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.
Format
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.
Teams
Pool stages
Pool A
- Team - Pld - W - D - L - PF - PA - +/- - Pts  New Zealand New Zealand- 3 - 3 - 0 - 0 - 104 - 21 - +83 - 9 .svg.png.webp) Australia Australia- 3 - 2 - 0 - 1 - 50 - 62 - −12 - 7  Wales Wales- 3 - 1 - 0 - 2 - 50 - 62 - −12 - 5  Zimbabwe 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 | .svg.png.webp) Australia | 21 - 12 |  Zimbabwe | 
| 2008-11-28 |  New Zealand | 43 - 7 |  Zimbabwe | 
| 2008-11-28 | .svg.png.webp) Australia | 22 - 17 |  Wales | 
| 2008-11-28 |  Wales | 26 - 12 |  Zimbabwe | 
| 2008-11-28 |  New Zealand | 33 - 7 | .svg.png.webp) Australia | 
Pool B
- Team - Pld - W - D - L - PF - PA - +/- - Pts  South Africa South Africa- 3 - 3 - 0 - 0 - 95 - 10 - +85 - 9  Kenya Kenya- 3 - 2 - 0 - 1 - 66 - 38 - +28 - 7  Scotland 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 C
- Team - Pld - W - D - L - PF - PA - +/- - Pts  Samoa Samoa- 3 - 3 - 0 - 0 - 71 - 26 - +45 - 9  Argentina Argentina- 3 - 2 - 0 - 1 - 52 - 33 - +19 - 7  France France- 3 - 1 - 0 - 2 - 35 - 53 - −17 - 5  Georgia 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 D
- Team - Pld - W - D - L - PF - PA - +/- - Pts  England England- 3 - 3 - 0 - 0 - 83 - 22 - +61 - 9  Fiji Fiji- 3 - 2 - 0 - 1 - 64 - 40 - +24 - 7  Portugal Portugal- 3 - 1 - 0 - 2 - 29 - 55 - −26 - 5  United States 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 | 
Knockout
Shield
| 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 | |||||||||
Bowl
| 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 | |||||||||
Plate
| 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 | ||||||||||
| .svg.png.webp) Australia | 14 | |||||||||
|  South Africa | 19 | |||||||||
| .svg.png.webp) Australia | 0 | |||||||||
Cup
| 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 | |||||||||
| .svg.png.webp) Australia | 0 | |||||||||
Statistics
Individual points
| 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 tries
| 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 references
- ↑ "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 links
- IRB Sevens
- Dubai Sevens on irb.com