The 2002–03 Sevens World Series was the fourth edition of the global circuit for men's national rugby sevens teams, organised by the International Rugby Board. The season ran from 5th December 2002 to 7th June 2003 and was played out over a series of only seven tournaments. A further three tournaments had originally been scheduled but were cancelled due to concerns about the SARS virus. New Zealand won its fourth consecutive series, with England finishing as runner-up.

Itinerary + 2002–03 Itinerary Leg Venue Dates Winner DubaiDubai Exiles Rugby Ground, Dubai6–7 December 2002South AfricaOuteniqua Park, George13–14 December 2002BrisbaneBallymore Stadium, Brisbane2–3 January 2003WellingtonWestpac Stadium, Wellington7–8 February 2003Hong KongHong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong28–30 March 2003BeijingChaoyang Stadium, Beijing5–6 April 2003CancelledSingaporeNational Stadium, Singapore26–27 April 2003CancelledKuala LumpurMBPJ Stadium, Kuala Lumpur3–4 May 2003CancelledCardiffMillennium Stadium, Cardiff6–7 June 2003LondonTwickenham Stadium, London14–15 June 2003

Due to concerns stemming from the spread of respiratory virus SARS, tournaments scheduled for China, Malaysia, and Singapore were cancelled. Further concerns also resulted in two nations — Italy and France — forgoing the opportunity to compete at the Hong Kong Sevens.

Final standings The points awarded to teams at each event, as well as the overall season totals, are shown in the table below. Gold indicates the event champions. Silver indicates the event runner-ups. A zero (0) is recorded in the event column where a team played in a tournament but did not gain any points. A dash (–) is recorded in the event column if a team did not compete at a tournament.

+ 2002–03 IRB Sevens – Series IVPos. DubaiGeorgeBrisbaneWellingtonHong KongCardiffLondonPointstotal    1 2016122024812112 2 642016301220108 3 82016121841694 4 12124418201282 5 121281286866 6 16668812258 7 4844 –16036 8 20126 –0020940 – –046141004 – –8 – –1211 – –208 – –10 12 0002400613 – – – –320514 – – – – – –441500 – – –04416 – – – –2 – –217 – –002 – –21802 – –0 – –219 – –001 – –1200000000021000000002200000000230000000024000000002500000000260000000027000000002800000000290000000030000000003100000000320000000033000000003400000000 --> Source: rugby7.com (archived) {| class="wikitable" style="font-size:92%;" |- !colspan=2| Legend |- |bgcolor=#FFD700|Gold |Event Champions |- |bgcolor=#C0C0C0|Silver |Event Runner-ups |- |colspan=2 style="border-left:3px solid #7cf;"|Light blue line on the left indicates a core team eligible to participate in all events of the series.

Tournaments

Dubai

EventWinnersScoreFinalistsSemi-finalistsCup36–0Plate29–5Bowl17–7Shield31–22 Arabian Gulf

George

EventWinnersScoreFinalistsSemi-finalistsCup24–14Plate27–7Bowl22–21Shield43–17 Arabian Gulf

Brisbane

EventWinnersScoreFinalistsSemi-finalistsCup28–14Plate47–12Bowl29–10Shield29–14

Wellington

EventWinnersScoreFinalistsSemi-finalistsCup38–26Plate39–5Bowl47–5Shield29–26

Hong Kong

EventWinnersScoreFinalistsSemi-finalistsQuarter-finalistsCup22–17Plate19–14Bowl24–19

Cardiff

EventWinnersScoreFinalistsSemi-finalistsCup35–17Plate34–14Bowl35–14Shield24–12

London

EventWinnersScoreFinalistsSemi-finalistsCup31–14Plate40–14Bowl44–5Shield36–12

References

External links