Rugby World Cup Sevens facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Rugby World Cup Sevens

Current season or competition: 2022 Rugby World Cup Sevens
Sport	Rugby union
Inaugural season	1993 (men) 2009 (women)
Number of teams	24 (men) 16 (women)
Holders	Fiji (men) (2022)  Australia (women) (2022)
Most titles	New Zealand  Fiji (men) (3 titles)  New Zealand  Australia (women) (2 titles)

The Rugby World Cup Sevens (RWCS) is a big international rugby tournament. It happens every four years. In this game, teams play rugby sevens, which is a faster version of rugby union.

World Rugby organizes the event. It includes both men's and women's teams. This tournament is one of the most important rugby sevens events, along with the Summer Olympics.

The first tournament for men was in 1993 in Scotland. England won that first cup. The men's winners get the Melrose Cup. This cup is named after Melrose, the Scottish town where rugby sevens first started.

A women's tournament began in 2009 in Dubai. Australia won the first women's title. After the 2013 tournament, there was a five-year break. This break allowed rugby sevens to become part of the Summer Olympics. The most recent Rugby World Cup Sevens was in 2022. It took place in Cape Town, South Africa. Fiji won the men's tournament, and Australia won the women's tournament.

History of the Rugby World Cup Sevens

The idea for the Rugby World Cup Sevens came from the Scottish Rugby Union. They suggested it to the International Rugby Board (now called World Rugby). The first tournament was held at Murrayfield in Edinburgh in 1993. Since then, it has usually happened every four years. England beat Australia 21–17 in that first final.

Hong Kong played a big role in making rugby sevens popular around the world. It hosted the tournament in 1997 and again in 2005. Fiji won in 1997, beating South Africa. The 2001 tournament was held in Mar del Plata, Argentina.

In 2009, some teams surprised everyone. Wales, Samoa, Argentina, and Kenya beat strong teams like New Zealand and England. This meant a new team would win the Melrose Cup. Wales played Argentina in the final and won 19–12.

In 2005, the IRB tried to make rugby sevens an Olympic sport. But it didn't happen because they needed to do more to promote women's rugby. So, the IRB started the first women's Rugby World Cup Sevens in 2009. The 2009 tournament in Dubai had 78,000 people watching.

At first, the IRB thought about ending the World Cup Sevens. They wanted the Olympics to be the only big event for rugby sevens every four years. But in 2009, the International Olympic Committee voted for rugby sevens to be a medal event at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

In 2010, Moscow, Russia was chosen to host the 2013 tournament. The IRB hoped this would help rugby grow in Russia. That tournament had 24 men's teams and 16 women's teams.

Even after rugby sevens joined the Olympics, it was decided in 2013 that the Rugby World Cup Sevens would continue. This is because the World Cup can have more teams than the Olympics. It also allows for a top-level competition to happen every two years from 2016. The next tournament after 2013 was held in 2018, a year later than usual. This change helped fit it into the new Olympic schedule. The 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens was held in the United States.

Tournament Attendance

Many fans come to watch the Rugby World Cup Sevens. Here's how many people attended some of the tournaments:

Men's Tournament Champions

Here are the winners and runners-up for the men's Rugby World Cup Sevens:

Ed.	Year	Host	First place game			Losing semifinalists		Num. teams
			Champion	Score	Runner-up
1	1993	Edinburgh	England	21–17	Australia	Fiji	Ireland	24
2	1997	Hong Kong	Fiji	24–21	South Africa	New Zealand	Samoa	24
3	2001	Mar del Plata	New Zealand	31–12	Australia	Fiji	Argentina	24
4	2005	Hong Kong	Fiji	29–19	New Zealand	Australia	England	24
5	2009	Dubai	Wales	19–12	Argentina	Samoa	Kenya	24
6	2013	Moscow	New Zealand	33–0	England	Fiji	Kenya	24
7	2018	San Francisco	New Zealand	33–12	England	South Africa	Fiji	24
8	2022	Cape Town	Fiji	29–12	New Zealand	Ireland	Australia	24

Notable Men's Players

Some players have really stood out in the men's tournament. Here are the "Player of the Tournament" winners:

Player of the Tournament

Year	Champion	Player
1993	England	Lawrence Dallaglio
1997	Fiji	Waisale Serevi
2001	New Zealand	Jonah Lomu
2005	Fiji	Waisale Serevi
2009	Wales	Tal Selley
2013	New Zealand	Tim Mikkelson
2018	New Zealand	Scott Curry
2022	Fiji	Kaminieli Rasaku

In 2001, Jonah Lomu from New Zealand became a legend. He scored three tries in the final. In 2005, Waisale Serevi came out of retirement to lead Fiji to another win. At the 2009 tournament, Wales won, and Taliesin Selley was named the best player.

Men's Player Records

Here are some top records for players in the men's Rugby World Cup Sevens:

Most career tries Rank Player Tries 1 Marika Vunibaka 23 2 Waisale Serevi 19 3 Brian Lima 17 4 Andrew Turnbull 16 5 Roger Randle 14 Brendan Williams 14 7 Tevita Tuʻifua 14 8 Andy Harriman 12 António Aguilar 12 10 Joost van der Westhuizen 11

Most career points Rank Player Points 1 Waisale Serevi 297 2 Marika Vunibaka 115 3 Brian Lima 101 4 Amasio Valence 100 5 Ben Gollings 98 6 Glen Osborne 91 7 Andre Joubert 88 8 Andrew Aiolupo 85 Colin Gregor 85 10 Nick Beal 84

Most career matches Rank Player Matches 1 Waisale Serevi 31 2 Collins Injera 21 3 Marika Vunibaka 19 4 Brian Lima 18 5 Andrew Turnbull 17 6 Min-Suk Yoo 16 Pedro Leal 16 8 8 players tied with 15

These records are up to date as of September 12, 2022.

Men's Tournament Results by Nation

This table shows how different countries have performed in the men's Rugby World Cup Sevens over the years:

Team	1993	1997	2001	2005	2009	2013	2018	2022	Years
Arabian Gulf					21st				1
Argentina	9th	13th	3rd	5th	2nd	11th	5th	5th	8
Australia	2nd	5th	2nd	3rd	10th	5th	10th	4th	8
Canada	15th	21st	5th	18th	13th	9th	12th	13th	8
Chile			17th				17th	14th	3
Cook Islands		11th	13th						2
Chinese Taipei	21st		21st	21st					3
England	1st	5th	5th	3rd	5th	2nd	2nd	9th	8
Fiji	3rd	1st	3rd	1st	5th	3rd	4th	1st	8
France	15th	5th	21st	5th	13th	5th	8th	6th	8
Georgia			10th	11th	21st	19th			4
Germany								18th	1
Ireland	3rd	19th	19th	13th	18th		9th	3rd	7
Italy	17th			17th	21st				3
Hong Kong	17th	10th	21st	21st	19th	21st	18th	19th	8
Jamaica							24th	24th	2
Japan	13th	17th	13th	13th	21st	18th	15th		7
Kenya			19th	19th	3rd	4th	16th	12th	6
South Korea	11th	5th	13th	21st				21st	5
Latvia	21st								1
Morocco		19th							1
Namibia	21st	21st							2
Netherlands	21st								1
New Zealand	7th	3rd	1st	2nd	5th	1st	1st	2nd	8
Papua New Guinea							21st		1
Philippines						21st			1
Portugal		21st	18th	10th	11th	13th		22nd	6
Romania	17th	13th							2
Russia			9th	11th		17th	14th		4
South Africa	5th	2nd	5th	5th	5th	5th	3rd	7th	8
Samoa	5th	3rd	5th	9th	3rd	10th	13th	8th	8
Scotland	14th	11th		5th	9th	11th	7th	16th	7
Spain	10th	13th	11th			21st			4
Tonga	7th	9th		19th	11th	13th	22nd	20th	7
Tunisia				13th	13th	21st			3
Uganda							19th	17th	2
Uruguay				21st	19th	19th	20th	10th	5
United States	17th	18th	13th	13th	13th	13th	6th	11th	8
Wales	11th	13th	11th		1st	5th	11th	15th	7
Zimbabwe		21st	21st		17th	13th	23rd	23rd	6

Women's Tournament Champions

The women's Rugby World Cup Sevens started in 2009. Here are the champions and runners-up:

Ed.	Year	Host	First place game			Losing semifinalists		Num. teams
			Champion	Score	Runner-up
1	2009	United Arab Emirates	Australia	15–10	New Zealand	United States	South Africa	16
2	2013	Moscow	New Zealand	29–12	Canada	United States	Spain	16
3	2018	San Francisco	New Zealand	29–0	France	Australia	United States	16
4	2022	Cape Town	Australia	24–22	New Zealand	France	United States	16

Women's Tournament Results by Nation

This table shows how different countries have performed in the women's Rugby World Cup Sevens:

Team	2009	2013	2018	2022	Years
Australia	1st	5th	3rd	1st	4
Brazil	10th	13th	13th	11th	4
Canada	6th	2nd	7th	6th	4
China	9th	11th	12th	13th	4
Colombia				16th	1
England	5th	6th	9th	8th	4
Fiji		9th	11th	5th	3
France	7th	11th	2nd	3rd	4
Ireland		7th	6th	7th	3
Italy	11th				1
Japan	13th	13th	10th	9th	4
Madagascar				15th	1
Mexico			16th		1
Netherlands	13th	10th			2
New Zealand	2nd	1st	1st	2nd	4
Papua New Guinea			15th		1
Poland				10th	1
Russia	11th	7th	8th		3
South Africa	4th	13th	14th	14th	4
Spain	7th	4th	5th	12th	4
Thailand	13th				1
Tunisia		13th			1
United States	3rd	3rd	4th	4th	4
Uganda	13th				1

More About Rugby Sevens

In Spanish: Copa del Mundo de Rugby 7 para niños

• World Rugby Sevens Series
• World Rugby Women's Sevens Series
• Rugby sevens at the Summer Olympics
• Hong Kong Sevens
• Rugby World Cup
• Women's Rugby World Cup