Rugby Europe Women's Sevens

The Rugby Europe Women's Sevens, previously the FIRA–AER Women's Sevens until 2013, is a series of regional championships for women's international rugby sevens in Europe. Prior to 2012, the annual tournament is held over two days, typically on a weekend in June, before the highest category tournament was reorganized as the Sevens Grand Prix Series, modeled after the format of the World Rugby Sevens Series. The tournaments are sanctioned and sponsored by Rugby Europe.

Rugby Europe Women's Sevens
Current season, competition or edition:
Current sports event 2024 Rugby Europe Women's Sevens Championship Series
SportRugby sevens
Founded2003; 21 years ago (2003)
Countries12 (in 2023)
Most recent
champion(s)
 France (4th title)
Most titles Russia (7 titles)

History

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The championship Trophy beside the ball of the 2015 edition.

Rugby sevens — also known as 7-a-side, or 7s — is a short form of the sport of rugby union that was first played in 1883. The first (men's) internationals took place in 1973. As women's rugby union developed in the 1960s and 1970s the format became very popular as it allowed games, and entire leagues, to be developed in countries even when player numbers were small, and it remains the main form the women's game is played in most parts of the world.

However, although the first women's international rugby union 15-a-side test match took place in 1982, it was not until 1997 before the first women's international 7s tournaments were played, when the 1997 Hong Kong Sevens included a women's tournament for the first time. Over the next decade the number of tournaments grew, with almost every region developing regular championship competitions. This reached its zenith with 2009's inaugural women's tournament for the Rugby World Cup Sevens, shortly followed by the announcement that women's rugby sevens will be included in the Olympics from 2016.

The first official regional 7s championship for international women's teams from European was the European Women's Sevens Championship held in 2003 in Lunel, France. Since then, the regional 7s championships have periodically served as pre-qualifying competitions for the Rugby 7s World Cup, or other sevens tournaments.

Tournaments

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The following are details of all regional women's international championships played in Europe, listed chronologically with the earliest first, with all result details, where known (included are the FIRA–AER Women's Sevens and other official regional championships, e.g. the Europe Emerging Nations tournaments).

Championship Series

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Rugby Europe Women's Sevens
Year Place Champions Runners-up Third
FIRA-AER Women's Sevens
2003   Lunel   Spain   France    Switzerland
2004   Limoges   England   Italy   France
2005   Lunel   England   Spain   Netherlands
2006   Limoges   Wales   England   Netherlands
2007   Lunel   France   England   Spain
2008   Limoges   England   Netherlands   Russia
2009   Hanover   England   Spain   Netherlands
2010   Moscow   Spain   Netherlands   France
2011   Bucharest   England   Spain   Netherlands
Grand Prix Series
2012 Multiple   England   Spain   France
2013 Multiple   Russia   England   France
2014 Multiple   Russia   France   England
2015 (I) Multiple   France   Russia   Spain
2015 (II)   Lisbon   Spain   Ireland   Portugal
2016 Multiple   Russia   France   Ireland
2017 Multiple   Russia   Ireland   France
2018 Multiple   Russia   France   Ireland
2019 (I) Multiple   Russia   France   Ireland
2019 (II)   Kazan   England   Russia   France
2020 Series not played because of COVID-19 pandemic.
Championship Series
2021 Multiple   Russia   Poland   Spain
2022 Multiple   Poland   Ireland   Scotland
2023 Multiple   France   Spain   Great Britain
2024 Multiple   France   Belgium   Spain

Team records for Championship Series

Team Champions Runners-up Third
  Russia 7 (2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021) 1 (2015) 1 (2008)
  England 6 (2004, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012) 3 (2006, 2007, 2013) 1 (2014)
  France 4 (2007, 2015, 2023, 2024) 5 (2003, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2019) 5 (2004, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2017)
  Spain 2 (2003, 2010) 5 (2005, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2023) 4 (2007, 2015, 2021, 2024)
  Poland 1 (2022) 1 (2021)
  Wales 1 (2006)
  Netherlands 2 (2008, 2010) 4 (2005, 2006, 2009, 2011)
  Ireland 2 (2017, 2022) 3 (2016, 2018, 2019)
  Italy 1 (2004)
  Belgium 1 (2024)
   Switzerland 1 (2003)
  Scotland 1 (2022)
  Great Britain 1 (2023)

Trophy

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Year Host Champions Runners-up Third
2005   Prague   Russia   Germany   Lithuania
2006   Limoges   Romania   Andorra   Poland
2007   Zagreb   France U20    Switzerland   Germany
2008 Multiple   Romania   Finland   Israel
  Germany   Moldova   Andorra
2009   Bruges   Finland   Czech Republic   Malta
2010   Bucharest   Moldova    Switzerland   Belgium
2011   Riga   Ukraine    Switzerland   Czech Republic
2012 Multiple   Wales   Croatia   Romania
  Ireland   Scotland   Belgium
2013   Prague   Belgium   Sweden   Czech Republic
2014   Bergen   Ukraine   Scotland   Romania
2015   Kaunas   Belgium   Finland   Sweden
2016 Multiple   Sweden   Poland   Scotland
2017 Multiple   Scotland   Germany   Ukraine
2018 Multiple   Netherlands   Ukraine   Sweden
2019 Multiple   Germany   Romania   Czech Republic
2020 Series not played because of COVID-19 pandemic.
2021   Zagreb   Ukraine   Czech Republic   Sweden
2022 Multiple [1]   England   Italy   Portugal
2023 Multiple   Ukraine   Turkey   Finland
2024 Multiple   Sweden   Georgia   Denmark

Conference

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Year Host Champions Runners-up Third
2007   Zenica   Finland   Malta   Moldova
2009   Zenica    Switzerland   Poland   Hungary
2010   Odense   Ukraine   Hungary   Norway
2011   Zánka   Poland   Denmark   Georgia
2013   Bratislava   Finland   Norway   Israel
2014   Vilnius   Hungary   Lithuania   Israel
2015   Zagreb   Denmark   Israel   Croatia
2016   Sarajevo   Latvia   Malta   Turkey
2017   Košice   Norway   Austria   Georgia
2018   Zagreb   Georgia   Turkey   Croatia
2019   Zagreb   Moldova   Denmark   Austria
2020 Series not played because of COVID-19 pandemic.
2021   Belgrade   Israel   Austria   Croatia
2022   Belgrade   Austria   Bulgaria   Latvia
2023   Belgrade    Switzerland   Andorra   Slovakia
2024   Belgrade   Moldova   Slovakia   Lithuania

Other Tournaments

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Emerging Nations
Year Host Champions Runners-up Third
2007   Katowice   Finland   Bulgaria   Czech Republic
2008   Vienna   Finland   Czech Republic   Poland
2009   Zánka   Hungary   Czech Republic   Poland
2010   Zánka   Hungary   Poland   Czech Republic
2011   Zánka   Czech Republic   Poland   Hungary
2012   Zánka   Romania   Hungary   Poland

References

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  1. ^ "England women and Ireland men complete doubles to take titles". Rugby Europe. June 2022. Archived from the original on 22 June 2022. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
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