- Rugby World Cup Sevens
The Rugby World Cup Sevens is the world's premier international contest in the Sevens version of
rugby union , first held inScotland in 1993 and held every four years. The prize is the "Melrose Cup ", named after the Scottish town of Melrose where the first Sevens game was played. The current holders are Fiji.Tournaments
History
The Rugby World Cup Sevens originated with a proposal by the
Scottish Rugby Union to the International Rugby Football Board. The inaugural tournament was held at Murrayfield inEdinburgh in April1993 .Hong Kong , which had played a major role in the international development of the Sevens game, would host the1997 event. The final, won by Fiji over South Africa, is still considered one of the best Sevens matches of all time. The Fiji team had promised the country it would return with the title, and captainWaisale Serevi had also promised his daughters the same.The
2001 tournament, held inMar del Plata ,Argentina , would add another chapter to the legend of New Zealand'sJonah Lomu . Lomu, used sparingly in pool play, received his opportunity when New Zealand captain and Sevens legendEric Rush broke his leg against England in the last pool match. Lomu went on to score three tries in the final.The
2005 event returned to Hong Kong. Serevi, who came out of international retirement to captain Fiji, placed an exclamation point on his storied career by leading Fiji to their second Melrose Cup. In the process, they denied New Zealand their second consecutive Melrose Cup and also prevented England from becoming the first nation to hold the Rugby World Cup in both fifteens and Sevens.The top all-time try-scorer for the
Rugby World Cup Sevens has beenFiji an rugby wingerMarika Vunibaka who has scored 23 tries in 3 of the sevens world cups he has played in since he made his debut in1997 .ee also
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Rugby World Cup
*Hong Kong Sevens
*Wellington Sevens
*IRB Sevens World Series External links
* [http://www.rwcsevens.com/ 2005 Rugby World Cup Sevens website] (from the IRB)
* [http://rugbyrugby.com RugbyRugby.com] world rugby news website
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