The Rugby Europe Sevens are a series of
rugby sevens tournaments held by
Rugby Europe
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 ...
. 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 Rugby Europe created a series of tournaments, following the model of the
World Rugby Sevens Series
The World Rugby Men's Sevens Series is an annual series of international rugby sevens tournaments run by World Rugby featuring national sevens teams. Organised for the first time in the 1999–2000 season as the IRB World Sevens Series, the com ...
. The main division is known as the Rugby Europe Championship Series, formerly known the Grand Prix, followed by the Trophy Series, Conference 1, and Conference 2.
The competitions use a promotion/relegation system.
Format
In the Grand Prix, twelve teams play in several tournaments each summer throughout Europe. Each tournament spans two days — the first day is a pool phase and the second day is a knockout phase. During the pool phase, the teams are divided into three pools of four teams each. After the pool phase, the top eight teams (two first of each pool, plus two best-performing third place teams) advance to the Cup tournament; the other four teams play for the Challenge Trophy.
At the end of each tournament, teams are awarded points based on their performance. At the end of the series, the team with the most points is declared the champion. The team with the fewest points is relegated from the Grand Prix to the Trophy competition, whereas the champion of the Trophy competition is promoted to next season's Grand Prix.
History
2002–2010
A number of qualifying tournaments lead up to a finals tournament, which functions as the European championship and, in 2008, also as the qualifying stage for the Sevens World Cup.
The first European Championship was held in 2002 in
Heidelberg
Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...
, Germany, and was won by Portugal, the team that won every men's championship since except 2007 and 2009, when Russia won. In 2003, the tournament was again held in Heidelberg and, in 2004,
Palma de Mallorca
Palma (; ; also known as ''Palma de Mallorca'', officially between 1983–88, 2006–08, and 2012–16) is the capital and largest city of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. It is situate ...
, Spain was the host. From 2005 to 2007,
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 million ...
was the host of the tournament.
Hanover held the tournament for the first time in 2008 and did so again in 2009. In 2010, the tournament return to Moscow.
Since 2011
In 2011, the format of the competition changed. The twelve best teams meet on several tournaments, following the model of the
IRB Sevens World Series
The World Rugby Men's Sevens Series is an annual series of international rugby sevens tournaments run by World Rugby featuring national sevens teams. Organised for the first time in the 1999–2000 season as the IRB World Sevens Series, the com ...
. The name also changed, the European Championship was known as
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 ...
. The first edition of this competition was held in 2011 and won by Portugal.
Tournaments
Championship Series
Team Records
Updated to 2022
Trophy
Conference
Conference 1
Conference 2
Partners
*
Société Générale
Société Générale S.A. (), colloquially known in English as SocGen (), is a French-based multinational financial services company founded in 1864, registered in downtown Paris and headquartered nearby in La Défense.
Société Générale ...
,
Eurosport 2
Eurosport 2 is a French sports television network. It is a sister channel to Eurosport 1, which is a division of the Eurosport Network and a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery. Several different versions of the channel exist across Europe, where te ...
(official broadcaster), Berugbe
References
External links
*
Rugby7.com: About the European Grand Prix Series
{{European Championships
Rugby sevens competitions in Europe
Rugby Europe tournaments
2002 establishments in Europe
Recurring sporting events established in 2002