The Dubai Sevens is played annually as part of the IRB Sevens World Series for international rugby sevens (seven-a-side version of rugby union). The 2008 competition was held on November 28 and November 29 at The Sevens, a brand-new facility built to host the 2009 Rugby World Cup Sevens.[1] It was the first of eight events in the 2008-09 IRB Sevens World Series. The top-tier Cup trophy was won by South Africa.
This was the first edition of the Dubai Sevens to be held at The Sevens. Previous editions were held at the Dubai Exiles Rugby Ground.
FormatEdit
The tournament consists of four round-robin pools of four teams. All sixteen teams progress to the knockout stage. The top two teams from each group progress to quarter-finals in the main competition, with the winners of those quarter-finals competing in cup semi-finals and the losers competing in plate semi-finals. The bottom two teams from each group progress to quarter-finals in the consolation competition, with the winners of those quarter-finals competing in bowl semi-finals and the losers competing in shield semi-finals.
TeamsEdit
Pool stagesEdit
Pool AEdit
Team Pld W D L PF PA +/- Pts 
New Zealand
3 3 0 0 104 21 +83 9 
Australia
3 2 0 1 50 62 −12 7 
Wales
3 1 0 2 50 62 −12 5 
Zimbabwe
3 0 0 3 31 90 −59 3
| Date | Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| 2008-11-28 |  New Zealand
|
28 - 7 |  Wales
|
| 2008-11-28 |  Australia
|
21 - 12 |  Zimbabwe
|
| 2008-11-28 | New Zealand
|
43 - 7 | Zimbabwe
|
| 2008-11-28 | Australia
|
22 - 17 | Wales
|
| 2008-11-28 | Wales
|
26 - 12 | Zimbabwe
|
| 2008-11-28 | New Zealand
|
33 - 7 | Australia
|
Pool BEdit
Team Pld W D L PF PA +/- Pts 
South Africa
3 3 0 0 95 10 +85 9 
Kenya
3 2 0 1 66 38 +28 7 
Scotland
3 1 0 2 29 83 −54 5 Arabian Gulf 3 0 0 3 21 80 −59 3
| Date | Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| 2008-11-28 |  South Africa
|
31 - 10 |  Scotland
|
| 2008-11-28 |  Kenya
|
28 - 7 | Arabian Gulf |
| 2008-11-28 | South Africa
|
33 - 0 | Arabian Gulf |
| 2008-11-28 | Kenya
|
38 - 0 | Scotland
|
| 2008-11-28 | Scotland
|
19 - 14 | Arabian Gulf |
| 2008-11-28 | South Africa
|
31 - 0 | Kenya
|
Pool CEdit
Team Pld W D L PF PA +/- Pts 
Samoa
3 3 0 0 71 26 +45 9 
Argentina
3 2 0 1 52 33 +19 7 
France
3 1 0 2 35 53 −17 5 
Georgia
3 0 0 3 26 73 −47 3
| Date | Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| 2008-11-28 |  Samoa
|
19 - 14 |  France
|
| 2008-11-28 |  Argentina
|
26 - 7 |  Georgia
|
| 2008-11-28 | Samoa
|
33 - 7 | Georgia
|
| 2008-11-28 | Argentina
|
21 - 7 | France
|
| 2008-11-28 | France
|
14 - 12 | Georgia
|
| 2008-11-28 | Samoa
|
19 - 5 | Argentina
|
Pool DEdit
Team Pld W D L PF PA +/- Pts 
England
3 3 0 0 83 22 +61 9 
Fiji
3 2 0 1 64 40 +24 7 
Portugal
3 1 0 2 29 55 −26 5 
United States
3 0 0 3 34 93 −59 3
| Date | Team 1 | Score | Team 2 |
| 2008-11-28 |  Fiji
|
47 - 12 |  United States
|
| 2008-11-28 |  England
|
31 - 7 |  Portugal
|
| 2008-11-28 | Fiji
|
12 - 0 | Portugal
|
| 2008-11-28 | England
|
24 - 10 | United States
|
| 2008-11-28 | United States
|
12 - 22 | Portugal
|
| 2008-11-28 | Fiji
|
5 - 28 | England
|
KnockoutEdit
ShieldEdit
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| November 29 - The Sevens, Dubai | ||||||||||
| Wales | 26 | |||||||||
| November 29 - The Sevens, Dubai | ||||||||||
| Arabian Gulf | 7 | |||||||||
| Arabian Gulf | 22 | |||||||||
| November 29 - The Sevens, Dubai | ||||||||||
| Georgia | 12 | |||||||||
| Portugal | 19 | |||||||||
| November 29 - The Sevens, Dubai | ||||||||||
| Georgia | 7 | |||||||||
| Arabian Gulf | 7 | |||||||||
| November 29 - The Sevens, Dubai | ||||||||||
| United States | 31 | |||||||||
| France | 22 | |||||||||
| November 29 - The Sevens, Dubai | ||||||||||
| United States | 12 | |||||||||
| United States | 17 | |||||||||
| November 29 - The Sevens, Dubai | ||||||||||
| Scotland | 14 | |||||||||
| Scotland | 5 | |||||||||
| Zimbabwe | 19 | |||||||||
BowlEdit
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| November 29 - The Sevens, Dubai | ||||||||||
| Wales | 26 | |||||||||
| November 29 - The Sevens, Dubai | ||||||||||
| Arabian Gulf | 7 | |||||||||
| Wales | 0 | |||||||||
| November 29 - The Sevens, Dubai | ||||||||||
| Portugal | 24 | |||||||||
| Portugal | 19 | |||||||||
| November 29 - The Sevens, Dubai | ||||||||||
| Georgia | 7 | |||||||||
| Portugal | 24 | |||||||||
| November 29 - The Sevens, Dubai | ||||||||||
| France | 0 | |||||||||
| France | 22 | |||||||||
| November 29 - The Sevens, Dubai | ||||||||||
| United States | 12 | |||||||||
| France | 17 | |||||||||
| November 29 - The Sevens, Dubai | ||||||||||
| Zimbabwe | 12 | |||||||||
| Scotland | 5 | |||||||||
| Zimbabwe | 19 | |||||||||
PlateEdit
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| November 29 - The Sevens, Dubai | ||||||||||
| New Zealand | 21 | |||||||||
| November 29 - The Sevens, Dubai | ||||||||||
| Kenya | 17 | |||||||||
| Kenya | 26 | |||||||||
| November 29 - The Sevens, Dubai | ||||||||||
| Argentina | 24 | |||||||||
| England | 15 | |||||||||
| November 29 - The Sevens, Dubai | ||||||||||
| Argentina | 5 | |||||||||
| Kenya | 7 | |||||||||
| November 29 - The Sevens, Dubai | ||||||||||
| Samoa | 12 | |||||||||
| Samoa | 7 | |||||||||
| November 29 - The Sevens, Dubai | ||||||||||
| Fiji | 12 | |||||||||
| Samoa | 17 | |||||||||
| November 29 - The Sevens, Dubai | ||||||||||
| Australia | 14 | |||||||||
| South Africa | 19 | |||||||||
| Australia | 0 | |||||||||
CupEdit
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| November 29 - The Sevens, Dubai | ||||||||||
| New Zealand | 21 | |||||||||
| November 29 - The Sevens, Dubai | ||||||||||
| Kenya | 17 | |||||||||
| New Zealand | 19 | |||||||||
| November 29 - The Sevens, Dubai | ||||||||||
| England | 21 | |||||||||
| England | 15 | |||||||||
| November 29 - The Sevens, Dubai | ||||||||||
| Argentina | 5 | |||||||||
| England | 12 | |||||||||
| November 29 - The Sevens, Dubai | ||||||||||
| South Africa | 19 | |||||||||
| Samoa | 7 | |||||||||
| November 29 - The Sevens, Dubai | ||||||||||
| Fiji | 12 | |||||||||
| Fiji | 7 | |||||||||
| November 29 - The Sevens, Dubai | ||||||||||
| South Africa | 10 | |||||||||
| South Africa | 19 | |||||||||
| Australia | 0 | |||||||||
StatisticsEdit
Individual pointsEdit
| Individual points [2] Updated:2008-11-30 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | Player | Country | Points |
| 1 | Tomasi Cama | New Zealand |
41 |
| 2 | Ollie Phillips | England |
39 |
| 3 | Lavin Asego | Kenya |
36 |
| 4= | Collins Injera | Kenya |
35 |
| 4= | Mzwandile Stick | South Africa |
35 |
| 6 | Lolo Lui | Samoa |
32 |
| 7 | Pedro Leal | Portugal |
31 |
| 8 | Tim Nanai-Williams | New Zealand |
26 |
| 9= | Robert Ebersohn | South Africa |
25 |
| 9= | Rayno Benjamin | South Africa |
25 |
Individual triesEdit
| Individual tries [3] Updated:2008-11-30 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | Player | Country | Tries |
| 1 | Collins Injera | Kenya |
7 |
| 2= | Rayno Benjamin | South Africa |
5 |
| 2= | Isoa Damu | England |
5 |
| 2= | Robert Ebersohn | South Africa |
5 |
| 2= | David Mateus | Portugal |
5 |
| 6= | Thomas Combezou | France |
4 |
| 6= | Apelu Fa'aiuga | Samoa |
4 |
| 6= | Vereniki Goneva | Fiji |
4 |
| 6= | Tim Mikkelson | New Zealand |
4 |
| 6= | Tim Nanai-Williams | New Zealand |
4 |
Notes and referencesEdit
- ^ "Emirates unveils Dubai venue 'The Sevens'". International Rugby Board. 2008-07-02. Archived from the original on 2008-07-31. Retrieved 2008-09-17.
- ^ "Season Player Points". International Rugby Board. Archived from the original on 9 April 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-04.
- ^ "Season Player Tries". International Rugby Board. Archived from the original on 9 April 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-04.
External linksEdit
- IRB Sevens
- Dubai Sevens on irb.com