We look back at the busiest ever year for women's rugby 7s. (pictured: Netherlands side who have gone pro this year)
By John Birch
In 2011, 91 Nations, around 30 tournaments, and over 400 internationals were played making it by far, the busiest year for women’s 7s rugby there has ever been. And not only was more rugby played, the game continued to expand its horizons with three countries playing their first internationals - Cameroon, New Caledonia, and Slovakia. In addition the appearance of club teams and unofficial selections from countries as diverse as El Salvador, Cuba, Guatemala, Shajah, Dubai and Kuwait showed that the international game has not finished growing.
Four teams were unbeaten through the year – Fiji, Jamaica, Tunisia, and Ukraine - though only Ukraine played in more than one tournament, completing their apparently unstoppable journey to top table of European sevens. Overall Ukraine won ten games out of ten and, since they first started playing in 2009, have played 25 internationals and lost just two. It’s a remarkable performance – but how will they do in the Top 12 next year?
Though they only played in one tournament, Fiji’s return to international rugby was impressive. After three years away they totally dominated the Pacific Games, brushing aside teams like Samoa and Papua New Guinea – a feat that seemed all the more impressive when PNG (who Fiji dismissed 26-0) went on to beat Asian Champions China in the final of the Asia Pacific Sevens barely three weeks later. The Pacific could be the sleeping giant of women’s sevens.
However, the real giant in 2011 was Canada (pictured below). Four tournaments, four wins – and all against the cream of women’s international rugby. They only slipped up in one game – against USA in the opening round of the Las Vegas sevens in February – but it is a mark of the way the Canadians grew over the year that the 5-7 loss to their southern rivals in February became a 36-0 win against the same opponents ten months later in Dubai. In between these tournaments, Canada also picked up the Hong Kong and Amsterdam Sevens – a unprecedented clean sweep of women’s sevens four “majors”.
What is even more impressive about Canada is that their development squad – the Maple Leafs – were also a match for many full international squads. With players as young as 16, this next generation of Canadian rugby finished 6th in Las Vegas, went on to win the NACRA championship, before beating France in the Dubai Invitational on their way to runners-up spot.
Canada were also the only international team to beat England in 2011. After experimenting in club sevens tournaments, England emerged on the international scene with an impressive performance to win the European Top 12 before an even more remarkable performance in Dubai, where their young side – with several “stars” missing – reached a final few expected them to reach, beating world champions Australia on the way. Perhaps a full strength England might be the only team who could stop Canada dominating 2012?
Elsewhere in the world, Brazil continued to be well ahead of everyone else in South America – they did concede two tries this year (both to Argentina) on their way to the title, which is one worse than in 2010 - but their spring tour of Europe showed they still have a long way to go to compete with the major teams elsewhere in the world. However their remarkable 17-12 win over the Kiwi/USA combination at the Rome Sevens showed what they are capable of.
The 2013 World Cup also began with the first eliminations taking place in Africa. Only the top four teams in each of the two CAR tournaments will be invited to compete in the continent’s qualification tournament next year. So for teams such as Egypt, Nigeria, Botswana and Zambia the main target is already the 2016 Olympics. In practice the leading teams in contention for places in Moscow would seem to be South Africa, Uganda, Kenya and Tunisia. However, funding remains a critical problem for most of Africa – Uganda very nearly had to withdraw from the Africa (South) tournament (and with it the World Cup), while Nigeria were unable to make the Africa (North) event.
Lack of money is a recurring problem that creates islands of rugby which teams cannot break out of. No Caribbean team has ever played outside the Caribbean, which is why the visits of USA and Canadian development teams is so important. Brazil aside, no South American team has ever left South America, and African and Pacific national sides rarely get to play anyone other than near neighbours. It is why world cups are important as it gives everyone a chance to compete, with the leading nations getting a chance to taste the game in a worldwide level, feeding back that experience to their regions.
European teams, with over a third of the world’s women’s rugby playing nations relatively nearby, and with excellent transport links, probably suffers from this problem least. 33 nations took part in the continent’s divisional championship. Poland won Division 3, to the surprise of many, not least hosts and clear pre-tournament favourites Hungary who missed out on promotion again. Ukraine, as noted above, continued their rise by winning Division 2 – but will be joined at the top of European sevens next season by Switzerland, who were almost as dominant. In fact next season promises to be an exciting one for Europe’s leading sevens teams as their championship will be decided over two tournaments instead of one – a “tour” that may well expand to match that of Europe’s men’s sevens if this proves to be successful. Only three European teams declined invitations to take part – Scotland, Ireland and Wales – though the latter only withdrew at the last minute, and may reappear for the continent’s World Cup qualification series in 2012.
There was much more to European Sevens than the official tournaments, however. From the Emerging Nations tournament in Zanka, Hungary, in April to the Prague Sevens in August, and finally Piotrowice Nyskie (Poland) Sevens in September, it was rare that a weekend went by without international sevens being played somewhere on the continent. As well as the massive Amsterdam Sevens, the growing Rome Sevens attracted players and teams from four continents, and the ScrumQueens Sevens saw England play their first ever (and still only) home international when the beat Sweden by 27-0.
Similarly busy is Asia. Their season opened in Shanghai in August, and included four other major tournaments before the end of the year – and will continue up to the Hong Kong sevens next year. China and Kazakhstan continued to dominate, with China regaining the upper hand in 2011 after the Kazakhs had taken the major titles in 2010.
Looking ahead, as the World Cup and then the Olympics get closer, the pace of women’s sevens can only increase. 2011 may have been the busiest year ever, but it is a record that it is unlikely to keep for long – not least because 2012 will also see World Cup qualification tournaments across the globe. Details about the African and European qualification processes have already been announced.
The final headline from 2011 was the appearance of women’s rugby’s first professional players when The Netherlands became the first country to create a full-funded sevens squad in September – and within three months they had lifted their first title in Dubai. USA have announced that they will follow suit in early 2012 - and New Zealand may be returning to international sevens shortly, following the appointment of their first national coach dedicated to women’s sevens. They may find that the game has moved on a long way since 2009!
The 91 international women’s sevens playing nations:
Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Barbados, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Canada, Cayman Is, Chile, China, Columbia, Cook Is, Croatia, Czech Rep, Denmark, Egypt, England, Fiji, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guyana, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Korea, Laos, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Moldova, Morocco, Netherlands, New Caledonia, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Samoa, Senegal, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, St Lucia, St Vincent, Sweden, Switzerland, Tahiti, Taiwan, Thailand, Tonga, Trinidad & Tobago, Tunisia, Uganda, Ukraine, Uruguay, USA, Venezuela, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Busiest teams:
• China (27 games, 20 wins)
• Netherlands (26 games, 15 wins)
• France (25 games, 17 wins – and 1 draw)
• Hong Kong (22 games, 9 wins)
• Spain (18 games, 11 wins – and 1 draw)
Major tournament winners:
• South American Sevens: Brazil
• USA Sevens: Canada
• Hong Kong Sevens: Canada
• CAR African Sevens: (North) Tunisia; (South) South Africa
• Amsterdam Sevens: Canada
• Rome Sevens: Aoteaora Maori (New Zealand)
• FIRA European Sevens: England
• Pacific Games: Fiji
• Asia/Pacific Sevens: Papua New Guinea
• Asian Sevens: China
• NACRA Sevens: Canadian Maple Leafs
• IRB Challenge Cup (Dubai): Canada
• Dubai Sevens: Netherlands
