Looking Back at World Rugby Sevens History in the United States

World Rugby Sevens is coming to the United States for the first time since 2020.

After facing a delay due to the restraints caused by COVID-19, the HSBC Rugby Sevens is a full go in Los Angeles, with the two-day tournament slated for Saturday and Sunday.

Ahead of the 2021-22 series finale starting with pool action on Saturday, let’s take a look back to see how previous tournaments in the United States have played out:

What is the USA Sevens?

Administered by World Rugby, the USA Sevens is one of the largest rugby tournaments in North America, alongside the Vancouver Sevens in Canada. It’s one of the 10 tournaments that is part of the World Rugby Sevens Series, which sees 16 nations compete in order to accumulate points (2021-22 has only nine tournaments due to COVID-19). The nation with the most points after the tournaments are done wins the series that year. 

Due to the pandemic, in this current series, a nation gets 22 points for achieving first in a tournament, 19 for second and 17 for third. For teams that finish below third, points are allocated from 15 to one depending on what place the nation finished (e.g. fourth place would get 15, last would get one). 

When did the USA Sevens start?

The first edition of the USA Sevens began in Los Angeles in 2004. It moved to San Diego in 2007 and stayed there until 2010. That year saw the tournament move to Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas for the entire decade before returning to Los Angeles in 2020.

There was no USA Sevens tournament in 2021 due to COVID-19.

How many times has the United States won the USA Sevens?

Winning on home turf has not been a common theme for the U.S. The Eagles have won just twice out of the 17 tournaments in the country. Both are recent, though, coming in 2018 and 2019. The former was a 28-0 blowout win against Argentina and the latter was a 27-0 blowout against Samoa, two nations that had previously won in America.  

Which nation has the most USA Sevens wins?

South Africa is the most successful nation in the USA Sevens with five wins. The Springboks are also the most recent winners, too, having defeated Fiji 29-24 in the 2020 final.

Here’s a year-by-year look at the winners since 2004:

• 2004: Argentina
• 2005: New Zealand
• 2006: England
• 2007: Fiji
• 2008: New Zealand
• 2009: Argentina
• 2010: Samoa
• 2011: South Africa
• 2012: Samoa
• 2013: South Africa
• 2014: South Africa
• 2015: Fiji
• 2016: Fiji
• 2017: South Africa
• 2018: United States
• 2019: United States
• 2020: South Africa

2022 LA Sevens Preview

Looking at the table entering Los Angeles, South Africa is on pace to make it six wins in America, which would also solidify its spot as the 2021-22 series winner. The Springboks have 124 points thanks to four first-place finishes, which is two points ahead of Australia and six ahead of Argentina in the standings. The only other nation above 100 points is Fiji with 100. 

USA is sixth in the standings with 84 points, so it’s not in a position to finish top-three in the series. However, finishing top-three in the tournament is still in the cards. The U.S. finished fifth in the 2020 tournament.