2015–16 World Rugby Sevens Series
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]
| 2015–16 World Rugby Sevens | |
|---|---|
| Series XVII | |
| Hosts | |
| Date | 4 Dec 2015 – 22 May 2016 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Fiji |
| Runners-up |  South Africa |
| Third |  New Zealand |
← 2014–15 2016–17 → | |
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:
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 is as follows:[2]
| Leg | Stadium | City | Date | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dubai | The Sevens | Dubai | 4–5 December 2015 | Fiji |
| South Africa | Cape Town Stadium | Cape Town | 12–13 December 2015 | South Africa |
| New Zealand | Westpac Stadium | Wellington | 30–31 January 2016 | New Zealand |
| Australia | Allianz Stadium | Sydney | 6–7 February 2016 | New Zealand |
| United States | Sam Boyd Stadium | Las Vegas | 4–6 March 2016 | Fiji |
| Canada | BC Place | Vancouver | 12–13 March 2016 | New Zealand |
| Hong Kong | Hong Kong Stadium | Hong Kong | 8–10 April 2016 | Fiji |
| Singapore | National Stadium | Singapore | 16–17 April 2016 |  Kenya |
| France | Stade Jean-Bouin | Paris | 13–15 May 2016 |  Samoa |
| England | Twickenham Stadium | London | 21–22 May 2016 |  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:
| Pos. |
Event Team |
 Dubai |
Cape Town |
Wellington |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Sydney |
 Las Vegas |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Vancouver |
 Hong Kong |
 Singapore |
 Paris |
 London |
Points total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fiji | 22 | 13 | 17 | 17 | 22 | 15 | 22 | 19 | 19 | 15 | 181 |
| 2 | South Africa | 13 | 22 | 19 | 15 | 17 | 19 | 17 | 17 | 13 | 19 | 171 |
| 3 | New Zealand | 15 | 10 | 22 | 22 | 13 | 22 | 19 | 12 | 10 | 13 | 158 |
| 4 | Australia |
12 | 10 | 13 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 15 | 10 | 12 | 7 | 134 |
| 5 |  Argentina |
10 | 19 | 12 | 13 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 15 | 15 | 12 | 119 |
| 6 | United States |
17 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 15 | 12 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 17 | 117 |
| 7 | Kenya |
5 | 15 | 10 | 12 | 10 | 1 | 10 | 22 | 10 | 3 | 98 |
| 8 | England |
19 | 7 | 15 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 13 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 92 |
| 9 | Samoa |
10 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 13 | 5 | 13 | 22 | 5 | 89 |
| 10 | Scotland |
7 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 22 | 87 |
| 11 | France |
8 | 17 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 17 | 10 | 85 |
| 12 |  Wales |
5 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 54 |
| 13 | Canada |
3 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 40 |
| 14 |  Russia |
1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 28 |
| 15 |  Japan |
2 | – | 5 | 1 | 12 | – | – | 1 | – | – | 21 |
| 16 |  Portugal |
1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 21 |
| 17 |  Brazil |
– | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 18 |  Zimbabwe |
– | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 |
| 19 |  South Korea |
– | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | 1 |
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]
| Event | Winners | Score | Finalists | Semifinalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cup | Fiji |
28–17 | England |
United States (third place) New Zealand |
| Plate | South Africa |
19–14 | Australia |
Argentina Samoa |
| Bowl | France |
24–14 | Scotland |
Kenya Wales |
| Shield | Canada |
19–17 | Japan |
Portugal Russia |
South Africa
After Dubai, the teams had a back to back with Cape Town being the next stop in the series.
| Event | Winners | Score | Finalists | Semifinalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cup | South Africa |
29–14 | Argentina |
France (third place) Kenya |
| Plate | Fiji |
29–19 | United States |
Australia New Zealand |
| Bowl | Scotland |
19–0 | England |
Canada Wales |
| Shield | Samoa |
40–5 | Russia |
Portugal Zimbabwe |
New Zealand
| Event | Winners | Score | Finalists | Semifinalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cup | New Zealand |
24–21 | South Africa |
Fiji (third place) England |
| Plate | Australia |
21–5 | Argentina |
Kenya United States |
| Bowl | Samoa |
19–7 | Scotland |
Japan Canada |
| Shield | France |
14–7 | Russia |
Portugal Wales |
Australia
| Event | Winners | Score | Finalists | Semifinalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cup | New Zealand |
27–24 | Australia |
Fiji (third place) South Africa |
| Plate | Argentina |
24–0 | Kenya |
United States England |
| Bowl | Canada |
17–12 | Samoa |
Scotland Portugal |
| Shield | Wales |
26–19 | Russia |
Japan France |
United States
| Event | Winners | Score | Finalists | Semifinalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cup | Fiji |
21–15 | Australia |
South Africa (third place) United States |
| Plate | New Zealand |
27–7 | Japan |
Kenya Argentina |
| Bowl | Wales |
21–7 | France |
Russia Scotland |
| Shield | Samoa |
24–12 | Canada |
England Portugal |
Canada
| Event | Winners | Score | Finalists | Semifinalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cup | New Zealand |
19–14 | South Africa |
Australia (third place) Fiji |
| Plate | Samoa |
31–19 | United States |
Wales Scotland |
| Bowl | Canada |
19–17 | France |
Argentina England |
| Shield | Russia |
17–10 | Portugal |
Kenya Brazil |
Hong Kong
| Event | Winners | Score | Finalists | Semifinalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cup | Fiji |
21-7 | New Zealand |
South Africa (third place) Australia |
| Plate | England |
19–0 | United States |
Wales Kenya |
| Bowl | Argentina |
26–0 | Scotland |
France Samoa |
| Shield | Russia |
19–14 | Canada |
South Korea Portugal |
Singapore
| Event | Winners | Score | Finalists | Semifinalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cup | Kenya |
30–7 | Fiji |
South Africa (third place) Argentina |
| Plate | Samoa |
26–21 | New Zealand |
Australia France |
| Bowl | Scotland |
14–10 | United States |
England Portugal |
| Shield | Russia |
24–7 | Wales |
Japan Canada |
Team statistics
| Rank |
Team | Matches | Points | Ø-Points | Tries | Ø-Tries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fiji |
48 | 1368 | 28.50 | 213 | 4.44 |
| 2 | South Africa |
48 | 1199 | 24.98 | 187 | 3.90 |
| 3 | Australia |
46 | 971 | 21.11 | 153 | 3.33 |
| 4 | New Zealand |
47 | 964 | 20.51 | 156 | 3.32 |
| 5 | United States |
46 | 962 | 20.91 | 152 | 3.30 |
| 6 | Samoa |
46 | 877 | 19.07 | 140 | 3.04 |
| 7 | Canada |
45 | 864 | 19.20 | 140 | 3.11 |
| 8 | France |
45 | 829 | 18.42 | 131 | 2.91 |
| 9 | England |
44 | 760 | 17.27 | 118 | 2.68 |
| 10 | Kenya |
43 | 751 | 17.47 | 120 | 2.79 |
| 11 | Scotland |
45 | 745 | 16.56 | 119 | 2.64 |
| 12 | Argentina |
45 | 740 | 16.44 | 116 | 2.58 |
| 13 | Wales |
43 | 738 | 17.16 | 116 | 2.70 |
| 14 | Russia |
46 | 546 | 11.87 | 92 | 2.00 |
| 15 | Japan |
27 | 442 | 16.37 | 70 | 2.59 |
| 16 | Portugal |
41 | 332 | 8.10 | 54 | 1.32 |
| 17 | South Korea |
5 | 35 | 7.00 | 5 | 1.00 |
| 18 | Brazil |
5 | 19 | 3.80 | 3 | 0.60 |
| 19 | Zimbabwe |
5 | 17 | 3.40 | 3 | 0.60 |
Players
Scoring leaders
| Rank | Player | Tries |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seabelo Senatla | 66 |
| 2 | Perry Baker | 48 |
| 3 | Samoa Toloa | 37 |
| 4 | Savenaca Rawaca | 35 |
| 5 | Collins Injera | 32 |
| Rank | Player | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Madison Hughes | 331 |
| 2 | Seabelo Senatla | 330 |
| 3 | Nathan Hirayama | 295 |
| 4 | Vatemo Ravouvou | 287 |
| 5 | Perry Baker | 240 |
Updated: 24 May 2016
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.