2018–19_World_Rugby_Sevens_Series
2018–19 World Rugby Sevens Series
20th annual international series in men's rugby sevens
The 2018–19 World Rugby Sevens Series, known for sponsorship reasons as the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, was the 20th annual series of rugby sevens tournaments for national men's rugby sevens teams. The Sevens Series has been run by World Rugby since 1999–2000. This series also, for the second time, doubled as a qualifier for the 2020 Summer Olympics, with the top four countries qualifying automatically.
| 2018–19 World Rugby Sevens | |
|---|---|
| Series XX | |
| Hosts | |
| Date | 30 Nov 2018 – 2 Jun 2019 |
| Nations | 21 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Fiji |
| Runners-up |  United States |
| Third |  New Zealand |
| Series details | |
| Top try scorer | Carlin Isles (52) |
| Top point scorer | Andrew Knewstubb (307) |
← 2017–18 2019–20 → | |
Fiji finished first in the Series, winning five of the ten tournaments. The United States finished in a best-ever second place, reaching the semifinals in all ten tournaments. The relegation battle was a three-way competition going into the final rounds involving Japan, Kenya, and Wales, with Japan finishing last to be relegated from the Series next season. The World Series Qualifier tournament saw Ireland promoted to core status for the first time for the 2019–20 season.
Japan was promoted to core team status for the season after winning the 2018 Hong Kong Sevens qualifier. They replaced Russia, which was relegated after finishing as the last place core team on the 2017–18 World Rugby Sevens Series.
The official schedule for the 2018–19 World Rugby Sevens Series was:[1]
| Leg | Stadium | City | Dates | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Arab Emirates | The Sevens Stadium | Dubai | 30 November – 1 December 2018 | New Zealand |
| South Africa | Cape Town Stadium | Cape Town | 8–9 December 2018 | Fiji |
| New Zealand | FMG Stadium Waikato | Hamilton | 26–27 January 2019 | Fiji |
| Australia | Spotless Stadium | Sydney | 2–3 February 2019 | New Zealand |
| United States | Sam Boyd Stadium | Las Vegas | 1–3 March 2019 | United States |
| Canada | BC Place | Vancouver | 9–10 March 2019 |  South Africa |
| Hong Kong | Hong Kong Stadium | Hong Kong | 5–7 April 2019 | Fiji |
| Singapore | National Stadium | Singapore | 13–14 April 2019 | South Africa |
| England | Twickenham Stadium | London | 25–26 May 2019 | Fiji |
| France | Stade Jean-Bouin | Paris | 1–2 June 2019 | Fiji |
Official standings for the 2018–19 series were:
| Pos. |
Event Team |
 Dubai |
Cape Town |
Hamilton |
 Sydney |
Las Vegas |
 Vancouver |
 Hong Kong |
 Singapore |
 London |
 Paris |
Points total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fiji |
13 | 22 | 22 | 15 | 12 | 17 | 22 | 19 | 22 | 22 | 186 |
| 2 | United States |
19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 22 | 15 | 17 | 15 | 17 | 15 | 177 |
| 3 | New Zealand |
22 | 15 | 17 | 22 | 17 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 19 | 162 |
| 4 | South Africa |
12 | 17 | 15 | 13 | 10 | 22 | 10 | 22 | 10 | 17 | 148 |
| 5 | England [GB 1] |
17 | 13 | 8 | 17 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 17 | 2 | 5 | 114 |
| 6 |  Samoa |
8 | 7 | 12 | 3 | 19 | 10 | 15 | 13 | 8 | 12 | 107 |
| 7 | Australia |
15 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 10 | 19 | 5 | 104 |
| 8 | France |
7 | 5 | 2 | 10 | 1 | 19 | 19 | 8 | 15 | 13 | 99 |
| 9 |  Argentina |
10 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 15 | 10 | 13 | 10 | 5 | 10 | 94 |
| 10 |  Scotland |
10 | 10 | 13 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 72 |
| 11 | Canada |
5 | 5 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 8 | 59 |
| 12 |  Spain |
5 | 12 | 5 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 49 |
| 13 |  Kenya |
1 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 37 |
| 14 |  Wales |
3 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 31 |
| 15 |  Japan |
2 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 27 |
| 16 |  Ireland |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 12 | 7 | 19 |
| 17 |  Chile |
— | — | — | — | 5 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 6 |
| 18 |  Tonga |
— | — | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5 |
| 19 |  Zimbabwe |
1 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 |
| 20 |  Portugal |
— | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | 1 |
| 21 | Hong Kong |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | 1 |
Source: World Rugby
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| No colour | Core team in 2018–19 and re-qualified as a core team for the 2019–20 World Rugby Sevens Series |
| Pink | Relegated as the lowest placed core team at the end of the 2018–19 series |
| Yellow | Not a core team |
| Qualified to the 2020 Olympic Sevens as one of the four highest placed eligible teams from the 2018–19 series.[2] | |
- By agreement between the three unions on the island of Great Britain (England, Scotland, Wales), England, as highest finisher among those nations in the 2017–18 series, represented Great Britain in qualifying for the 2020 Olympic Sevens.[GB 2] The final make-up of the Great Britain men's team was determined by the British Olympic Association.
- "Sevens Olympic pathway confirmed for 2020". England Rugby. 17 September 2018. Archived from the original on 12 October 2018.
Tallies of top four tournament placings during the 2018–19 series, by team:
| Team |  Gold |
 Silver |
 Bronze |
Fourth | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fiji |
5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
| New Zealand |
2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| South Africa |
2 | – | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| United States |
1 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 10 |
| France |
– | 2 | – | 1 | 3 |
| Australia |
– | 1 | – | 1 | 2 |
| Samoa |
– | 1 | – | 1 | 2 |
| England |
– | – | 3 | – | 3 |
| Argentina |
– | – | – | 1 | 1 |
| Totals | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 40 |
Scoring leaders
| Rank | Player | Tries |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carlin Isles | 52 |
| 2 | Aminiasi Tuimaba | 46 |
| 3 | Dan Norton | 39 |
| Max McFarland | ||
| 5 | Alasio Naduva | 37 |
| Rank | Player | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andrew Knewstubb | 307 |
| 2 | Madison Hughes | 299 |
| 3 | Carlin Isles | 260 |
| 4 | Nathan Hirayama | 254 |
| 5 | Jean-Pascal Barraque | 244 |
Updated: 2 June 2019
Dream Team
| Forwards | Backs |
|---|---|
| Stephen Tomasin Ben Pinkelman Meli Derenalagi | Folau Niua Jerry Tuwai Vilimoni Botitu Aminiasi Tuimaba |
Impact award
|
|
Updated: 26 May 2019
Coach of the Series: Mike Friday, U.S. head coach[3]
Dubai
Cape Town
Hamilton
Sydney
Las Vegas
Vancouver
Hong Kong
| Event | Winners | Score | Finalists | Semifinalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cup | Fiji |
21–7 | France |
United States (Bronze) Samoa |
| 5th Place | Argentina |
21–14 | New Zealand |
South Africa England |
| Challenge Trophy | Scotland |
26–24 | Japan |
Australia Kenya |
| 13th Place | Spain |
19–14 (a.e.t) | Wales |
Canada Portugal |
| World Series Qualifier | Ireland |
28–7 | Hong Kong |
 Germany Chile |
Singapore
London
Paris
- "Dates confirmed for 2018/19 Sevens Series". Planet Rugby. 6 July 2018. Retrieved 8 July 2018.
- "Olympic qualification pathway for rugby sevens confirmed for Tokyo 2020". World Rugby. 17 September 2018. Archived from the original on 20 November 2018.
- "Best in class celebrated at HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series Awards in Paris", World Rugby, 2 June 2019.