2015–16 World Rugby Women's Sevens Series

The 2015–16 World Rugby Women's Sevens Series was the fourth edition of the World Rugby Women's Sevens Series (formerly the IRB Women's Sevens World Series), an annual series of tournaments organised by World Rugby for women's national teams in rugby sevens. The tour was a companion to the 2015–16 World Rugby Sevens Series for men.

For the men's competition, see 2015–16 World Rugby Sevens Series.

World Rugby
Women's Sevens Series IV
Hosts United Arab Emirates
 Brazil
 United States
 Canada
 France
Date3 Dec 2015 – 29 May 2016
Final positions
Champions Australia
Runners-up New Zealand
Series details
Top try scorer Portia Woodman (24)
Top point scorer Ghislaine Landry (158)

The series was won by Australia who won three tour events on their way to claiming their first World Series title.[1] The previous women's champions New Zealand finished in second place ahead of Canada and England.[2]

The competition

There were five tournament events in 2015–16. Twelve teams competed at each event; eleven being "core" teams, with a twelfth team invited to participate in particular events (similar to previous women's series as well as the men's counterpart). The overall winner of the series was determined by points gained from the standings across the five events.[3]

For the second time, the women's series held a core team qualifying tournament, similar to that held in the men's HSBC Sevens World Series.[4] The qualifying event was held at University College Dublin, in Ireland, and resulted in Japan and hosts Ireland qualifying as core teams for the main 2015-16 tournament.[5]

Teams

Eleven "core teams" participated in all series events for the 2015–16 series, the same number as the previous season. The top nine finishers in the 2014–15 series were granted core team status for 2014–15:

Two additional core teams were determined in a qualifying tournament:

Events
2015–16 Itinerary
Leg Venue Dates Winner
DubaiThe Sevens, Dubai3–4 December 2015 Australia
BrazilArena Barueri, São Paulo20–21 February 2016 Australia
United StatesFifth Third Bank Stadium, Kennesaw, Georgia (Atlanta)8–9 April 2016 Australia
CanadaWesthills Stadium, Langford, British Columbia (Victoria)16–17 April 2016 England
FranceStade Gabriel Montpied, Clermont-Ferrand28–29 May 2016 Canada

Qualifying tournament

The core team qualifying tournament was held at the UCD Bowl on 22–23 August 2015. [6]

The qualifier began with a single round-robin pool stage, with teams divided into three four-team pools. The top two teams from each pool, plus the top two third-place finishers, advanced to a knockout stage. The two finalists (the semifinal winners) qualified as core teams for 2015–16.

  1.  Japan (qualified)
  2.  Ireland (qualified)
  3.  South Africa
  4.  Netherlands
  5.  Brazil
  6.  Hong Kong
  1.  Wales
  2.  China
  3.  Kenya
  4.  Colombia
  5.  Samoa
  6.  Mexico

Points schedule

The season championship is determined by points earned in each tournament. The scoring system is the same used in the previous year's series.

  • Cup winner (1st place): 20 points
  • Cup runner-up (2nd place): 18 points
  • Cup third-place play-off winner (3rd place): 16 points
  • Cup semi-finalist (4th place): 14 points
  • Plate winner (5th place): 12 points
  • Plate runner-up (6th place): 10 points
  • Plate third-place play-off winner (7th place): 8 points
  • Plate semi-finalist (8th place): 6 points
  • Bowl winner (9th place): 4 points
  • Bowl runner-up (10th place): 3 points
  • Bowl third-place play-off winner (11th place): 2 points
  • Bowl semi-finalist (12th place): 1 point

In the event of a tournament being abandoned, no series points are allocated.

If two or more teams are level on series points at the end of the season, the following tiebreakers are used to determine placement:[2]

  1. Overall difference in points scored and allowed during the season.
  2. Total try count during the season.
  3. If neither of the above produces a winner, the teams are considered tied.

Source: World Rugby[2]

Table

Final standings for the 2015–16 series:

Women's Rugby Sevens
World Series IV
 
Pos.
Event 
Team
Dubai
São Paulo
Atlanta
Langford
Clermont		 Points
total
 Australia202020161894
 New Zealand121618181680
 Canada101814122074
4  England16816201474
5  France14128141260
6  United States2141281046
7  Russia184106442
8  Fiji81064634
9  Spain62210828
10  Brazil36–3–12
11  Japan4331112
12  Ireland1142311
13  Kenya––––22
14  Colombia––1––1

Source: World Rugby[2]

  Legend
Qualified as a core team for women's rugby sevens World Series V
Did not directly qualify for women's rugby sevens World Series V

Tournaments

Dubai
Main article: 2015 Dubai Women's Sevens
Event Winners Score Finalists Semifinalists
Cup  Australia 31–12  Russia  England (3rd)
 France
Plate  New Zealand 24–19  Canada  Fiji (7th)
 Spain
Bowl  Japan 13–0  Brazil  United States (11th)
 Ireland

Brazil
Main article: 2016 São Paulo Women's Sevens
Event Winners Score Finalists Semifinalists
Cup  Australia 29–0  Canada  New Zealand (3rd)
 United States
Plate  France 15–7  Fiji  England (7th)
 Brazil
Bowl  Russia 38–12  Japan  Spain (11th)
 Ireland

United States
Main article: 2016 USA Women's Sevens
Event Winners Score Finalists Semifinalists
Cup  Australia 24–19  New Zealand  England (3rd)
 Canada
Plate  United States 19–7  Russia  France (7th)
 Fiji
Bowl  Ireland 26–15  Japan  Spain (11th)
 Colombia

Canada
Main article: 2016 Canada Women's Sevens
Event Winners Score Finalists Semifinalists
Cup  England 31–14  New Zealand  Australia (3rd)
 France
Plate  Canada 21–5  Spain  United States (7th)
 Russia
Bowl  Fiji 24–7  Brazil  Ireland (11th)
 Japan

France
Main article: 2016 France Women's Sevens
Event Winners Score Finalists Semifinalists
Cup  Canada 29–19  Australia  New Zealand (3rd)
 England
Plate  France 22–19  United States  Spain (7th)
 Fiji
Bowl  Russia 24–5  Ireland  Kenya (11th)
 Japan

References
  1. "Australian women's side secure rugby sevens world series title". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax. 29 May 2016. Archived from the original on 30 May 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  2. "2015/16 Series Standings". World Rugby. 2016. Archived from the original on 30 May 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  3. "Women's Sevens Series tournament rules". World Rugby. 2016. Archived from the original on 30 May 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  4. http://www.worldrugby.org/womens-sevens-series/news/78440
  5. http://www.worldrugby.org/news/85586
  6. "Ireland And Japan Qualify For Women's Sevens Series". www.irishrugby.ie. 23 August 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
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