Rugby World Cup Sevens
Organized by the International Rugby Board (IRB), the Rugby World Cup Sevens is the premier stand-alone international rugby sevens competition, competed by the national seven teams every four years.
The Melrose Cup is awarded to the winning team of the championship. The Melrose Cup is named after a Scottish Town “Melrose”, where the first rugby sevens game was played.
The first-ever Rugby World Cup Sevens took place in Scotland, where the rugby sevens was born in 1993.
Members of the IRB felt the need to improve the promotion of the women’s game. In 2009, the IRB implemented the first women’s Rugby World Cup Sevens.
There is a total of 24 men’s team and 16 women’s team.
IRB once stated that the World Cup Sevens was supposed to end so the Olympic Games could be the one high point in a four year cycle for rugby sevens. However, following feedback from the members, the IRB announced that the championship would continue and integrated into the Olympic calendar, but the competition will take place every two years from 2016.
IRB announced that the first tournament after the Olympic integration will happen in 2018 entailing a one-off five year gap right after the 2013 tournament. In San Franscisco 2018, New Zealand won the championship for both events — defeating England in the men's final and France in the women's final.
The next Rugby World Cup sevens will be in Cape Town, from Sept 9-11, 2022. The following event will be in 2026.
Related Pages
- More International Rugby Events
- Learn more about the sport of Rugby.
- Read about other major world sporting events.
- sporting events calendar
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