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.

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 scorerNew Zealand Portia Woodman (24)
Top point scorerCanada 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

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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 the hosts Ireland qualifying as core teams for the main 2015-16 tournament.[5]

Teams

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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

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2015–16 Itinerary
Leg Venue Dates Winner
Dubai The Sevens, Dubai 3–4 December 2015   Australia
Brazil Arena Barueri, São Paulo 20–21 February 2016   Australia
United States Fifth Third Bank Stadium, Kennesaw, Georgia (Atlanta) 8–9 April 2016   Australia
Canada Westhills Stadium, Langford, British Columbia (Victoria) 16–17 April 2016   England
France Stade Gabriel Montpied, Clermont-Ferrand 28–29 May 2016   Canada

Qualifying tournament

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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

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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

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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
    Australia 20 20 20 16 18 94
    New Zealand 12 16 18 18 16 80
    Canada 10 18 14 12 20 74
4   England 16 8 16 20 14 74
5   France 14 12 8 14 12 60
6   United States 2 14 12 8 10 46
7   Russia 18 4 10 6 4 42
8   Fiji 8 10 6 4 6 34
9   Spain 6 2 2 10 8 28
10   Brazil 3 6 3 12
11   Japan 4 3 3 1 1 12
12   Ireland 1 1 4 2 3 11
13   Kenya 2 2
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

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Dubai

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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  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. ^ a b c d "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 13 June 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  4. ^ "Ireland to host Women's Sevens Series qualifier - HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series".
  5. ^ "Japan and Ireland qualify for Women's Sevens Series | World Rugby".
  6. ^ "Ireland And Japan Qualify For Women's Sevens Series". www.irishrugby.ie. 23 August 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2018.