2019 Hong Kong Sevens
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The 2019 Hong Kong Sevens was a
rugby sevens Rugby sevens (commonly known simply as sevens, and originally seven-a-side rugby) is a variant of rugby union in which teams are made up of seven players playing seven-minute halves, instead of the usual 15 players playing 40-minute halves. R ...
tournament that took place at the
Hong Kong Stadium Hong Kong Stadium is the main sports venue of Hong Kong. Redeveloped from the original Government Stadium, it reopened as Hong Kong Stadium in March 1994. It has a maximum seating capacity of 40,000, including 18,260 at the main level, 3,173 at ...
between the 5–7 April 2019. It was the 44th edition of the
Hong Kong Sevens The Hong Kong Sevens ( zh, t=香港國際七人欖球賽, link=no) is a rugby sevens tournament held annually in Hong Kong on a weekend in late March or early April. Considered the premier tournament on the World Rugby Sevens Series competiti ...
, and the seventh tournament of the
2018–19 World Rugby Sevens Series 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 R ...
. Sixteen teams competed in the main tournament, while a further twelve competed in a qualifier tournament with the winner getting core team status for the 2019–20 World Rugby Sevens Series. After securing three wins from three in their "pool of death",
Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...
became the first team to win five consecutive Hong Kong titles after they defeated
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
21–7. The
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
came in third after losing to Fiji in the semi-final before dispatching
Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...
(who lost to France) in the third place playoff by 12 points. In the Challenge Trophy,
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
defeated
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
by two points with
Gavin Lowe Gavin Lowe (born 1 March 1995 in Carluke) is a Scottish international 7s rugby union player at the Full Back position. Rugby union career Amateur career Lowe first played his rugby for Ayr Rugby but moved on to the Glasgow Hawks. He was ...
scoring the match winning try for Scotland. This meant that after seven rounds of the series, the United States margin was dropped to only seven points from second place Fiji with
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
a fellow five points behind after they finished sixth in Hong Kong. The World Series Qualifier tournament saw
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
and
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
make the final after they defeated
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
and
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
in the respective semi finals. In the final it was Ireland who got core status for the first time in the nation's history after they defeated Hong Kong 28–7 to be able to compete in all events as a core nation for the 2019–20 season.


Background

The 2019 Hong Kong Sevens is the seventh round of ten in the 2018–19 season and the 44th edition of the tournament since its inception in 1976. Heading into the round the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
was leading the series with 113 points from six rounds. This meant that they had a seven-point gap over second place
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
after finishing in fourth place in the previous round while New Zealand came in fifth. Behind them was
Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...
and
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
with both teams making the cup semis with South Africa taking out the title in Vancouver. Outside of the top four spots,
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
was on 80 points with
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
sixth with 65. On 13 March, news about the future of the series was announced with the Hong Kong Sevens being one of six combined rounds in the men's and women's series starting from the 2019–20 season with the other tournaments being Dubai, Cape Town, New Zealand, Sydney and Paris.


Teams

Sixteen teams competed in the main tournament with the fifteen teams being core teams to the series. The sixteenth team in
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
was invited by
World Rugby World Rugby is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international competit ...
to fill the remaining spot in the draw. A further twelve teams will compete in the World Series Qualifier tournament with the winner to replace the bottom ranked team after the end of the season. Ten teams will be returning from last year with only
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
and the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
not competing in the previous year.


Format

The teams were divided into pools of four teams, who played a round-robin within the pool. Points were awarded in each pool on the standard schedule for rugby sevens tournaments (though different from the standard in the 15-man game)—3 for a win, 2 for a draw, 1 for a loss. The main draw consists of sixteen teams with fifteen of them being core teams that compete in each series event, plus an invitational team (Portugal). These teams competed in Pools A, B, C, and D. The winners and runners-up from each pool in the main draw qualified for the Cup quarterfinals. The losers of these quarterfinals competed in the Challenge Trophy bracket. The qualifying tournament features twelve teams from the six regional championships. These teams play in Pool E, F and G. The top two teams from each pool, plus the top two third-place teams, advanced to the knockout stage. The winner of the qualifying event books a spot as a core team for the following World Series season (2019–20).


Summary


Day 1

The opening day of the tournament saw the first eight games of the pool stage. The United States who were predicted to be the favourites for the tournament got off to a good start by defeating
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
36–7 in the opening match of Pool D with Stephen Tomasin scoring a double. England survived a scare in their match with
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
after being behind by 14 points at the half before coming back with
Dan Norton Daniel John Norton (born 22 March 1988) is a former rugby union player. He is the leading all-time try scorer in the World Rugby Sevens Series with over 350 tries, beating the previous record of 244 held by Kenya's Collins Injera at the 2017 ...
breaking the all-time leading try scorer record. England would go on to win the match 36–19. The New Zealand team paid tribute to the victims from the Christchurch massacre as they wore white instead of their traditional black as they knock off Australia 40–19. Fiji began their defence of the title as they defeated
Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...
22–5 in the other match of Pool C in what was a repeat of last year's final. The cup finalists from the previous round won their first games with
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
smashing Portugal 40–7 while South Africa was given an early scare in their 22–7 win over Japan. The other two games saw Samoa and Argentina record wins over their opposition.


Day 2

The second day of the tournament saw the remaining sixteen matches being played in the groups. The main action from the second day was in Pool D with the United States losing to Wales in the second match of the day despite a hat-trick from
Carlin Isles Carlin Isles (born November 21, 1989) is an American rugby union player who plays for the United States national rugby sevens team. With 202 tries, Isles is second for the United States in career tries scored, behind teammate Perry Baker. Isl ...
. The United States would qualify through to the knockout stage after Spain defeated Wales by sixteen points to make it through by point differential. England was the second team that qualified as they defeated Spain 54–5 before knocking off the leaders in the final match of the pool. Fiji kept their defence alive after topping Pool C following a win over New Zealand in what was described as the "group of death". Earlier they defeated Australia 31–12 to eliminate the Australians from title contention. New Zealand finished in second place after they dispatch
Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...
36–0 to qualify through to the cup quarter-finals. France finished top of Pool B after they came from seven points down in the match against
Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
to record a 26–14 which featured four different try scorers. Argentina would join them in the quarters after getting past Portugal in what was a tough match for Argentina. This was due to them being down by 14 points early in the second half before recovering to a 26–21 win with a Luciano Gonzalez try with only two minutes left on the clock. South Africa also remained perfect in the quest for their first Hong Kong title after they finished top of Pool A with a 21–7 over fellow qualifiers
Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...
. For
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
and
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
they were relegated to the challenge trophy after losing their second matches earlier in the pool.


Day 3

The third day of competition saw the tournament head to the knockout phase of the competition. The quarter finals saw an upset in the final quarter final match with
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
defeating New Zealand for the first time at the event. Manoel Dall'igna from the French team responded, "we played like a team, played very well together," in the 14–12 victory. Fiji received a massive shock in their quarter final match with the team going down 12–0 early in the first half. Two tries from
Paula Dranisinukula Paula Dranisinukula (born 23 Sep 1989) is a forward in the Fiji national rugby sevens team and a soldier in the Republic of Fiji Military Forces. Dranisinukula made his debut for the Fiji national rugby sevens team ...
brought Fiji back into the match as they levelled with their opponents at the half. The second half saw the Fijians taking the lead and ending up winners by five points. South Africa attempt to win their first Hong Kong Sevens ended with a loss against the United States while
Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...
defeated England 14–12 after Dan Bibby had to be carried off the field in the first half. In the semi-finals, Fiji defeated the Americans by nine points in the first semi final to book a spot in their fifth consecutive Hong Kong final.
Sevuloni Mocenacagi Sevuloni Mocenacagi (born 19 June 1990) is a Fijian rugby player who plays as a forward or centre in the Fiji national rugby sevens team. According to Gareth Baber, the coach of the Fiji Sevens team: "Last year he ocenacagiwas a forward and t ...
opened the scoring for Fiji in the second minute of play before
Carlin Isles Carlin Isles (born November 21, 1989) is an American rugby union player who plays for the United States national rugby sevens team. With 202 tries, Isles is second for the United States in career tries scored, behind teammate Perry Baker. Isl ...
scored his first of two tries for the game to level the match. The Fijians scored tries either side of the half to give them the victory and a spot in the cup final. Their opponent in the final was France who made it to their second consecutive cup final for the season after dispatching Samoa in the other semi. The game which saw Samoa having to catch up after the French got the lead in the first minute from a Gabin Villière try. With the match see-sawing towards a result, a controversial try from Aurelien Callandret sealed the win for France despite replays showing the foot touching the line.
Vilimoni Botitu Vilimoni Botitu (born 15 June 1998) is a Fijian professional rugby union player for Castres Olympique in the French Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 ...
opened the scoring for Fiji with a try in the fourth minute to give Fiji the early lead in the final against France. Fiji extended their lead at the end of the first half with Aminiasi Tuimaba scoring the first of two tries in the match to give Fiji a fourteen-point lead at the break. A penalty try at the start of the second half gave France some hope. But Tuimaba got his second try of the match to give Fiji the win. This win saw Fiji became the first team to win five consecutive Hong Kong titles. In the third place play-off, the United States defeated Samoa 22–10 as they had four different try scorers in the twelve point victory. In the World Series Qualifier,
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
and
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
met in the qualifier final to see who would qualify through to the World Series. This was after they had defeated Germany and Chile earlier in the day. Harry McNulty scored the first try in the third minute of play to give Ireland the lead. This was followed by tries from
Greg O'Shea Greg O'Shea is an Australian record producer, audio engineer, mix engineer and musician, who has worked extensively in Canada, most notably with k-os. Career O'Shea started his recording career at Melbourne's Metropolis Studios in 1990. He w ...
and Jordan Conroy at either end of the half time to give Ireland a 21-point advantage. From there they wouldn't lose the lead despite Hong Kong getting a try back to give some sniff of a victory and for Ireland they received core status.


Main draw


Pool stage

All times in
Hong Kong Time Hong Kong Time (abbreviation: HKT; ) is the time in Hong Kong, observed at UTC+08:00 all year round. The Hong Kong Observatory is the official timekeeper of the Hong Kong Time. It is indicated as Asia/Hong_Kong in the IANA time zone database ...
( UTC+08:00).


Pool A


Pool B


Pool C


Pool D


Knockout stage


Thirteenth place


Challenge Trophy


5th place


Cup


Tournament placings

Source
World Rugby
/small>


Players


Scoring leaders

Source
World Rugby


Dream team

The following seven players were selected to the tournament dream team at the conclusion of the tournament:


World Series qualifier


Teams


Pool stage

All times in
Hong Kong Time Hong Kong Time (abbreviation: HKT; ) is the time in Hong Kong, observed at UTC+08:00 all year round. The Hong Kong Observatory is the official timekeeper of the Hong Kong Time. It is indicated as Asia/Hong_Kong in the IANA time zone database ...
( UTC+08:00).


Pool E


Pool F


Pool G


Knockout stage


Overall record


See also

* 2019 Hong Kong Women's Sevens


References


External links


Tournament page

World Rugby page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hong Kong
2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...
rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
2018–19 World Rugby Sevens Series 2019 in Asian rugby union
Hong Kong Sevens The Hong Kong Sevens ( zh, t=香港國際七人欖球賽, link=no) is a rugby sevens tournament held annually in Hong Kong on a weekend in late March or early April. Considered the premier tournament on the World Rugby Sevens Series competiti ...