Hong Kong Rugby 7s
The HSBC Sevens World Series, previously known as the IRB Sevens World Series, consists of ten tournaments held around the world, in which national Sevens teams compete for World Series points at each round, with winners in the Cup, Plate, Bowl and Shield crowned at each location.
An overall HSBC Sevens World Series champion is crowned at the end of the season based on points accumulated throughout the ten events.
There are 16 ‘core’ teams who participate at each round of the Series. Since the 2012/13 season promotion and relegation from this ever-present status came into effect, giving each team competing in regional competition a direct opportunity to qualify to compete regularly at the highest level.
IRB Sevens World Series roll of honour
1999/00 – New Zealand
2000/01 – New Zealand
2001/02 – New Zealand
2002/03 – New Zealand
2003/04 – New Zealand
2004/05 – New Zealand
2005/06 – Fiji
2006/07 – New Zealand
2007/08 – New Zealand
2008/09 – South Africa
2009/10 – Samoa
2010/11 – New Zealand
2011/12 – New Zealand
2012/13 – New Zealand
2013/14 – New Zealand
2014/15 – Fiji
2015/16 – Fiji
2016/17 – South Africa
2017/18 – South Africa
2018/19 – Fiji
HSBC Sevens World Series 2018/19
The IRB has announced the dates for the HSBC Sevens World Series 2017/18.
| Round 1 | Dubai | 05-07 Dec 2019 |
| Round 2 | Cape Town (South Africa) | 13-15Dec 2019 |
| Round 3 | Hamilton (New Zealand) | 25-26 Jan 2020 |
| Round 4 | Sydney (Australia) | 1-2 Feb 2020 |
| Round 5 | Las Vegas (USA) | 29-01 Feb 2020 |
| Round 6 | Vancouver (Canada) | 7-8 Mar 2020 |
| Round 7 | Hong Kong | 3-5 Apr 2020 |
| Round 8 | Singapore | 11-12 Apr 2020 |
| Round 9 | London (England) | 23-24 May 2020 |
| Round 10 | Paris (France) | 30-31 May 2020 |
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In 2013, the number of teams involved in the event will increase from 24 to 28. However, only 16 of these teams will compete for series points. The 15 core teams will be joined in the main draw by the winner of the most recent edition of the HSBC Asian Sevens Series.
The remaining 12 teams of the 28 (specifically two qualifiers from each of the IRB’s six regional zones) participate in the World Series Pre-Qualifier. Like the main draw, the Pre-Qualifier groups the entrants into four-team pools. The top two teams from each pool, plus the top two third-place teams, advance to a quarterfinal round, with the winners of all four matches advancing to the World Series Core Team Qualifier at the Hong Kong 7’s in 2019.
The 2019 series has added incentive for the 11 core women’s teams and 15 core men’s teams who will battle it out to secure not only the coveted HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series titles, but also a place at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games by finishing in the top four of the 2019 series.
Pool
Points are awarded in each pool on a different schedule from most rugby tournaments (3 for a win, 2 for a draw, 1 for a loss). The first tiebreaker is the head-to-head result between the tied teams, followed by difference in points scored during the tournament.
Trophies
Like all other World Series tournaments, four trophies are awarded at the end of a knockout tournament. The top two teams in each pool advance to the Cup and Plate tournaments, and the remaining teams contest the Bowl and Shield. The losers of the Cup quarterfinals drop to the Plate tournament, and the losers of the Bowl quarterfinals drop to the Shield tournament.
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