is recorded in the event column where a team played in a tournament but did not gain any points. A dash (–) is recorded in the event column if a team did not compete at a tournament.

2002–03 IRB Sevens – Series IV
 
Pos.
Event 
Team
Dubai
George
Bris­bane
Well­ing­ton
Hong Kong
Cardiff
London		 Points
total
   
1 New Zealand 20 16 12 20 24 8 12 112
2 England 6 4 20 16 30 12 20 108
3 Fiji 8 20 16 12 18 4 16 94
4 South Africa 12 12 4 4 18 20 12 82
5 Australia 12 12 8 12 8 6 8 66
6 Samoa 16 6 6 8 8 12 2 58
7 Argentina 4 8 4 4 – 16 0 36
8 France 2 0 12 6 – 0 0 20
9  Wales 4 0 – – 0 4 6 14
10  Kenya 0 4 – – 8 – – 12
11  Tonga – – 2 0 8 – – 10
12 Canada 0 0 0 2 4 0 0 6
13  Scotland – – – – 3 2 0 5
14  Georgia – – – – – – 4 4
15  Italy 0 0 – – – 0 4 4
16  South Korea – – – – 2 – – 2
17  Cook Islands – – 0 0 2 – – 2
18  Namibia 0 2 – – 0 – – 2
19  United States – – – – 1 – – 1

Source: rugby7.com (archived)

Notes:
  Light blue line on the left indicates a core team eligible to participate in all events of the series.

References
  1. "SARS fear hits sports". The Indianapolis Star. Indianapolis, IN. April 24, 2003. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
  2. "2 teams skip event over fears of mystery disease". The Indianapolis Star. Indianapolis, IN. March 22, 2003. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
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