The 2021 World Rugby Sevens Series was the 22nd annual series of rugby sevens tournaments for national men's rugby sevens teams. The Sevens Series has been run by World Rugby since 1999. Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, only two tournaments were played in the 2021 series instead of the usual ten.[1] The number of teams participating was also reduced from sixteen to twelve at the tournaments, with many of the top teams from the previous series not taking part.[2]
| 2021 World Rugby Sevens | |
|---|---|
| Series XXII | |
| Hosts |
|
| Date | 18–26 September 2021 |
| Nations | 12 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  South Africa |
| Runners-up |  Great Britain |
| Third |  Kenya |
| Series details | |
| Top try scorer | Muller du Plessis (13) |
| Top point scorer | Ronald Brown (91) |
← 2019–20 2021–22 → | |
The series was won by South Africa who won both tour events on their way to claiming their fourth World Series title.
Teams
editThe twelve national men's teams competing in the 2021 series were:
Core teams qualified from the previous season and not competing in 2021 were:
- Argentina, Australia, Fiji, France, Japan, New Zealand and Samoa, who did not travel due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.[a]
- England, Scotland and Wales did not take part, being represented instead by Great Britain.[b]
As a result, five teams from the Challenger Series were invited to both events to complete a 12-team field. Hong Kong, Germany and Chile were in the top four of the 2020 Series, while Jamaica and Mexico were the only North American entrants.
Tour venues
editThe official schedule for the 2021 World Rugby Sevens Series was:[7][8]
| Leg | Stadium | City | Dates | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vancouver | BC Place | Vancouver | 18–19 September 2021 | South Africa
|
| Edmonton | Commonwealth Stadium | Edmonton | 25–26 September 2021 | South Africa
|
On 4 August organisers announced the cancellation of the Hong Kong Sevens for the second year running because of the emerging Covid-19 Delta variant and global travel restrictions.[9]
On 3 September, World Rugby cancelled the Singapore and Cape Town tournaments due to ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and announced that the 2021 Dubai Sevens tournament would no longer be part of the 2021 series but incorporated into the 2021-22 series instead.[1] This reduced the 2021 series to just two events held in Canada.
Standings
editOfficial standings for the 2021 series were:
| Pos. |
Event Team
|
 Vancouver |
Edmonton |
Points total[c] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Africa
|
20 | 20 | 40 |
| 2 | Great Britain[b]
|
16 | 18 | 34 |
| 3 | Kenya
|
18 | 16 | 34 |
| 4 | Canada
|
10 | 14 | 24 |
| 5 |  United States
|
12 | 10 | 22 |
| 6 |  Ireland
|
14 | 6 | 20 |
| 7 |  Germany
|
4 | 12 | 16 |
| 8 |  Hong Kong
|
8 | 8 | 16 |
| 9 |  Spain
|
6 | 4 | 10 |
| 10 |  Jamaica
|
3 | 2 | 5 |
| 11 |  Chile
|
2 | 3 | 5 |
| 12 |  Mexico
|
1 | 1 | 2 |
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| No colour | Originally qualified as a core team for the 2020–21 World Rugby Sevens Series |
| Yellow | Invited team |
Source: World Rugby[10]
Players
editScoring leaders
edit| Rank | Player | Tries |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Muller du Plessis |
13 |
| 2 | Malacchi Esdale |
12 |
| Max McFarland |
12 | |
| 4 | Alvin Otieno |
11 |
| Siviwe Soyizwapi |
11 |
Updated: 27 September 2021
| Rank | Player | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ronald Brown |
91 |
| 2 | Muller du Plessis |
65 |
| 3 | Diego Warnken |
64 |
| 4 | Brennig Prevost |
62 |
| 5 | Malacchi Esdale |
60 |
| Max McFarland |
60 |
Updated: 27 September 2021
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ Due to impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, 2019–20 champion team New Zealand, Olympic gold medallist Fiji, as well as Australia, Argentina, and Samoa did not compete in the 2021 series,[3] and neither did Japan, the team promoted to core status from the 2020 Challenger Series,[4][5] or France, a late withdrawal due to travel issues.[2]
- ^ a b Great Britain represented England, Scotland and Wales during the 2021 World Rugby Sevens Series, following their appearance as Team GB at the Olympic Sevens earlier in the year.[6]
- ^ Due to only 12 teams competing in each event in the 2021 World Rugby Sevens Series, the maximum number of points awarded for a tournament win was 20, in line with the usual system for 12 teams in the World Rugby Women's Sevens Series.
References
edit- ^ a b "World Rugby cancels Sevens events in Cape Town and Singapore". ESPN. 4 September 2021. Archived from the original on 4 September 2021.
- ^ a b Davidson, Neil (10 September 2021). "Field for Canadian rugby sevens events diluted by pandemic-related issues". Lethbridge News Now. Archived from the original on 10 September 2021.
- ^ Johnston, Patrick (12 August 2021). "Rugby: COVID-19 keeping leading teams away from 2021 Canada Sevens". The Province. Vancouver. Archived from the original on 12 August 2021.
- ^ Johnston, Patrick (27 August 2021). "Canada Sevens: Team lineup confirmed as Jamaica, Hong Kong added". The Province. Vancouver. Archived from the original on 28 August 2021.
- ^ "Plans revised for HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2021". World Rugby. 29 July 2020. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
- ^ "HSBC Canada Sevens Update". Canada Sevens. 9 August 2021. Archived from the original on 11 August 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
- ^ "HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2021 schedule updated". World.Rugby. 9 July 2021. Archived from the original on 13 July 2021.
- ^ "HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series". World.Rugby. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
- ^ "Hong Kong Sevens cancelled for second year as organisers turn to April 2022 – 'the potential risk of exposure was just too great'". South China Morning Post. 4 August 2021. Archived from the original on 7 August 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
- ^ "HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series Standings". World Rugby. 2021. Archived from the original on 27 September 2021. Retrieved 27 September 2021.