2023 London Sevens Explained

Series:Sevens World Series XXIV
Countries: England
Date:20–21 May 2023
Trophy2:Play-off for core status
Matches:41
Tries:1659
Prevseason:2022

The 2023 London Sevens was the final event of the 2022–23 World Rugby Sevens Series and the twenty-first edition of the London Sevens. It was held at Twickenham Stadium, London on 20–21 May 2023.

Argentina won the Cup final, their third tournament victory for the season, by defeating Fiji 35–14.

The competition format used in London was different to all previous events in the season as only twelve teams instead of sixteen were eligible to compete for the tournament cup. The other four teams competed for the one remaining core team berth for the 2023–24 World Rugby Sevens Series with the unsuccessful sides losing core team status.

Canada won the play-off to retain core team status for 2023–24, defeating Kenya by 12–7.

Format

The twelve teams in the cup competition for the London Sevens were drawn into three pools of four. Each team played the three opponents in their pool once. The top two teams from each pool advanced to the Cup bracket, with the two best third-placed teams also advancing. The remaining four teams played off for a 9th–12th placing.

The four teams competing for core status in the 2023–24 season were drawn into a separate round-robin playoff pool. The top two teams from that pool then advanced to a final match to determine the last core team berth.

Teams

The twelve teams that participated in the main tournament at London were:

The four teams that participated in the play-offs for 2023–24 core team status were:[1]

Tonga gained entry to the London Sevens core team qualifier for the 2023–24 season by winning the 2023 Challenger Series. The other three sides were the core teams ranked 12th to 14th after Round 10 in the 2022–23 series.[2]

Japan, as the 15th ranked core team after Round 10 in the 2022–23 series, was relegated for the 2023–24 series but was still invited to play in the main tournament at the 2023 London Sevens.

Pool stage

All times in British Summer Time .[3] All matches played at Twickenham Stadium unless specifically noted otherwise.

Key:
Team advanced to the quarterfinals
Team advanced to the play-off final for 2023–24 core team status

Pool A

Team
13 0 0 87 43 +44 9
22 0 1 4554 −9 7
30 1 2 62 77 −15 4
40 1 2 62 82 −20 4

Pool B

Team
12 0 1 95 38 +57 7
22 0 1 99 59 +40 7
32 0 1 66 52 +14 7
40 0 3 26 137 −111 3

Pool C

Team
13 0 0 92 52 +40 9
22 0 1 73 48 +25 7
31 0 2 68 75 −7 5
40 0 3 50 108 −58 3

Pool play-off

Team
12 0 1 83 50 +33 7
22 0 1 72 59 +13 7
32 0 1 48 43 +5 7
40 0 3 45 96 –51 2

Knockout stage

All times are British Summer Time .[3]

Play-off final for core status

All matches played on 21 May 2023 at Twickenham Stadium unless specifically noted otherwise.

9th–12th bracket

All matches played on 21 May 2023 at Twickenham Stadium unless specifically noted otherwise.

5th–8th bracket

All matches played on 21 May 2023 at Twickenham Stadium unless specifically noted otherwise.

Cup bracket

All matches played on 21 May 2023 at Twickenham Stadium unless specifically noted otherwise.

Placings

PlaceTeamPoints
20
18
16
414
512
610
PlaceTeamPoints
78
86
94
103
112
120

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Rugby Asia 24/7. HSBC London Sevens 2023 Pools . 16 May 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230517190306/https://www.rugbyasia247.com/hsbc-london-sevens-2023-pools/ . 17 May 2023.
  2. Web site: HSBC World Rugby Sevens standings . World Rugby. 7 November 2022.
  3. Web site: London Fixtures. World Rugby. 18 May 2023.