Rugby League World Sevens
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles (3 titles) |
The Rugby League World Sevens, usually referred to as the World Sevens
When the National Rugby League was formed in Australasia in 1998 the World Sevens competition was dropped, but it returned in 2003 when Parramatta successfully defended their title from the last time in 1997.
Format and rules
The World Sevens format saw entrants divided into eight pools.[3] The top team in each pool progressed into the quarter-finals.[3]
Until 2004, second placed teams from each pool would play each other, as would third placed teams. In 2004, when the competition was known as the Cougar Bourbon World Sevens, this format changed, when only the top placed teams played for the major prize.
Each match played up to and including the semi-finals had two 7-minute halves with extra time played in the event of tie at the end normal time.[3] The final is longer with two 10-minute halves. In 2004, the tackle limit was reduced from 6 to 4.
History
The World Sevens were held at
1993 saw Wigan not defending their title.
In 1995, Canada became the first side in World Sevens not to score a point throughout the tournament. The Canadians lost to the Newcastle Knights 52–0 and New Zealand 56–0 in the group stage and to Western Suburbs 48–0 in the plate quarter-finals.
Nathan Hindmarsh was deemed Player of the Series as Parramatta stormed to victory in the 2003 competition. Parramatta beat Canberra in their quarter-final, followed by South Sydney in the semi-final.[2] The final pitted England against a Parramatta side that flew to the lead, scoring five tries before half-time to England's one by Keith Senior.[2] The match finished 42–18.[2] The Plate final was won by the Bulldogs who beat New Zealand and the Bowl final was won by North Queensland who beat Fiji.[2]
In 2004, the Wests Tigers took the title, winning 18–7 in the final and ending Parramatta's campaign for a third consecutive title.[1] The Wests Tigers' first title as a merged entity gained them A$100,000 in prize money.[1]
2004: tournament ceases
The lead-up to the 2004 tournament was disrupted by setbacks for the World Sevens. Some
The competition's standing was further weakened by news that Channel 9 would only be broadcasting a limited highlights television programme in areas of New South Wales and Queensland, despite having rights to show the event live.[4][5]
Ultimately, the fact that the 2004 tournament drew 15,000 fewer fans than the previous year led to the tournament being axed.
The future
In the years since the tournament was indefinitely suspended in 2004 other tournaments have provided continued international rugby league sevens events.[6]
Actor
In 2008, it emerged that the World Sevens could make a comeback by 2010.[7] The competitors in the revived competition would be international sides rather than the assorted mix of clubs, nations and other representative sides of the past.[7] A competition between only national sides is considered to have value in growing rugby league nations to a higher skill level and the exposure to new audiences globally of the sport via broadcast coverage.[7]
The other motivation for this potential change was voiced by Tas Baiteri, International Development Officer for the
With proposed entrants in future competitions being national teams, the need for the tournament to be hosted in Sydney each year has been debated with some arguing that the World Sevens should be used as a tool to spread the sport further by hosting in a succession of locations globally.[8]
According to Rugby League Review, there is a possibility that the Sevens derivative could be replaced by a nines tournament should there be enough support from the rugby league authorities entering teams.[7]
In 2014, the National Rugby League held the first edition of the
Finals
Year | Winners | Titles | Score | Runner-up | Source |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1988 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 1 | Canberra Raiders | ||
1989 | Balmain Tigers | 1 | Eastern Suburbs Roosters |
||
1990 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles |
1 | 24-22 | Parramatta Eels | |
1991 | Newcastle Knights | 1 | St George Dragons |
||
1992 | Wigan Warriors | 1 | 18–6 | Brisbane Broncos | [9] |
1993 | Eastern Suburbs Roosters |
1 | 18–12 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles |
|
1994 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles |
2 | 44–12 | St. George Dragons | |
1995 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles |
3 | 36–12 | Fiji Bati | |
1996 | Newcastle Knights | 2 | 48–18 | North Sydney Bears | |
1997 | Parramatta Eels | 1 | 32–22 | North Sydney Bears | |
1998 | Not held | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
1999 | Not held | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
2000 | Not held | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
2001 | Not held | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
2002 | Not held | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
2003 | Parramatta Eels | 2 | 48–18 | England Lions | [10] |
2004 | Wests Tigers | 1[a] | 18–7 | Parramatta Eels | [1] |
- Note
^ a: First title for Wests Tigers but one previous win for Balmain Tigers, a merged partner in Wests Tigers
See also
References
- ^ a b c d James Stewart (25 January 2004). "Tigers win World Sevens". rleague.com. Archived from the original on 12 May 2006. Retrieved 12 June 2009.
- ^ a b c d e "Parramatta lift Sevens crown". BBC Sport. 2 February 2003. Retrieved 5 January 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Production company: Twenty Twenty Television; Director: Stuart Goodman; Producer: Martin Short; Series Producer: Claudia Milne (1992). "Simply the best". Up 'n' Under. BBC.
- ^ a b c d Michael Edgar (19 January 2004). "Cougar World Sevens Needs Showcasing, Not Mothballing". leagueunlimited.com. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 11 June 2009.
- ^ Steven Birchall (18 January 2004). "Channel 9's coverage for World Sevens confirmed". leagueunlimited.com. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 11 June 2009.
- ^ a b Geoff Stevenson (19 February 2007). "Why aren't we in Sevens heaven?". leagueunlimited.com. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 13 June 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f Josh King (9 March 2008). "Return of the Rugby League World Sevens?". nrlnews.com. Retrieved 11 June 2009.
- ^ Matt Dwyer (26 November 2004). "Opinion: The World 7s in 2006". rleague.com. Archived from the original on 11 February 2010. Retrieved 12 June 2009.
- ^ Dave Hadfield (28 January 1993). "RL pulls Wales out of Sevens". The Independent. Retrieved 12 June 2009.
- ^ Dave Hadfield (4 February 2003). "Widnes on target to attract Paul". The Independent. Retrieved 13 June 2009.[dead link]