2012 Sevens Grand Prix Series was the 11th round of the

Sevens Grand Prix Series The Rugby Europe Sevens are a series of rugby sevens tournaments held by Rugby Europe. It was formerly known as the FIRA-AER Sevens until 2013, and the Sevens Grand Prix Series until 2021. Only one annual tournament existed prior to 2011, when ...

(formerly known as the European Sevens Championship) for rugby sevens organised by the

FIRA – Association of European Rugby Rugby Europe is the administrative body for rugby union in Europe. It was formed in 1999 to promote, develop, organise, and administer the game of rugby in Europe under the authority of World Rugby (the sport's global governing body). However, it ...

. The series was held in three phases (GPS 1-3) hosted by France (

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...

), Russia (

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

) and Denmark (

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (behind Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2022, the city proper had a population of 180,863 while Odense Municipality had a population of 20 ...

). The tournament was won by

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, who defeated

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

21–12 in the final. England, winner of the first two phases of the tournament, were considered to be favourites but eliminated by France in the quarter-finals. England were the overall champions of the tournament.

Qualification

The top 12 teams in 2011 qualified for GPS 1 in Lyon. Team rankings after GPS 1 decided the standings for GPS 2 in Moscow, which decided rankings for GPS 3.Men's 7’S Grand Prix Series 2012 Tournament Manual, p. 8. For GPS 3, Denmark got direct 16th spot and three more teams from Division A promoted for the Grand Prix Series.

Results

GPS 1

The twelve teams were divided into two pools (A and B), with six members each. Each of the teams played with the other members in its pool once and then the two top teams in each of the two pools moved over to semifinals, the winners of which played against each other in the finals.Men's 7’S Grand Prix Series 2012 Tournament Manual, pp. 19–21.

and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

succeeded to final. Portugal lost only one pool (pool A) match against

with a points difference of nil to 31, whilst English team did not lose a single match. In the semifinals, England played against fellow

home nation Home Nations is a collective term with one of two meanings depending on context. Politically it means the nations of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales). In sport, if a sport is g ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

and Portugal faced Spanish team. The final of Grand Prix Series 1 was played in between England and Portugal on 3 June 2012, which was won 14–26 by England and thus won the first leg of the 2012 Sevens Grand Prix Series. ;Final match details

GPS 2

The Grand Prix Series 2 held in

Luzhniki Stadium Luzhniki Stadium ( rus, стадион «Лужники», p=stədʲɪˈon lʊʐnʲɪˈkʲi, ''Stadion Luzhniki'') is the national stadium of Russia, located in its capital city, Moscow. The full name of the stadium is Grand Sports Arena of the ...

, Moscow, on 30 June and 1 July 2012. England and France were the top teams of pool A and pool B, respectively. Both of the teams won all their pool matches. England defeated Spain in the semifinal with a points difference of 22 to 7, and France entered the final after winning the lowest-scoring match of the GPS 2 against Russia, winning the match by 7–0. The final of the GPS 2 held on 1 July between England and France, which was won by the English team by 21–15. ;Final match details

GPS 3

Sixteen teams participated in the Grand Prix Series 3 held in Odense on 7 and 8 July 2012. It was the final phase of the 2012 Sevens Grand Prix Series. The sixteen teams were divided into four pools (A, B, C and D), with four members each. Each of the teams played with the other members in its pool once and then the two top teams in each of the four pools moved over to quarter-finals. The winner of each quarter-final match succeeded to semifinals and the winners of which played against each other in the finals. England, winner of the first two rounds of the competition, were considered to be the favourites, but they lost to France in quarter-finals. In the final, France and Portugal competed for the Championship Cup. France, maintaining their winning streak, defeated Portugal by 21–12. ;Final match details

Final standings

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sevens 2010 International rugby union competitions hosted by Russia International rugby union competitions hosted by Denmark International rugby union competitions hosted by France

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

2011–12 in European rugby union 2011–12 in French rugby union 2012 in Russian rugby union 2012 in Danish sport