Hong Kong Women's Sevens
The Hong Kong Women's Sevens held the first women's international rugby sevens tournament in 1997, and has since become an annual event. The 2020 edition marked the start of a new era for the Hong Kong Women's Sevens. For the first time, the tournament will be an official event in the World Rugby Women's Sevens Series.[1] The 2020 and 2021 tournaments were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2][3]
Current season, competition or edition: 2023 Hong Kong Women's Sevens | |
| Sport | Rugby sevens |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1997 |
| Country | Hong Kong |
| Most recent champion(s) |  New Zealand (2023) |
| Most titles | New Zealand (11 titles) |
| Related competitions | Hong Kong Sevens |
History
The Hong Kong Sevens included a women's tournament for the first time under chairwoman Maria Allen and at the urging of USA 7s coach, Emil Signes.[4][5] Over the next decade the number of tournaments grew, with almost every region developing regular championships. This reached its zenith with 2009's inaugural women's tournament for the Rugby World Cup Sevens, shortly followed by the announcement that women's rugby sevens would be included in the Olympics from 2016.
New Zealand representative teams have competed in Hong Kong as early as 1997, winning the competition in 1997 and 1999. In 2000 New Zealand sent its first official Women's Sevens team to the Hong Kong Sevens.[6]
Past champions
The following are details of all Hong Kong women's international tournaments played since 1997, listed chronologically with the earliest first, with all result details, where known.
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Key:
Dark blue line indicates a tournament included in the World Rugby Women's Sevens Series.
Notes:
- New Zealand Wild Ducks and Aotearoa Maori – Prior to the early 2000s, the NZRFU would not condone or send any official team, but an invitation team made up largely of Black Ferns and upcoming talented players did go to the HKG 7s each year in the late nineties from the inception of the HKG tournament. This team was named the Wild Ducks. It had no official status whatsoever, and the matches it played cannot be considered official internationals. The first official NZ team took part in 2000 and 2001, but from 2002 onwards the NZRFU again declined to send a team, whereby interested women's rugby officials from the Bay of Plenty in particular received the union's blessing to send a Maori team "Aotearoa" to HKG. For the first couple of years this team was pretty much strictly Maori in its makeup. However, for the later tournaments Black Ferns and upcoming players of any ethnicity were selected. It is not an official team and its matches should not be considered internationals but it has the union's blessing to compete in international tournaments.[lower-alpha 2]
- "FIRA-AER – Rugby Europe".
2003
Venue/Date: Hong Kong, 27–28 March 2003 (Source Hong Kong Union)
Participants: England, Aotearoa Maori New Zealand, USA, Fiji and 4 from the preceding Asian tournament.
The Fiji women's team made their first international appearance since 1997.
Group stages
POOL A
| Nation | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aotearoa Maori New Zealand |
3 | 0 | 0 | 86 | 12 | 6 |
 England |
2 | 0 | 1 | 44 | 26 | 4 |
 United States |
1 | 0 | 2 | 38 | 27 | 2 |
 Fiji |
0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 103 | 0 |
- Aotearoa Maori New Zealand 26–12 England
- USA 38–0 Fiji
- Aotearoa Maori New Zealand 38–0 Fiji
- England 5–0 USA
- Aotearoa Maori New Zealand 22–0 USA
- England 27–0 Fiji
POOL B – Asian Qualifiers
| Nation | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Kazakhstan |
3 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 6 |
 Hong Kong |
2 | 0 | 1 | – | – | 4 |
 Arabian Gulf |
1 | 0 | 2 | – | – | 2 |
 Thailand |
0 | 0 | 3 | – | – | 0 |
- Kazakhstan ?–? Hong Kong
- Arabian Gulf ?–? Thailand
- Kazakhstan ?–? Thailand
- Hong Kong ?–? Arabian Gulf
- Kazakhstan ?–? Arabian Gulf
- Hong Kong ?–? Thailand
Classification stages
Cup Quarter-finals
- England 27–0 Arabian Gulf
- Kazakhstan 27–5 Fiji
- USA 29–0 Hong Kong
- Aotearoa Maori New Zealand 46–0 Thailand
Shield Semi-finals
- Fiji 34–0 Arabian Gulf
- Hong Kong 19–5 Thailand
Cup Semi-finals
- England 19–5 Kazakhstan
- Aotearoa Maori New Zealand 17–5 USA
Shield Final
- Arabian Gulf 24–5 Thailand (also reported as 24–7)
Bowl Final
- Fiji 34–12 Hong Kong
Plate Final
- Kazakhstan 14–7 USA (Kazakhstan, as highest placed Asian team, were declared Asian champions)
Cup Final
- Aotearoa Maori New Zealand 27–0 England
2006
Venue/Date: Hong Kong, 31 March 2006.[9] (Source Hong Kong Union) Summarised (but with a number of missing games)
Group games
| Key to colours in group tables | |
|---|---|
| Teams that advanced to the Cup | |
| Teams advanced to the Plate | |
Group A
| Nation | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aotearoa Maori New Zealand |
2 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 5 |
 China |
1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 7 |
 Japan U-23 |
0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 38 |
Source:[9]
- Aotearoa Maori New Zealand 7–5 China
- Aotearoa Maori New Zealand 38–0 Japan U-23
- China beat Japan U-23
Group B
| Nation | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Australia |
|||||
 Singapore |
|||||
 Sri Lanka |
Source:[9]
- Australia ?–? Singapore
- Australia ?–? Sri Lanka
- Singapore ?–? Sri Lanka
POOL C
| Nation | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States |
2 | 0 | 0 | 105 | 0 |
| Thailand |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 50 |
 Guam |
0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 55 |
Source:[10]
- USA 50–0 Thailand
- USA 55–0 Guam
- Thailand ?–? Guam
POOL D
| Nation | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Netherlands |
|||||
| Kazakhstan |
|||||
| Hong Kong |
Source:[9]
- Netherlands ?–? Kazakhstan
- Netherlands ?–? Hong Kong
- Kazakhstan?–? Hong Kong
Classification stages
Cup Quarter-finals
- Aotearoa Maori Zealand 45–0 Netherlands
- Kazakhstan 14–12 China
- Australia 63–? Thailand
- USA 50–0 Singapore
Vase Semi-finals
- Japan U-23 5-? Hong Kong
- Sri Lanka 5-? Guam
Bowl Semi-finals
- Netherlands 14–7 China
- Thailand 5–5 Singapore
Cup Semi-finals
- Aotearoa Maori New Zealand 25–7 Kazakhstan
- Australia 15–0 USA
Spoon Final
- Japan U-23 24–0 Guam
Vase Final
- Hong Kong 26–5 Sri Lanka
Shield Final
- China 50–0 Thailand
Bowl Final
- Netherlands 36–0 Singapore
Plate Final
- USA 31–0 Kazakhstan
Cup Final
- Aotearoa Maori New Zealand 19–12 Australia
See also
- Hong Kong Sevens (men's tournament)
Notes and references
- "World Rugby announces new-look men's and women's HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2019-23" (Press release). World Rugby. 13 March 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
- travelnewsasia. "Remaining Rounds of HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2020 Cancelled". asiatraveltips.com. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
- "Hong Kong Sevens cancelled for a second straight year". Americas Rugby News. 4 August 2021. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
- Faure, Kevin (30 April 1996). "HK to host women's world sevens". Eastern Express.
- Signes, Emil. "Boys and Girls Together: A Prehistory of International Women's Sevens and how it may have led to rugby in the Olympics my perspective". Retrieved 10 June 2014.
- "New Zealand Rugby Museum – What is Sevens Rugby?". rugbymuseum.co.nz. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
- "New Zealand awarded titles as HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2020 concluded". World Rugby. 30 June 2020. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
- Burke, Burke (5 August 2021). "World Rugby Sevens Series legs in Hong Kong and Paris cancelled". Inside the Games. Archived from the original on 5 August 2021.
- Ngao, Judy (8 March 2006). "Hong Kong get a local makeover". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
- Young, Wendy (31 March 2006). "Women's National 7's". scrumhalfconnection.com. Retrieved 22 September 2023.