Dubai Sevens

The Dubai Sevens is an annual rugby sevens and social event held at The Sevens Stadium in Dubai, UAE. Founded in 1970, the event is the longest running sports event in the Middle East.[1]

2007 Dubai Sevens

Events

The Dubai Sevens has four competitions each year:[2]

Dubai is the first leg of the World Rugby Sevens Series. Sixteen teams compete in the men's tournament divided into four pool of four teams. On the first day, each team plays the other three teams in the pool. The two highest teams in each pool advance to the quarterfinal knockout rounds, and the bottom two teams move to the challenge bracket.

Dubai also hosts a stop on the World Rugby Women's Sevens Series. Twelve teams compete in the women's tournament.

For the invitation tournaments, rugby teams take part in 15 sections.[3] The rugby invitational tournament is popular, with hundreds of teams participating.[4] The netball tournament includes teams in three sections: gulf women, open youth, and open women.

The Dubai Sevens is one of the more popular sporting events in Dubai, with over 100,000 fans attending the 2016 event.[5][6]

Venue

The Dubai Sevens has been held at The Sevens Stadium since 2008. Facilities at The Sevens include: eight rugby pitches, six cricket pitches, four netball/tennis courts, one basketball court, a grandstand, and ancillary facilities.[7]

The tournament's move to that venue in 2008 was a success. The tournament broke the World Series single-day attendance record in its first year with over 50,000 fans appearing on the first day of the tournament.[8]

World Series results

Summary of results

Five teams have won the Dubai Sevens at least once. The early years of the tournament on the World Series were less competitive. Prior to 2003, New Zealand won the final with a comfortable 20+ point margin each year. In the first decade from 1999–2008 only five teams (New Zealand, Fiji, Samoa, South Africa, and England) had reached the Dubai Sevens final. Since then, the tournament has been more competitive, with several additional teams making the final and semifinal stages.

TeamChampionRunner-upSemifinalistTop 4 placing
 New Zealand64616
 South Africa61512
 England42814
 Fiji26715
 Samoa1348
 Australia–134
 France–112
 United States–112
 Argentina––11
 Kenya––11
 Wales––11
Total19193876

Results by year
Year  Venue  Cup final Placings Refs
Winner Score Runner-up Plate Bowl Shield
1999 Dubai Exiles
New Zealand		 38–14
Fiji
Australia
Scotland		 N/A [9]
2000 Dubai Exiles
New Zealand		 34–5
Fiji
South Africa
Ireland		 N/A [10]
2001a Dubai Exiles New Zealand 45–7 South Africa Scotland Wales N/A
2002 Dubai Exiles
New Zealand		 38–12
Samoa
Fiji
France
Namibia		 [11]
2003 Dubai Exiles
South Africa		 33–26
New Zealand
Argentina
Canada
Zambia		 [12]
2004 Dubai Exiles
England		 26–21
Fiji
Samoa
Portugal
Tunisia		 [13]
2005 Dubai Exiles
England		 28–26
Fiji
New Zealand
Wales
Kenya		 [14]
2006 Dubai Exiles
South Africa		 31–12
New Zealand
Samoa
Argentina
Wales		 [15]
2007 Dubai Exiles
New Zealand		 31–21
Fiji
Argentina
Australia
Zimbabwe		 [16]
2008 The Sevens
South Africa		 19–12
England
Samoa
Portugal
United States		 [17]
2009 The Sevens
New Zealand		 24–12
Samoa
Australia
Wales
Russia		 [18]
2010 The Sevens
England		 29–21
Samoa
South Africa
Argentina
Kenya		 [19]
2011 The Sevens
England		 29–12
France
Fiji
Australia
Scotland		 [20]
2012 The Sevens
Samoa		 26–15
New Zealand
Wales
Argentina
England		 [21]
2013 The Sevens
Fiji		 29–17
South Africa
Argentina
Australia
France		 [22]
2014 The Sevens
South Africa		 33–7
Australia
Argentina
Samoa
Canada		 [23]
2015 The Sevens
Fiji		 28–17
England
South Africa
France
Canada		 [24]
Winner Score Runner-up Third Fourth Fifth
2016 The Sevens
South Africa		 26–14
Fiji
England
Wales
Australia		 [25]
2017 The Sevens
South Africa		 24–12
New Zealand
England
Fiji
Australia		 [26]
2018 The Sevens
New Zealand		 21–5
United States
England
Australia
Fiji		 [27]
2019 The Sevens
South Africa		 15–0
New Zealand
England
Samoa
Australia		 [28]
2020 The Sevens Tournament cancelled [29]

Notes:

^a The event held on November 7–8, 2001, was downgraded in status and excluded from the Sevens World Series after several teams withdrew in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks.[30][31][32]

Earlier winners

Winners of the Emirates International Trophy from 1988 to 1998:[33]

See also

References
  1. "Dubai Rugby Sevens: History".
  2. "Dubai Rugby Sevens: Event information".
  3. "Dubai Rugby Sevens: News".
  4. "The Dubai Rugby Sevens Broke Attendance Records", Dubai Rugby 7s, 5 December 2016.
  5. "The Dubai Rugby Sevens Broke Attendance Records", Dubai Rugby 7s, 5 December 2016.
  6. "Dubai Rugby Sevens 2018", Time Out Dubai, 29 November 2018.
  7. The Sevens official website, 01.01.11.
  8. "Dubai sets new Series attendance record", World Rugby, 29 November 2008.
  9. "IRB Sevens I – Dubai". Rugby7.com. 1999.
  10. "IRB Sevens II – Dubai". Rugby7.com. 2000.
  11. "IRB Sevens IV – Dubai". Rugby7.com. 2002.
  12. "IRB Sevens V – Dubai". Rugby7.com. 2003.
  13. "IRB Sevens VI – Dubai". Rugby7.com. 2004.
  14. "IRB Sevens VII – Dubai". Rugby7.com. 2005.
  15. "IRB Sevens VIII – Dubai". Rugby7.com. 2006.
  16. "IRB Sevens IX – Dubai". Rugby7.com. 2007.
  17. "IRB Sevens X – Dubai". Rugby7.com. 2009.
  18. "IRB Sevens XI – Dubai". Rugby7.com. 2009.
  19. "IRB Sevens XII – Dubai". Rugby7.com. 2010.
  20. "IRB Sevens XIII – Dubai". Rugby7.com. 2011.
  21. "IRB Sevens XIV – Dubai". Rugby7.com. 2012.
  22. "IRB Sevens XV – Dubai". Rugby7.com. 2013.
  23. "IRB Sevens XVI – Dubai". Rugby7.com. 2014.
  24. "World Sevens Series XVII – Dubai". Rugby7.com. 2015.
  25. "World Sevens Series XVIII – Dubai". Rugby7.com. 2016.
  26. "World Sevens Series XIX– Dubai". Rugby7.com. 2017.
  27. "World Sevens Series XX– Dubai". Rugby7.com. 2018.
  28. del Carme, Liam (8 December 2019). "Brilliant Blitzbokke bag Dubai Sevens title". Business Live.
  29. "Plans revised for HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2021". World Rugby. 29 July 2020. Archived from the original on 29 July 2020.
  30. "Dubai scrubbed from Sevens Series". Irish Times. 16 October 2001. Archived from the original on 11 June 2016.
  31. Malin, Ian (24 October 2001). "England to miss Dubai's downgraded sevens". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 14 August 2016.
  32. "Dubai sevens: Scots take Plate prize". 9 November 2001. Archived from the original on 10 August 2016. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  33. "Dubai 7s". Rugby7.com.
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