2020 World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series – Men's tour

The 2020 Challenger Series for men's rugby sevens teams was the inaugural season of the second-tier circuit with promotion to the first-tier World Rugby Sevens Series.

2020 Sevens Challenger Series
Men's tour – Series I
Hosts
Date15–23 February 2020
Nations16
Final positions
Champions Japan (1st title)
Runners-up Hong Kong
Third Germany
2022

The men's tour had sixteen national teams competing and included two Challenger Series events, played in Chile and Uruguay.[1] A final 8-team knockout event had been planned as part of the Hong Kong Sevens tournament to decide the overall winner,[1] but this was postponed [2] and eventually cancelled by World Rugby due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3]

Japan, as the top-placed team on the standings after the two completed events, was awarded the Challenger Series title and promoted to the World Rugby Sevens Series as a core team for the 2020–21 season.[3]

Teams

edit

There were 16 men's national teams competing in the Challenger Series for 2020.[4][5]

Nation Means of qualification Date qualified
  Chile
  Uruguay
2019 Sudamérica Rugby Sevens 13 January
  Brazil 2019 Sudamérica Olympic Qualifier 30 June
  Jamaica 2019 RAN Sevens 7 July
  Germany
  Portugal
  Italy
2019 Rugby Europe Sevens Grand Prix Series 20 July
  Japan
  Hong Kong
2019 Asia Rugby Sevens Series 29 September
  Tonga
  Papua New Guinea
2019 Oceania Sevens Championship 9 November
  Uganda
  Zimbabwe
2019 Africa Men's Sevens 9 November
  Mexico
  Colombia
  Paraguay
Invited teams
Total 16

Tour venues

edit

The official schedule for the 2020 World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series was:[4]

2020 Tour Venues
Host Stadium City Dates Winner
Chile Estadio Sausalito Viña del Mar 15–16 February   Germany
Uruguay Estadio Charrúa Montevideo 22–23 February   Japan
Hong Kong Hong Kong Stadium Hong Kong Cancelled [3] N/A

The final qualifying event at the Hong Kong Sevens was originally scheduled to be played in April 2020 but was postponed [6] and eventually cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3]

Standings

edit

The official standings for the 2020 Challenger Series are presented in the table below.[7]

2020 World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series – Series I
 
Pos
Event 
Team
 
Viña del Mar
 
Monte­video
Points
total
1   Japan 17 22 39
2   Hong Kong 19 17 36
3   Germany 22 13 35
4   Chile 15 15 30
5   Uruguay 8 19 27
6   Tonga 13 11 24
7   Uganda 11 8  19[a]
8   Zimbabwe 12 7  19[a]
9   Italy 6 12 18
10   Jamaica 7 10 17
11   Papua New Guinea 10 6 16
12   Portugal 5 4  9[b]
13   Colombia 4 5  9[b]
14   Mexico 1 3  4[c]
15   Brazil 2 2  4[c]
16   Paraguay 3 1  4[c]

Source: World Rugby [7]

Legend
Green Promoted to the 2020–21 World Rugby Sevens Series
Yellow Invited team
Notes
  1. ^ a b Tie-breaker margin of points scored for and against in all matches: Uganda +64. Zimbabwe –16.
  2. ^ a b Tie-breaker margin of points scored for and against in all matches: Portugal –31, Colombia –135.
  3. ^ a b c Tie-breaker margin of points scored for and against in all matches: Mexico –133, Brazil –168, Paraguay –317.

Viña del Mar

edit

The first event was held in Chile, hosted at Estadio Sausalito in Viña Del Mar on 15–16 February 2020.[8] Germany won the tournament, defeating Hong Kong by 10–0 in the final,[1] to take the maximum 22 points in the series standings leading into the second event at Montevideo.[9]

All times are CLST, Chile Summer Time: (UTC-3).

Key:   Team advanced to the quarterfinals

Pool A

edit
Team W D L PF PA PD Pts
  Japan 3 0 0 90 19 +71 9
  Tonga 2 0 1 43 45 −2 7
  Uruguay 1 0 2 51 34 +17 5
  Portugal 0 0 3 19 105 −86 3


Match 5 15 February 2020 Tonga   26–12   Portugal Estadio Sausalito  
12:31 Report
Match 6 15 February 2020 Japan   17–12   Uruguay Estadio Sausalito  
12:53 Report
Match 13 15 February 2020 Tonga   10–0   Uruguay Estadio Sausalito  
15:37 Report
Match 14 15 February 2020 Japan   40–0   Portugal Estadio Sausalito  
15:59 Report
Match 21 15 February 2020 Portugal   7–39   Uruguay Estadio Sausalito  
19:08 Report
Match 22 15 February 2020 Japan   33–7   Tonga Estadio Sausalito  
19:35 Report

Pool B

edit
Team W D L PF PA PD Pts
  Hong Kong 3 0 0 76 7 +69 9
  Papua New Guinea 2 0 1 34 63 −29 7
  Jamaica 1 0 2 43 31 +12 5
  Colombia 0 0 3 22 74 −52 3


Match 3 15 February 2020 Jamaica   10–12   Papua New Guinea Estadio Sausalito  
11:47 Report
Match 4 15 February 2020 Hong Kong   26–0   Colombia Estadio Sausalito  
12:09 Report
Match 11 15 February 2020 Jamaica   26–5   Colombia Estadio Sausalito  
14:53 Report
Match 12 15 February 2020 Hong Kong   36–0   Papua New Guinea Estadio Sausalito  
15:15 Report
Match 19 15 February 2020 Papua New Guinea   22–17   Colombia Estadio Sausalito  
18:09 Report
Match 20 15 February 2020 Hong Kong   14–7   Jamaica Estadio Sausalito  
18:31 Report

Pool C

edit
Team W D L PF PA PD Pts
  Germany 3 0 0 91 29 +62 9
  Uganda 2 0 1 83 33 +50 7
  Italy 1 0 2 76 63 +13 5
  Paraguay 0 0 3 15 140 −125 3


Match 1 15 February 2020 Uganda   24–14   Italy Estadio Sausalito  
11:03 Report
Match 2 15 February 2020 Germany   48–0   Paraguay Estadio Sausalito  
11:25 Report
Match 9 15 February 2020 Uganda   47–0   Paraguay Estadio Sausalito  
14:09 Report
Match 10 15 February 2020 Germany   24–17   Italy Estadio Sausalito  
14:31 Report
Match 17 15 February 2020 Italy   45–15   Paraguay Estadio Sausalito  
17:25 Report
Match 18 15 February 2020 Germany   19–12   Uganda Estadio Sausalito  
17:47 Report

Pool D

edit
Team W D L PF PA PD Pts
  Chile 3 0 0 112 26 +86 9
  Zimbabwe 2 0 1 64 53 +11 7
  Mexico 1 0 2 34 79 −45 5
  Brazil 0 0 3 31 83 −52 3


Match 7 15 February 2020 Zimbabwe   21–14   Brazil Estadio Sausalito  
13:15 Report
Match 8 15 February 2020 Chile   45–0   Mexico Estadio Sausalito  
13:37 Report
Match 15 15 February 2020 Zimbabwe   24–15   Mexico Estadio Sausalito  
16:21 Report
Match 16 15 February 2020 Chile   43–7   Brazil Estadio Sausalito  
16:43 Report
Match 23 15 February 2020 Brazil   10–19   Mexico Estadio Sausalito  
20:02 Report
Match 24 15 February 2020 Chile   24–19   Zimbabwe Estadio Sausalito  
20:30 Report

Lower playoffs

edit

13th place

edit
 
13th place semifinals13th place final
 
      
 
16 February – 15:57 – Estadio Sausalito
 
 
  Brazil19
 
16 February – 19:11 – Estadio Sausalito
 
  Colombia22
 
  Colombia17
 
16 February – 16:203 – Estadio Sausalito
 
  Paraguay14
 
  Mexico14
 
 
  Paraguay19
 

9th place

edit
 
9th place quarterfinals9th place semifinals9th place final
 
          
 
16 February – 12:33 – Estadio Sausalito
 
 
  Uruguay19
 
16 February – 16:43 – Estadio Sausalito
 
  Brazil5
 
  Uruguay29
 
16 February – 12:56 – Estadio Sausalito
 
  Italy0
 
  Italy47
 
16 February – 20:03 – Estadio Sausalito
 
  Colombia19
 
  Uruguay33
 
16 February – 13:19 – Estadio Sausalito
 
  Jamaica0
 
  Mexico10
 
16 February – 17:06 – Estadio Sausalito
 
  Portugal30
 
  Portugal19
 
16 February – 13:42 – Estadio Sausalito
 
  Jamaica22
 
  Jamaica33
 
 
  Paraguay17
 

Title playoffs

edit

5th place

edit
 
5th place semifinals5th place final
 
      
 
16 February – 17:39 – Estadio Sausalito
 
 
  Zimbabwe26
 
16 February – 20:28 – Estadio Sausalito
 
  Papua New Guinea19
 
  Zimbabwe14
 
16 February – 18:02 – Estadio Sausalito
 
  Tonga19
 
  Tonga19
 
 
  Uganda14
 
 
QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal
 
          
 
16 February – 14:15 – Estadio Sausalito
 
 
  Japan33
 
16 February – 18:25 – Estadio Sausalito
 
  Zimbabwe0
 
  Japan5
 
16 February – 14:38 – Estadio Sausalito
 
  Germany12
 
  Germany29
 
16 February – 21:23 – Estadio Sausalito
 
  Papua New Guinea0
 
  Germany10
 
16 February – 15:01 – Estadio Sausalito
 
  Hong Kong0
 
  Chile28
 
16 February – 18:48 – Estadio Sausalito
 
  Tonga7
 
  Chile14
 
16 February – 15:24 – Estadio Sausalito
 
  Hong Kong17 3rd place final
 
  Hong Kong10
 
16 February – 20:54 – Estadio Sausalito
 
  Uganda7
 
  Japan31
 
 
  Chile14
 

Placings

edit
Place  Team Points
1   Germany 22
2   Hong Kong 19
3   Japan 17
4   Chile 15
5   Tonga 13
6   Zimbabwe 12
7   Uganda 11
8   Papua New Guinea 10
Place  Team Points
9   Uruguay 8
10   Jamaica 7
11   Italy 6
12   Portugal 5
13   Colombia 4
14   Paraguay 3
15   Brazil 2
16   Mexico 1

Source: portaldorugby [10]

Montevideo

edit

The men's tour traveled to Uruguay for the second leg. The Seven Punta tournament, the nation's premier international rugby sevens event, served as the Challenge Series contest. Played since 1989 at the resort city of Punta del Este, the tournament was relocated for the first time to Montevideo for the 2020 edition but kept the Seven Punta name.[11] It was held at Estadio Charrua on 22–23 February 2020.[12][13] Japan won the tournament, defeating the host nation Uruguay in the final by 5–0 in extra time.[14]

All times are UYT, Uruguay Time: (UTC-3).

Key:   Team advanced to the quarterfinals

Pool A

edit
Team W D L PF PA PD Pts
  Germany 3 0 0 88 27 +61 9
  Uruguay 2 0 1 70 41 +29 7
  Mexico 1 0 2 29 84 −55 5
  Papua New Guinea 0 0 3 32 67 −35 3


Match 7 22 February 2020 Papua New Guinea   10–26   Uruguay Estadio Charrua  
13:15 Report
Match 8 22 February 2020 Germany   38–7   Mexico Estadio Charrua  
13:37 Report
Match 15 22 February 2020 Papua New Guinea   12–17   Mexico Estadio Charrua  
16:41 Report
Match 16 22 February 2020 Germany   26–10   Uruguay Estadio Charrua  
17:03 Report
Match 23 22 February 2020 Uruguay   34–5   Mexico Estadio Charrua  
20:12 Report
Match 24 22 February 2020 Germany   24–10   Papua New Guinea Estadio Charrua  
20:40 Report

Pool B

edit
Team W D L PF PA PD Pts
  Hong Kong 3 0 0 110 24 +86 9
  Jamaica 2 0 1 55 41 +14 7
  Uganda 1 0 2 31 60 −29 5
  Brazil 0 0 3 27 98 −71 3


Match 5 22 February 2020 Uganda   0–10   Jamaica Estadio Charrua  
12:31 Report
Match 6 22 February 2020 Hong Kong   41–5   Brazil Estadio Charrua  
12:53 Report
Match 13 22 February 2020 Uganda   19–12   Brazil Estadio Charrua  
15:57 Report
Match 14 22 February 2020 Hong Kong   31–7   Jamaica Estadio Charrua  
16:19 Report
Match 21 22 February 2020 Jamaica   38–10   Brazil Estadio Charrua  
19:18 Report
Match 22 22 February 2020 Hong Kong   38–12   Uganda Estadio Charrua  
19:45 Report

Pool C

edit
Team W D L PF PA PD Pts
  Japan 3 0 0 123 29 +94 9
  Italy 2 0 1 94 57 +37 7
  Zimbabwe 1 0 2 55 73 −18 5
  Paraguay 0 0 3 36 149 −113 3


Match 3 22 February 2020 Zimbabwe   12–35   Italy Estadio Charrua  
11:47 Report
Match 4 22 February 2020 Japan   71–5   Paraguay Estadio Charrua  
12:09 Report
Match 11 22 February 2020 Zimbabwe   31–12   Paraguay Estadio Charrua  
15:03 Report
Match 12 22 February 2020 Japan   26–12   Italy Estadio Charrua  
15:25 Report
Match 19 22 February 2020 Italy   47–19   Paraguay Estadio Charrua  
18:19 Report
Match 20 22 February 2020 Japan   26–12   Zimbabwe Estadio Charrua  
18:41 Report

Pool D

edit
Team W D L PF PA PD Pts
  Tonga 3 0 0 73 38 +35 9
  Chile 2 0 1 55 39 +16 7
  Portugal 1 0 2 48 47 +1 5
  Colombia 0 0 3 48 100 −52 3


Match 1 22 February 2020 Tonga   14–7   Portugal Estadio Charrua  
11:03 Report
Match 2 22 February 2020 Chile   29–10   Colombia Estadio Charrua  
11:25 Report
Match 9 22 February 2020 Tonga   40–19   Colombia Estadio Charrua  
14:19 Report
Match 10 22 February 2020 Chile   14–10   Portugal Estadio Charrua  
14:41 Report
Match 17 22 February 2020 Portugal   31–19   Colombia Estadio Charrua  
17:35 Report
Match 18 22 February 2020 Chile   12–19   Tonga Estadio Charrua  
17:57 Report

Lower playoffs

edit

13th place

edit
 
13th place semifinals13th place final
 
      
 
23 February – 14:57 – Estadio Charrua
 
 
  Mexico22
 
23 February – 18:11 – Estadio Charrua
 
  Brazil0
 
  Mexico7
 
23 February – 15:20 – Estadio Charrua
 
  Portugal30
 
  Portugal26
 
 
  Paraguay10
 

9th place

edit
 
9th place quarterfinals9th place semifinals9th place final
 
          
 
23 February – 11:33 – Estadio Charrua
 
 
  Mexico17
 
23 February – 15:43 – Estadio Charrua
 
  Colombia24
 
  Colombia17
 
23 February – 11:56 – Estadio Charrua
 
  Zimbabwe33
 
  Zimbabwe21
 
23 February – 19:03 – Estadio Charrua
 
  Brazil15
 
  Zimbabwe24
 
23 February – 12:19 – Estadio Charrua
 
  Uganda26
 
  Portugal17
 
23 February – 16:06 – Estadio Charrua
 
  Papua New Guinea19
 
  Papua New Guinea19
 
23 February – 12:42 – Estadio Charrua
 
  Uganda22
 
  Uganda56
 
 
  Paraguay7
 

Title playoffs

edit

5th place

edit
 
5th place semifinals5th place final
 
      
 
16 February – 16:39 – Estadio Sausalito
 
 
  Germany40
 
23 February – 19:28 – Estadio Charrua
 
  Jamaica5
 
  Germany19
 
23 February – 17:02 – Estadio Charrua
 
  Italy10
 
  Tonga15
 
 
  Italy26
 
 
QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal
 
          
 
23 February – 13:15 – Estadio Charrua
 
 
  Germany12
 
23 February – 17:25 – Estadio Charrua
 
  Chile17
 
  Chile10
 
23 February – 13:38 – Estadio Charrua
 
  Japan31
 
  Japan32
 
23 February – 20:23 – Estadio Charrua
 
  Jamaica0
 
  Japan5
(a.e.t.)
 
23 February – 14:01 – Estadio Charrua
 
  Uruguay0
 
  Tonga7
 
23 February – 17:48 – Estadio Charrua
 
  Uruguay27
 
  Uruguay12
 
23 February – 14:24 – Estadio Charrua
 
  Hong Kong0 3rd place final
 
  Hong Kong17
 
23 February – 19:54 – Estadio Charrua
 
  Italy12
 
  Chile7
 
 
  Hong Kong12
 

Placings

edit
Place  Team Points
1   Japan 22
2   Uruguay 19
3   Hong Kong 17
4   Chile 15
5   Germany 13
6   Italy 12
7   Tonga 11
8   Jamaica 10
Place  Team Points
9   Uganda 8
10   Zimbabwe 7
11   Papua New Guinea 6
12   Colombia 5
13   Portugal 4
14   Mexico 3
15   Brazil 2
16   Paraguay 1

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c "Hong Kong men's sevens rugby team bow to Germany in Challenger Series first leg final". South China Morning Post. 17 February 2020. Archived from the original on 17 February 2020.
  2. ^ "World Rugby update on COVID-19 response measures and statement from Sir Bill Beaumont". World Rugby. 20 March 2020. Archived from the original on 22 October 2021. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d "New Zealand awarded titles as HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2020 concluded". Asia Rugby. 1 July 2020. Archived from the original on 1 July 2020.
  4. ^ a b "New Challenger Series to boost rugby sevens' expansion". World Rugby. 17 December 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  5. ^ "Sport: Tonga, PNG included in new Sevens Challenger Series". Radio New Zealand. 18 December 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  6. ^ "World Rugby Statement: Singapore and Hong Kong Sevens rescheduled". World.Rugby. 13 February 2020.
  7. ^ a b "HSBC World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series 2020 – Montevideo series standings" (PDF). World Rugby. 25 February 2020. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 February 2020.
  8. ^ "HSBC World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series 2020 – Viña del Mar 15 - 16 February 2020". World Rugby. Archived from the original on 25 January 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  9. ^ "Germany win first Challenger Series tournament". World Rugby. 17 February 2020. Archived from the original on 17 February 2020.
  10. ^ Ramalho, Victor (17 February 2020). "Brasil enfrentará Hong Kong, Uganda e-Jamaica em Montevidé". Portal do Rugby. Archived from the original on 18 February 2020.
  11. ^ Arrillaga, Enrique (14 December 2019). "El Seven de Punta del Este y un cambio histórico para el rugby de la región" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 15 December 2019.
  12. ^ "HSBC World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series 2020 – Montevideo 22 - 23 February 2020". World Rugby. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  13. ^ "Pools for Sevens Challenger Series: Montevideo". Americas Rugby News. 17 February 2020.
  14. ^ "Sport: Tonga 7s seal spot in World Series Qualifier". Radio New Zealand. 24 February 2020. Archived from the original on 24 February 2020.
edit