The 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens was the seventh edition of the Rugby World Cup Sevens. Organized by World Rugby, it was held at AT&T Park, now known as Oracle Park, in San Francisco, United States. A total of 84 matches were played over three days from July 20–22, 2018. The men's tournament had 24 teams and the women's tournament 16, with both tournaments being played for the first time in a knock-out only format.[1]
New Zealand won the championship for both events — defeating England in the men's final and France in the women's final.
Bidding
The bidding timeline for hosting the tournament was as follows:[2]
February 28, 2014 —Interested countries declare their "intent to tender"
August 29, 2014 — World Rugby (then the IRB) distributes the tender documentation
December 5, 2014 — Countries submit their bids to World Rugby
The three-day tournament was the most-watched live rugby cast in the U.S. on record.[9] In the U.S. Day 2 coverage achieved a rating of 1.0, while Day 3 coverage attained a 1.1.[10] Coverage reached nine million viewers across NBC five telecasts, with finals day coverage averaging 1.365 million viewers.[9][11] Over 100,000 fans attended the three day event, which was a record-breaking crowd for a rugby event in the United States.[12]
Schedule
Over the three days of competition there was a total of 84 matches played across both the men's and women's competitions.
Women's Challenge Quarterfinals Women's Championship Cup Quarterfinals
8
19:03-21:59
Men's Championship Cup Round of 16
8
July 21, 2018 (Saturday)
09:30–13:57
Women's Challenge Semifinals Women's Championship Cup Semifinals Men's Bowl Quarterfinals
12
14:04-17:00
Men's Challenge Quarterfinals Men's Championship Cup Quarterfinals
8
17:10-20:29
Women's 11th-16th Place Matches Women's Challenge Final Women's 5th-8th Place Matches Women's Bronze Medal match Women's Championship Cup Final Women's Ceremony
8
July 22, 2018 (Sunday)
09:00-14:52
Men's Bowl Semifinals Men's Challenge Semifinals Men's Championship Cup Semifinals Men's 19th-24th Place Matches Men's Bowl Final
16
15:02-16:30
Men's 11th-16th Place Matches Men's Challenge Final
4
16:40-18:31
Men's 5th-8th Place Matches Men's Bronze Medal Match Men's Championship Cup Final Men's Ceremony
Twenty four teams participate in the men's World Cup Sevens. Nine teams automatically qualify — eight by reaching the quarterfinals at the 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens, and one host nation. Additionally, the top four teams not already qualified from the 2016–17 World Sevens Series also qualify. The remaining 11 teams qualify through continental qualifiers — two from each of the six regions, except North America which gets only one additional place.[13]
Sixteen teams play at the women's World Cup Sevens. Four teams automatically qualified by reaching the semifinals at the 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens. Additionally, the top four teams not already qualified from the 2016–17 Women's World Sevens Series also qualified. The remaining eight places will be filled via continental qualifiers.[13]
