Asia Rugby Women's Sevens Series Explained

Asia Rugby Women's Sevens Series
Pixels:200px
Sport:Rugby sevens
Champion: (2023)
Most Champs: (9 titles)

The Asia Rugby Women's Sevens Series is the regional championship for women's international rugby sevens in Asia. Initially contested as a single tournament, the championship was expanded into a two-tournament series in 2014. The competition is sanctioned and sponsored by Asia Rugby, which is the rugby union governing body for the region.

The first official regional 7s championship for international women's teams from Asia was held in Hong Kong, played as part of the 2000 Hong Kong Sevens tournament. In 2003, ten international teams competed in a separate tournament for the Asia Champions Cup, with six teams progressing to the Hong Kong Women's Sevens. Since then, the regional 7s championships have periodically served as pre-qualifying competitions for the Rugby 7s World Cup, or other sevens tournaments.

Background

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 would be included in the Olympics from 2016.

Tournaments

Asia Rugby Women's Sevens Series

Tournaments that have featured as ranking events in the Asia Rugby Women's Sevens include:

The continental title was contested in a single tournament from 2000 to 2012 (Asia Rugby Women's Championship). The Asian Women's Sevens Series was introduced in 2013.






Malaysia

Singapore

Sri Lanka

Thailand

United Arab Emirates
Ranking events
2013Pune Bang Saen2
2014 Beijing Hong Kong2
2015 QingdaoColombo2
2016 Hong Kong IncheonColombo3
2017 IncheonColombo2
2018 Hong Kong IncheonColombo3
2019HuizhouIncheonColombo3
2020Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2021 Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemicDubai1
2022IncheonBangkokDubai3
2023IncheonBangkok2
2024TBC
Total 3 3 1 6 0 0 5 3 2 23

Notes:

A separate Olympic Asian qualification series was held in 2015 with a pre-qualifying stage hosted in Chennai and final stages in Hong Kong and Tokyo.

The 2017 Asian Women's Trophy tournament was held in Vientiane, Laos

The 2020 series was cancelled before any events were held, due to impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Incheon, Huizhou and Colombo were originally scheduled as legs of the 2021 series.[1] Due to impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, all three of those events were cancelled and replaced – initially by two events planned for Dubai,[2] but eventually by just one event in Dubai.[3]

Champions

Winners of the Asian Women's Sevens Championship:

YearVenueWinnerRefs
Hong Kong
2001Hong Kong
2002Hong Kong
2003Hong Kong
2004Almaty
2005Singapore
2006Tashkent
2007Doha
2008Hong Kong
2009Pattaya
2010Canton
YearVenueWinnerRefs
2011Pune
2012Pune
2013two rounds
2014
2015[4]
2016three rounds
2017two rounds
2018three rounds
2019three rounds
2020Not contested
2021Dubai
2022three rounds
2023two rounds
2024TBD
Notes:

Asia Rugby Women’s Sevens Trophy

YearHostWinnerRefs
2017[5]
2018[6]
2019[7]
2021
2022[8]
2023[9]

Asia Pacific Women’s Sevens Championship

YearHostWinner
2010
2011
2012
2013
2015

2007 South East Asia Sevens

The 2007 South East Asia Sevens was held on 6 October 2007 in Singapore.

Group Stage

Teams
55002450+245Qualify for Cup final
540117126+145
530240125–85Qualify for Plate final
511332118–86
511324113–89Qualify for Bowl final
50050130–130

Classification Stage

Bowl Final

Plate Final

Cup Final

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Asia Rugby Competitions 2021 . Asia Rugby . 13 December 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201213162106/https://www.asiarugby.com/asia-rugby-calendar-2021/ . 13 December 2020.
  2. Web site: Asia Rugby Sevens Series 2021 Update . https://web.archive.org/web/20210822092807/https://www.asiarugby.com/2021/08/06/sevens-series-2021-update/ . 22 August 2021 . 6 August 2021.
  3. Web site: Your Guide to the Asia Rugby 2021 Competitions . Rugby Asia 24/7 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211112000632/https://www.rugbyasia247.com/your-guide-to-the-asia-rugby-2021-competitions/ . 12 November 2021 . 10 September 2021.
  4. News: 4 November 2015 . Asia rugby sevens series 2015 . South China Morning Post . 12 December 2015 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20151210222245/http://www.scmp.com/sport/rugby/sevens/article/1855328/asia-rugby-sevens-series-2015-fixtures-results . 10 December 2015.
  5. Web site: 2017-02-07 . Asia Rugby Women's Sevens Trophy 2017 - Laos 7s . 2024-01-09 . Asia Rugby . en-US.
  6. Web site: 2018-10-17 . Asia Rugby Women's Sevens Trophy 2018 . 2024-01-09 . Asia Rugby . en-US.
  7. Web site: 2019-01-01 . Asia Rugby Women's Sevens Trophy 2019 . 2024-01-09 . Asia Rugby . en-US.
  8. Web site: 2022-07-17 . Asia Rugby Women's Sevens Trophy 2022 . 2024-01-09 . Asia Rugby . en-US.
  9. Web site: 2023-10-12 . Asia Rugby Women's Sevens Trophy 2023 . 2024-01-09 . Asia Rugby . en-US.