The Tonga national rugby sevens team competes in the World Rugby Sevens Series. Tonga has participated in all but one of the Rugby World Cup Sevens tournaments.
World Rugby Sevens Series
2008–09 IRB Sevens World Series
Tonga have participated in only a few rounds of the World Rugby Sevens Series so far. They managed the bowl final in their first round of this series in Wellington, they won 24–56 over Cook Islands.
2009 Wellington Sevens
Tonga were in pool "A" along with Scotland, South Africa and Kenya for the Wellington round of the IRB World Sevens Series. Stages Team Pts Team1 21–35 2 22–65 3 15–21 1/4 final bowl 0–21 Semi-final bowl 5–28 Final bowl 24–56
2015 Hong Kong Sevens
Tonga played in the World Series Qualifier in the 2015 Hong Kong Sevens. They only managed one win against .
Challenger Series Tonga have participated in the World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series, the competition to gain promotion to the World Rugby Sevens Series. They finished 6th in 2020 and 7th in 2022, failing to gain promotion.
Tonga finished first in the 2023 Challenger Series, thereby gaining entry to the London Sevens core team qualifier for the 2023–24 season. They also competed in the 2024 Challenger Series; the first round was held in Dubai where they finished sixth. They ended the Challenger Series in seventh place overall.
Tournament history
Rugby World Cup Sevens World Cup recordYearRoundPosition 1993Quarterfinalists7th8440 1997Plate Winners9th7520 2001Did not qualify 2005Bowl Semifinalists19th6250 2009Plate Semifinalists11th5320 2013Plate Quarterfinalists13th4130 2018 21st Place Final 22nd 4 1 3 0 202219th Place Final20th4130Total0 Titles7/83817220
Tonga's first appearance was at the 1993 Rugby World Cup Sevens held in Scotland. They finished at the top of their pool and progressed to the finals with four wins and a loss to the hosts. The quarter finals were another round robin with teams split into two pools. Tonga lost all their games and finished in seventh place overall.
The 1997 Rugby World Cup Sevens was held in the mecca of sevens rugby Hong Kong. The tournament was played over three days. Day 1 and 2 had a total of eight pools with three teams per pool. Teams were seeded at the end of Day 1 and assigned to their various pools for Day 2. Tonga had a win against Japan and a loss to New Zealand.
Tonga's pool on Day 2 was a repeat of Day 1 with Japan and New Zealand being pooled together with them. Day 2 yielded the same results as the previous day. They were placed in the Plate quarterfinals and recorded wins against Wales, the Cook Islands and the hosts, Hong Kong to win the Plate and finish in ninth place.
The 2001 Rugby World Cup Sevens was held in Argentina. Tonga did not qualify.
Hong Kong hosted the Sevens World Cup in 2005 for a second time. Tonga finished at the bottom of their pool and ended up in the Bowl quarterfinals where they defeated Chinese Taipei 28 – 19. They lost to Canada in the semi-finals 7 – 0 and finished in their lowest rankings at a World Cup in 19th place.
Tonga qualified for the 2009 World Cup in the Oceania region. The United Arab Emirates were the hosts for the 2009 Rugby World Cup Sevens. They were in Pool A and played against , and . Tonga were second in their pool with two wins and a loss. They made it to the Plate quarterfinals and beat Tunisia 24 – 7. However, they lost to Australia in the semis 22 – 19. They finished in eleventh place overall.
Russia were the hosts for the 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens. Tonga won over Uruguay and advanced to the Plate quarterfinals from their pool. They lost to Canada 26 – 0 and finished in 13th place.
Olympics Olympic Games recordYearRoundPosition 2016Did not qualify 2020Did not qualify 2024To be determinedTotal 0/00000
Tonga finished second behind Australia at the 2015 Oceania Sevens Championship, and thus failed to advance to the 2016 Summer Olympics. Tonga also played in the 2019 Oceania Sevens Championship, but failed to qualify for the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games recordYearRoundPosition 1998Plate Semifinalists11th6330 2002Bowl Finalists10th6330 2006Bowl Finalists10th6330 2010Bowl Semifinalists11th5230 2014Did not qualify 2018 20229th–12th Place Semi-finals=11th5230Total0 Titles5/72813150
Pacific Games Pacific GamesYearRoundPosition 1999Did Not Compete 2003Bronze Final4th6204 2007Did Not Compete 2011 2015Bronze Final7502 2019Bronze Final5410 2023Bronze Final5401Total0 Titles4/7231517
Oceania Sevens Oceania SevensYearRoundPosition 2008Cup Final5401 2009Cup Final8602 2010Bronze Final6402 2011Bronze Final7412 2012Bronze Final6303 2013Did Not Compete 2014Plate Final6th6204 2015Cup Final6402 20165th Place Playoff5th6402 2017— 7th4103 20185th Place Playoff5th6402 20195th Place Playoff5th5401 2021Did Not Compete 2022Round-robin4th6006 2022Round-robin5005 20235th Place Playoff5th5401Total0 Titles14/168144136
Players Squad for the 2024 World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series in Dubai. No.Players1Sione Tupou3Siaosi Huihui4Semisi Ma'asi6Tevita Eukaliti7Sioeli Filimoehala9John Ika10Atieli Pakalani20Sione Lemek22Tali Finau29Potolaka Ma'ake73Walter Fifita77Bray Taumoefolau
Notable players
Malakai Fekitoa (Former All Black) Jack Ram Afusipa Taumoepeau
Notes
References