Dubai Sevens
The Dubai 7s is an annual rugby sevens and social event held at The Sevens Stadium in Dubai, UAE. Founded in 1970, the event is the longest running sports event in the Middle East.[1]
| Most recent season or competition: 2022 Dubai 7s | |
| Sport | Rugby sevens |
|---|---|
| Inaugural season | 1970 |
| No. of teams | 16 |
| Most recent champion(s) |  South Africa |
| Most titles | South Africa (10 titles) |
Events
The Dubai 7s has six competitions each year:[2]
- World Rugby Sevens Series
- World Rugby Women's Sevens Series
- Rugby Invitation Tournament
- Netball Invitation Tournament
- Cricket 7s Invitational Tournament
- WODON3, Fitness at the Emirates Dubai 7s
Dubai is the first leg of the World Rugby Sevens Series. Sixteen teams compete in the men's tournament divided into four pool of four teams. On the first day, each team plays the other three teams in the pool. The two highest teams in each pool advance to the quarterfinal knockout rounds, and the bottom two teams move to the challenge bracket.
Dubai also hosts a stop on the World Rugby Women's Sevens Series. Twelve teams compete in the women's tournament.
For the invitation tournaments, rugby teams take part in 15 sections.[3] The rugby invitational tournament is popular, with hundreds of teams participating.[4] The netball tournament includes teams in three sections: gulf women, open youth, and open women.
The Dubai Sevens is one of the more popular sporting events in Dubai, with over 100,000 fans attending the 2016 event.[4][5]
Venue
The Dubai 7s has been held at The Sevens Stadium since 2008. Facilities at The Sevens include: eight rugby pitches, six cricket pitches, four netball/tennis courts, one basketball court, a grandstand, and ancillary facilities.[6]
The tournament's move to that venue in 2008 was a success. The tournament broke the World Series single-day attendance record in its first year with over 50,000 fans appearing on the first day of the tournament.[7]
World Series results
Summary of results
Five teams have won the Dubai Sevens at least once. The early years of the tournament on the World Series were less competitive. Prior to 2003, New Zealand won the final with a comfortable 20+ point margin each year. In the first decade from 1999 to 2008 only five teams (New Zealand, Fiji, Samoa, South Africa, and England) had reached the Dubai Sevens final. Since then, the tournament has been more competitive, with several additional teams making the final and semifinal stages.
Summary of Dubai Sevens results on the World Series (updated to 2022):
| Team | Champion | Runner-up | Semifinalist | Top 4 placing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Africa | 10 | 1 | 5 | 16 |
 New Zealand | 6 | 5 | 7 | 18 |
 England | 4 | 2 | 9 | 15 |
 Fiji | 2 | 6 | 8 | 16 |
 Samoa | 1 | 3 | 5 | 9 |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Australia | – | 2 | 3 | 5 |
 United States | – | 2 | 2 | 4 |
 France | – | 1 | 2 | 3 |
 Ireland | – | 1 | – | 1 |
 Argentina | – | – | 3 | 3 |
 Kenya | – | – | 1 | 1 |
 Wales | – | – | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 23 | 23 | 46 | 92 |
Results by year
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Notes:
^a The event held on November 7–8, 2001, was downgraded in status and excluded from the Sevens World Series after several teams withdrew in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks.[30][31][32]
Earlier winners
Winners of the Emirates International Trophy from 1988 to 1998:[33]
- 1988 London Scottish
- 1989 Crawshays
- 1990 Toulouse
- 1991 Queensland
- 1992 Scotland
- 1993 White Hart Marauders
- 1994 South Korea
- 1995 Kiwi Nomads
- 1996 Fiji
- 1997 New Zealand Invitation
- 1998 Fiji
See also
References
- "Dubai Rugby Sevens: History".
- "Dubai Rugby Sevens: Event information".
- "Dubai Rugby Sevens: News".
- "The Dubai Rugby Sevens Broke Attendance Records", Dubai Rugby 7s, 5 December 2016.
- "Dubai Rugby Sevens 2018", Time Out Dubai, 29 November 2018.
- The Sevens official website, 01.01.11.
- "Dubai sets new Series attendance record", World Rugby, 29 November 2008.
- "IRB Sevens I – Dubai". Rugby7.com. 1999.
- "IRB Sevens II – Dubai". Rugby7.com. 2000.
- "IRB Sevens IV – Dubai". Rugby7.com. 2002.
- "IRB Sevens V – Dubai". Rugby7.com. 2003.
- "IRB Sevens VI – Dubai". Rugby7.com. 2004.
- "IRB Sevens VII – Dubai". Rugby7.com. 2005.
- "IRB Sevens VIII – Dubai". Rugby7.com. 2006.
- "IRB Sevens IX – Dubai". Rugby7.com. 2007.
- "IRB Sevens X – Dubai". Rugby7.com. 2009.
- "IRB Sevens XI – Dubai". Rugby7.com. 2009.
- "IRB Sevens XII – Dubai". Rugby7.com. 2010.
- "IRB Sevens XIII – Dubai". Rugby7.com. 2011.
- "IRB Sevens XIV – Dubai". Rugby7.com. 2012.
- "IRB Sevens XV – Dubai". Rugby7.com. 2013.
- "IRB Sevens XVI – Dubai". Rugby7.com. 2014.
- "World Sevens Series XVII – Dubai". Rugby7.com. 2015.
- "World Sevens Series XVIII – Dubai". Rugby7.com. 2016.
- "World Sevens Series XIX– Dubai". Rugby7.com. 2017.
- "World Sevens Series XX– Dubai". Rugby7.com. 2018.
- del Carme, Liam (8 December 2019). "Brilliant Blitzbokke bag Dubai Sevens title". Business Live.
- Radley, Paul (29 July 2020). "2020 Dubai Rugby Sevens cancelled because of coronavirus". The National News. Abu Dhabi. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020.
- "Plans revised for HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2021". World Rugby. 29 July 2020. Archived from the original on 29 July 2020.
- "Dubai scrubbed from Sevens Series". Irish Times. 16 October 2001. Archived from the original on 11 June 2016.
- Malin, Ian (24 October 2001). "England to miss Dubai's downgraded sevens". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 14 August 2016.
- "Dubai sevens: Scots take Plate prize". 9 November 2001. Archived from the original on 10 August 2016. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
- "Dubai 7s". Rugby7.com.
External links
- Official website
- History of Dubai Exiles Rugby Club at archive.today (archived 31 October 2021)