Hong Kong Women's Sevens
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The Hong Kong Women's Sevens held the first women's international rugby sevens tournament in 1997, and has since become an annual event. The 2020 edition marked the start of a new era for the Hong Kong Women's Sevens. For the first time, the tournament will be an official event in the World Rugby Women's Sevens Series.[1] The 2020 and 2021 tournaments were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2][3]
Current season, competition or edition: 2024 Hong Kong Sevens | |
| Sport | Rugby sevens |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1997 |
| Country | Hong Kong |
| Most recent champion |  New Zealand (2024) |
| Most titles | New Zealand (4 titles) |
| Related competitions | Hong Kong Sevens |
History
The Hong Kong Sevens included a women's tournament for the first time under chairwoman Maria Allen and at the urging of USA 7s coach, Emil Signes.[4][5] Over the next decade the number of tournaments grew, with almost every region developing regular championships. This reached its zenith with 2009's inaugural women's tournament for the Rugby World Cup Sevens, shortly followed by the announcement that women's rugby sevens would be included in the Olympics from 2016.[citation needed]
New Zealand representative teams have competed in Hong Kong as early as 1997, winning the competition in 1997 and 1999. In 2000 New Zealand sent its first official Women's Sevens team to the Hong Kong Sevens.[6]
Past champions
The following are details of all Hong Kong women's international tournaments played since 1997, listed chronologically with the earliest first, with all result details, where known.
Key:
Dark blue line indicates a tournament included in the World Rugby Women's Sevens Series.
Notes:
- New Zealand Wild Ducks and Aotearoa Maori – Prior to the early 2000s, the NZRFU would not condone or send any official team, but an invitation team made up largely of Black Ferns and upcoming talented players did go to the HKG 7s each year in the late nineties from the inception of the HKG tournament. This team was named the Wild Ducks. It had no official status whatsoever, and the matches it played cannot be considered official internationals. The first official NZ team took part in 2000 and 2001, but from 2002 onwards the NZRFU again declined to send a team, whereby interested women's rugby officials from the Bay of Plenty in particular received the union's blessing to send a Maori team "Aotearoa" to HKG. For the first couple of years this team was pretty much strictly Maori in its makeup. However, for the later tournaments Black Ferns and upcoming players of any ethnicity were selected. It is not an official team and its matches should not be considered internationals but it has the union's blessing to compete in international tournaments.[9]
See also
- Hong Kong Sevens (men's tournament)