The 1997 Rugby World Cup Sevens was the second edition of the Rugby sevens tournament and the first to be held in Hong Kong. Fiji defeated South Africa 24–21 to take the title for the first time.[1] The Final is still considered to be one of the best Sevens matches of all time. The Fiji team had promised the country it would return with the title, and captain Waisale Serevi had also promised his daughters the same.
Participating nations[]
The twenty four teams were divided into eight pools of three as follows:
| Pool A |
Pool B |
Pool C |
Pool D |
|
Pool E |
Pool F |
Pool G
|
Pool H |
Results[]
Day 1[]
| 21 March 1997 13:00 POOL A |
England 
|
33 – 12 |  Canada
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 March 1997 15:41 POOL A |
Zimbabwe 
|
42 – 7 | Canada
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 March 1997 18:51 POOL A |
England
|
26 – 7 |  Zimbabwe
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 March 1997 13:20 POOL B |
Australia 
|
19 – 19 |  Scotland
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 March 1997 16:03 POOL B |
Romania 
|
14 – 26 | Scotland
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 March 1997 19:10 POOL B |
Australia
|
38 – 7 | Romania
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 March 1997 13:40 POOL C |
New Zealand 
|
47 – 14 |  Japan
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 March 1997 16:21 POOL C |
Tonga 
|
35 – 7 | Japan
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 March 1997 19:30 POOL C |
New Zealand
|
21 – 7 |  Tonga
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 March 1997 14:00 POOL D |
Fiji 
|
59 – 0 |  Portugal
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 March 1997 16:40 POOL D |
Hong Kong [[File:{{{flag alias-1959}}}|23x15px|border |alt=|link=]] | 33 – 12 | Portugal
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 March 1997 19:50 POOL D |
Fiji
|
45 – 0 | [[File:{{{flag alias-1959}}}|22x20px|border |alt=|link=]] Hong Kong | Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 March 1997 14:20 POOL E |
France 
|
35 – 5 |  United States
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 March 1997 17:00 POOL E |
South Korea 
|
7 – 33 | United States
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 March 1997 20:10 POOL E |
France
|
38 – 5 |  South Korea
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 March 1997 14:40 POOL F |
Spain 
|
26 – 5 |  Morocco
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 March 1997 17:19 POOL F |
Cook Islands 
|
31 – 17 | Morocco
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 March 1997 20:30 POOL F |
Spain
|
31 – 12 |  Cook Islands
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 March 1997 15:00 POOL G |
South Africa 
|
45 – 7 |  Argentina
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 March 1997 17:40 POOL G |
Template:Country data IRE | 22 – 31 | Argentina
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 March 1997 20:50 POOL G |
South Africa
|
38 – 5 | Template:Country data IRE | Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 March 1997 15:20 POOL H |
Samoa 
|
48 – 5 |  Namibia
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 March 1997 18:32 POOL H |
Wales 
|
12 – 12 | Namibia
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 March 1997 21:10 POOL H |
Samoa
|
26 – 24 |  Wales
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Seedings after Day 1[]
Team Pld W D L PF PA +/- Seed Day 2 Pool 
Fiji
2 2 0 0 104 0 104 1 A2 South Africa
2 2 0 0 83 12 71 2 B2 Samoa
2 2 0 0 74 29 45 3 C2 France
2 2 0 0 73 10 63 4 D2 New Zealand
2 2 0 0 68 21 47 5 E2 England
2 2 0 0 59 19 40 6 F2 Spain
2 2 0 0 57 17 40 7 G2 Australia
2 1 1 0 57 26 31 8 H2 Scotland
2 1 1 0 45 33 12 9 H2 Zimbabwe
2 1 0 1 49 33 16 10 G2 Cook Islands
2 1 0 1 43 48 -5 11 F2 Tonga
2 1 0 1 42 28 14 12 E2 United States
2 1 0 1 38 42 -4 13 D2 Argentina
2 1 0 1 38 67 -29 14 C2 [[File:{{{flag alias-1959}}}|22x20px|border |alt=|link=]] Hong Kong 2 1 0 1 33 57 -24 15 B2 Wales
2 0 1 1 36 38 -2 16 A2 Namibia
2 0 1 1 17 60 -43 17 A2 Template:Country data IRE 2 0 0 2 27 69 -42 18 B2 Morocco
2 0 0 2 22 57 -35 19 C2 Romania
2 0 0 2 21 64 -43 20 D2 Japan
2 0 0 2 21 82 -61 21 E2 Canada
2 0 0 2 19 75 -56 22 F2 South Korea
2 0 0 2 12 71 -59 23 G2 Portugal
2 0 0 2 12 92 -80 24 H2
Day 2[]
| Key to colours in group tables |
|---|
| Team that progressed to the Cup Quarter Finals (also indicated in bold type) |
| Team that progressed to the Plate Quarter Finals (also indicated in bold italics) |
| Team that progressed to the Bowl Quarter Finals (also indicated in plain italics) |
All times Hong Kong time (UTC+1)
Pool A[]
Team Pld W D L PF PA +/- Pts Fiji
2 2 0 0 101 0 101 6 Wales
2 1 0 1 40 40 0 4 Namibia
2 0 0 2 5 106 -101 2
| 22 March 1997 10:59 |
Fiji
|
66 – 0 | Namibia
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 March 1997 13:40 |
Wales
|
40 – 5 | Namibia
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 March 1997 16:19 |
Fiji
|
35 – 0 | Wales
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Pool B[]
Team Pld W D L PF PA +/- Pts South Africa
2 2 0 0 63 12 51 6 [[File:{{{flag alias-1959}}}|22x20px|border |alt=|link=]] Hong Kong 2 1 0 1 31 34 -3 4 Template:Country data IRE 2 0 0 2 12 60 -48 2
| 22 March 1997 11:19 |
South Africa
|
34 – 7 | Template:Country data IRE | Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 March 1997 13:59 |
Hong Kong [[File:{{{flag alias-1959}}}|23x15px|border |alt=|link=]] | 26 – 5 | Template:Country data IRE | Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 March 1997 16:39 |
South Africa
|
29 – 5 | [[File:{{{flag alias-1959}}}|22x20px|border |alt=|link=]] Hong Kong | Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Pool C[]
Team Pld W D L PF PA +/- Pts Samoa
2 2 0 0 70 12 58 6 Argentina
2 1 0 1 45 35 10 4 Morocco
2 0 0 2 7 75 -68 2
| 22 March 1997 11:39 |
Samoa
|
42 – 0 | Morocco
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 March 1997 14:19 |
Argentina 
|
33 – 7 | Morocco
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 March 1997 16:58 |
Samoa
|
28 – 12 | Argentina
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Pool D[]
Team Pld W D L PF PA +/- Pts France
2 2 0 0 73 7 66 6 Romania
2 1 0 1 17 45 -28 4 United States
2 0 0 2 19 57 -38 2
| 22 March 1997 12:00 |
France
|
33 – 0 | Romania
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 March 1997 14:38 |
United States 
|
12 – 17 | Romania
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 March 1997 17:19 |
France
|
40 – 7 | United States
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Pool E[]
Team Pld W D L PF PA +/- Pts New Zealand
2 2 0 0 78 5 73 6 Tonga
2 1 0 1 40 57 -17 4 Japan
2 0 0 2 26 82 -56 2
| 22 March 1997 12:19 |
New Zealand
|
47 – 0 | Japan
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 March 1997 14:59 |
Tonga
|
35 – 26 | Japan
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 March 1997 17:41 |
New Zealand
|
31 – 5 | Tonga
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Pool F[]
Team Pld W D L PF PA +/- Pts England
2 2 0 0 59 17 42 6 Cook Islands
2 1 0 1 15 29 -14 4 Canada
2 0 0 2 7 35 -28 2
| 22 March 1997 12:38 |
England
|
30 – 7 | Canada
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 March 1997 15:20 |
Cook Islands
|
5 – 0 | Canada
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 March 1997 18:00 |
England
|
29 – 10 | Cook Islands
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Pool G[]
Team Pld W D L PF PA +/- Pts South Korea
2 1 1 0 33 22 11 5 Spain
2 1 1 0 31 24 7 5 Zimbabwe
2 0 0 2 22 40 -18 2
| 22 March 1997 12:59 |
Spain
|
12 – 12 | South Korea
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 March 1997 15:39 |
Zimbabwe
|
10 – 21 | South Korea
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 March 1997 18:19 |
Spain
|
19 – 12 | Zimbabwe
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Pool H[]
Team Pld W D L PF PA +/- Pts Australia
2 2 0 0 57 26 31 6 Scotland
2 1 0 1 47 38 9 4 Portugal
2 0 0 2 14 54 -40 2
| 22 March 1997 13:19 |
Australia
|
26 – 7 | Portugal
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 March 1997 15:59 |
Scotland 
|
28 – 7 | Portugal
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 March 1997 18:38 |
Australia
|
31 – 19 | Scotland
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Day 3 - Knockout Results[]
Bowl[]
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 23 May – Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong | ||||||||||
| Japan
|
24 | |||||||||
| 23 May – Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong | ||||||||||
| Namibia
|
22 | |||||||||
| Japan
|
24 | |||||||||
| 23 May – Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong | ||||||||||
| Template:Country data IRE | 22 | |||||||||
| Portugal
|
5 | |||||||||
| 23 May – Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong | ||||||||||
| Template:Country data IRE | 33 | |||||||||
| Japan
|
28 | |||||||||
| 23 May – Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong | ||||||||||
| United States
|
40 | |||||||||
| United States
|
24 | |||||||||
| 23 May – Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong | ||||||||||
| Canada
|
21 | |||||||||
| United States
|
24 | |||||||||
| 23 May – Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong | ||||||||||
| Morocco
|
0 | |||||||||
| Zimbabwe
|
12 | |||||||||
| Morocco
|
19 | |||||||||
Quarter Finals[]
| 23 March 1997 10:00 |
Japan
|
24 – 22 | Namibia
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 March 1997 10:22 |
Portugal 
|
5 – 33 | Template:Country data IRE | Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 March 1997 10:42 |
United States
|
24 – 21 | Canada
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 March 1997 11:02 |
Zimbabwe
|
12 – 19 | Morocco
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Semi Finals[]
| 23 March 1997 14:52 |
Japan
|
24 – 22 | Template:Country data IRE | Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 March 1997 15:12 |
United States
|
24 – 0 | Morocco
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Final[]
| 23 March 1997 16:51 |
Japan
|
28 – 40 | United States
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Plate[]
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 23 May – Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong | ||||||||||
 Spain
|
0 | |||||||||
| 23 May – Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong | ||||||||||
| Cook Islands
|
36 | |||||||||
| Cook Islands
|
10 | |||||||||
| 23 May – Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong | ||||||||||
| Tonga
|
43 | |||||||||
| Wales
|
12 | |||||||||
| 23 May – Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong | ||||||||||
| Tonga
|
26 | |||||||||
| Tonga
|
40 | |||||||||
| 23 May – Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong | ||||||||||
| [[File:{{{flag alias-1959}}}|22x20px|border |alt=|link=]] Hong Kong | 19 | |||||||||
| Argentina
|
2 | |||||||||
| 23 May – Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong | ||||||||||
| [[File:{{{flag alias-1959}}}|22x20px|border |alt=|link=]] Hong Kong | 26 | |||||||||
| [[File:{{{flag alias-1959}}}|22x20px|border |alt=|link=]] Hong Kong | 43 | |||||||||
| 23 May – Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong | ||||||||||
| Scotland
|
7 | |||||||||
| Scotland
|
43 | |||||||||
| Romania
|
19 | |||||||||
Quarter Finals[]
| 23 March 1997 11:21 |
Spain
|
0 – 36 | Cook Islands
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 March 1997 11:40 |
Wales
|
12 – 26 | Tonga
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 March 1997 12:00 |
Argentina
|
2 – 26 | [[File:{{{flag alias-1959}}}|22x20px|border |alt=|link=]] Hong Kong | Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 March 1997 12:20 |
Scotland
|
43 – 19 | Romania
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Semi Finals[]
| 23 March 1997 15:30 |
Cook Islands
|
10 – 43 | Tonga
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 March 1997 15:51 |
Hong Kong [[File:{{{flag alias-1959}}}|23x15px|border |alt=|link=]] | 43 – 7 | Scotland
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Final[]
| 23 March 1997 17:25 |
Tonga
|
40 – 19 | [[File:{{{flag alias-1959}}}|22x20px|border |alt=|link=]] Hong Kong | Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Cup[]
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 23 May – Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong | ||||||||||
 Fiji
|
56 | |||||||||
| 23 May – Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong | ||||||||||
| South Korea
|
0 | |||||||||
| Fiji
|
38 | |||||||||
| 23 May – Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong | ||||||||||
 Samoa
|
14 | |||||||||
 England
|
5 | |||||||||
| 23 May – Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong | ||||||||||
| Samoa
|
21 | |||||||||
| Fiji
|
24 | |||||||||
| 23 May – Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong | ||||||||||
 South Africa
|
21 | |||||||||
| South Africa
|
19 | |||||||||
| 23 May – Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong | ||||||||||
 France
|
14 | |||||||||
| South Africa
|
31 | |||||||||
| 23 May – Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong | ||||||||||
 New Zealand
|
7 | |||||||||
| New Zealand
|
40 | |||||||||
 Australia
|
12 | |||||||||
Quarter Finals[]
| 23 March 1997 13:33 |
Fiji
|
56 – 0 | South Korea
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 March 1997 13:54 |
England
|
5 – 21 | Samoa
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 March 1997 14:14 |
South Africa
|
19 – 14 | France
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 March 1997 14:32 |
New Zealand
|
40 – 12 | Australia
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Semi Finals[]
| 23 March 1997 16:11 |
Fiji
|
38 – 14 | Samoa
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 March 1997 16:32 |
South Africa
|
31 – 7 | New Zealand
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Final[]
| 23 March 1997 18:00 |
Fiji
|
24 – 21 | South Africa
|
Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong |
|---|---|---|---|---|
See also[]
References[]
- ↑ Template:Cite book
External links[]
Template:RWC Sevens