"Lote Raikabula Lote Raikabula (born 31 July 1983 in Suva, Fiji) is a New Zealand rugby player who has played both Rugby Union and Rugby sevens. He currently plays for the All Blacks Sevens team in the IRB Sevens World Series & is the Rugby coach for Trinity College, Kandy. He has played more than 60 tournaments since his debut in 2006, playing in 20 tournament-winning teams. With five IRB Sevens World Series medals, a Rugby World Cup Sevens title and two Commonwealth Games gold medals he is arguably New Zealand Sevens' most successful player. Raikabula has played Rugby Union"
"New Zealand, the national teams from and were the finalists on all five occasions, with Fiji winning the first three cups and New Zealand the next two. The international tournament was incorporated into IRB Sevens World Series as the Tokyo International Sevens in 2000 and 2001. A further cup win each to Fiji and New Zealand, respectively, was recorded in those two years. The Tokyo Sevens was then effectively replaced by the Singapore Sevens on the world circuit for the 2002 season. After a decade-long interval, Tokyo was included in the World Sevens Series again from 2012 to 2015. A"
"2004–05 World Sevens Series The 2004–05 IRB Sevens World Series was the sixth of an annual IRB Sevens World Series of rugby sevens tournaments for full national sides run by the International Rugby Board since 1999–2000. The defending series champions New Zealand retained their title by winning the 2004–05 series. In an event, 16 teams are entered. In each tournament, the teams are divided into pools of four teams, who play a round-robin within the pool. Points are awarded in each pool on a different schedule from most rugby tournaments—3 for a win, 2 for a draw, 1 for a"
"win the title. With a convincing six tries to one, 34–5 scoreline, they did just that and were crowned champions. The 2007–08 series saw New Zealand set several records. They became the first team in the nine-year history of the IRB Sevens to have won the first four events of a season, having won the Dubai, South Africa, Wellington and USA tournaments. During the USA Sevens, they broke their own record, set in 2001 and 2002, for most consecutive match wins in the IRB Sevens. The team extended their streak of tournaments won to the first five of the season,"
"2007–08 IRB Sevens World Series The 2007–08 IRB Sevens World Series was the ninth of an annual IRB Sevens World Series of rugby sevens tournaments for full national sides run by the International Rugby Board since 1999–2000. The defending series champions, New Zealand, dominated this season's competition, winning the first five events, setting new records for consecutive tournament wins and consecutive match wins, and clinching the 2007–08 series with one tournament remaining after winning the Plate Final of the London leg. They ended with six wins out of the eight events. Sevens is traditionally played in a two-day tournament format;"
"new IRB Pacific Nations Cup. The 2008 competition saw the Junior All Blacks replaced by the New Zealand Māori, a developmental side made up entirely of players from the country's indigenous Māori people. In 2009, Australia A did not play and the Junior All Blacks returned. The 2010 competition had no participation from Australia or New Zealand, and was won by Manu Samoa. The Samoa national rugby sevens team is one of the 15 ""core teams"" that compete in every event in the annual World Rugby Sevens Series. Long a solidly competitive side, Samoa Sevens burst into prominence in 2006–07,"
"contested by the last-place teams from each pool. The season championship is determined by points earned in each tournament. For most events, points are awarded on the following schedule: 2004–05 World Sevens Series The 2004–05 IRB Sevens World Series was the sixth of an annual IRB Sevens World Series of rugby sevens tournaments for full national sides run by the International Rugby Board since 1999–2000. The defending series champions New Zealand retained their title by winning the 2004–05 series. In an event, 16 teams are entered. In each tournament, the teams are divided into pools of four teams, who play"
"by the winner of the Hong Kong Sevens. New Zealand had originally dominated the Series, winning each of the first six seasons from 1999–2000 to 2004–05, but since then, Fiji, South Africa and Samoa have each won season titles. England and Australia have placed in the top three on multiple occasions, but neither has won the series. The International Olympic Committee's decision in 2009 to add rugby sevens to the Summer Olympics beginning in 2016 has added a boost to rugby sevens and to the World Sevens Series; this boost has led to increased exposure and revenues, leading several of"
"IRB Pacific Five Nations as it had been called in 2006. The tournament was a round-robin of 15 games where each team played one match against each of the others. There are four points for a win, two points for a draw and none for a defeat. There are also bonus points offered with one bonus point for scoring four or more tries in a match and one bonus point for losing by 7 points or less. New Zealand's Junior All Blacks won the Cup for the second time in Round 4, gaining an unbeatable lead after beating Australia A"
"performances they can contradict the IRB list and also include countries not featuring in the World Cup-based ranking. On the other hand, they obviously only include European nations. Rankings (based on previous season results) appear to be: Detailed results from a small number of tournaments, especially in Africa and Asia, have never been published. The following table therefore relates to the published tournament results. Note: Almost all of New Zealand's sevens matches - apart from the 2009 World Cup and qualifier and two Hong Kong Sevens - have been played by ""Aotearoa Maori"" and (before 2000) ""New Zealand Wild Ducks""."
"the Hong Kong Sevens: New Zealand, which had won the first six World Sevens Series, was mathematically eliminated from contention for the 2005-06 crown after the Singapore Sevens. Fiji's title was the first in the seven-year history of the competition to be won by a country other than New Zealand. The opening event of the season saw England defend their title, but not without a major fight. They had a very tough semifinal against Samoa, surviving only via an injury-time try by Sevens newcomer Tom Varndell and conversion by Simon Amor after Samoa had been controversially reduced to six men"
"to successfully defend their season title. 2007 London Sevens The London Sevens is played annually as part of the IRB Sevens World Series for international rugby sevens (seven a side version of rugby union). The 2007 competition, which took place on 26 and 27 May, was held at Twickenham and was part of the 2006-07 IRB Sevens World Series. New Zealand were overall winners, defeating defending series champions and current 2006-07 leaders Fiji 29-7 in the Cup final. However, the Fijians put themselves in good position to win the overall season crown; they only need make the Cup semifinals in"
"won it another eight times. They are also the only side to have won the Rugby World Cup Sevens on two occasions; in 1997 (defeating South Africa in the final) and in 2005 (defeating New Zealand in the final). The World Sevens Series was introduced in 2000, and New Zealand won the first six series in a row. However, at the 2006 event, Fiji put an end to their winning streak, becoming the 2006 World Sevens Series champions. They also won a gold medal at the Rio Olympics in 2016, the first Olympic medal in the country's history, when they"
"Rugby Sevens Series a record 12 times. No other country has won more than twice. New Zealand were particularly dominant in the early years of the Series, winning the first six series. There are no fixtures available for 1999–2004 The following is the New Zealand roster for the 2017 Canada Sevens tournament: Head coach: Scott Waldrom New Zealand national rugby sevens team The New Zealand national rugby sevens team competes in the World Rugby Sevens Series, Rugby World Cup Sevens, Summer Olympic Games and the Commonwealth Games. The team has been officially known as the All Blacks Sevens since 1"
"sevens tournament in 2016. World Rugby (then known as the IRB) later decided to retain the World Cup Sevens, and established a new four-year cycle in which the World Cup will be held in even-numbered non-Olympic years. As such, the next edition is to be held in 2018 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The World Rugby Sevens Series, held annually since 1999–2000, is a series of several international tournaments, expanding from nine to ten for the upcoming 2015–16 series, featuring full international sevens teams. New Zealand have been the dominant team throughout the series' history, winning the first six"
"World Sevens Series was the 1999–2000 season. At the Series launch, the chairman of the International Rugby Board, Vernon Pugh, described the IRB's vision of the role of this new competition: ""this competition has set in place another important element in the IRB’s drive to establish rugby as a truly global sport, one with widespread visibility and steadily improving standards of athletic excellence."" New Zealand and Fiji dominated the first series, meeting in the final in eight of the ten season tournaments, and New Zealand narrowly won, overtaking Fiji by winning the last tournament of the series. New Zealand won"
"2007 London Sevens The London Sevens is played annually as part of the IRB Sevens World Series for international rugby sevens (seven a side version of rugby union). The 2007 competition, which took place on 26 and 27 May, was held at Twickenham and was part of the 2006-07 IRB Sevens World Series. New Zealand were overall winners, defeating defending series champions and current 2006-07 leaders Fiji 29-7 in the Cup final. However, the Fijians put themselves in good position to win the overall season crown; they only need make the Cup semifinals in the final event, the Edinburgh Sevens,"
"are 7 minutes per half (10 minutes in a competition final) rather than 40 minutes per half in the 15-man game. The New Zealand Sevens team compete in the World Rugby Sevens Series, the Sevens World Cup, and the Commonwealth Games Sevens. The New Zealand Sevens team were undefeated in the Sevens events in the Commonwealth Games until 2014, when South Africa defeated them in the final. Since the inception of the Sevens Series in 1999–2000, the New Zealand Sevens team have dominated the series, winning the first six seasons of the competition (2000–2005) and 12 times in all, most"
"the only times they have not won the series were in 2006 when Fiji were crowned champions, 2009 won by South Africa, 2010 when they came second to Samoa and 2015/2016 when Fiji won the series back to back.The team has won 47 tournaments out of 122 held. In the 2006–07 series, it was left until the last round at Murrayfield, Edinburgh, to find out who would win. If Fiji had won their quarter-final against Wales then they would have won the series but they lost 21–14. This meant that New Zealand needed to win the final against Samoa to"
"International Rugby Board Sevens Series since its creation in 1999. In 2005 after winning the 2005 Rugby World Cup Sevens Serevi was appointed player-coach of the Fiji Sevens national team. He led Fiji to the 2005-06 World Sevens Series victory – the first time the series was won by a team other than New Zealand. The third of five children, Serevi was born in Suva, on the island of Viti Levu on 20 May 1968. He was raised by staunch Christian parents who were both heavily involved in the Church. Serevi's inspiration to play rugby stemmed from his childhood, when"
"2008–09 IRB Sevens World Series The 2008–09 IRB Sevens World Series was the tenth of an annual IRB Sevens World Series of rugby union sevens tournaments for full national sides run by the International Rugby Board since 1999–2000. South Africa clinched the 2008–09 World Series, its first Series title. The defending series champions New Zealand finished fourth. Sevens is traditionally played in a two-day tournament format. However, the most famous event, the Hong Kong Sevens, is played over three days, largely because it involves 24 teams instead of the normal 16. Starting in 2008–09, the Australia leg (which involves the"
"Today, 24 national representative sides compete in the tournament. These include the 16 'core' members of the IRB Sevens World Series, plus eight further invited teams. In 1997 and 2005, the Hong Kong Sevens was not held; taking its place was the Rugby World Cup Sevens, which Hong Kong hosted in both years. Fiji won both World Cup Sevens tournaments. In 1998, the first tournament after the transfer of sovereignty to China, tickets were not sold internationally and the event was stricken with a bankrupt sponsor Peregrine. The Union's Organising Committee worked hard, and successfully implemented its marketing strategy to"
"2008 Hong Kong Sevens The Hong Kong Sevens is contested annually as part of the IRB Sevens World Series for international rugby sevens (seven-a-side version of rugby union). The 2008 competition, which took place between March 28 and March 30 in Hong Kong, was the fifth Cup trophy in the 2007-08 IRB Sevens World Series and was won by New Zealand. The winners extended their all-time IRB Sevens record for consecutive match wins to 42 while claiming their fifth Cup win of the season and seventh in a row overall. The tournament's co-title sponsors were Cathay Pacific and Credit Suisse."
"2008 Hong Kong Sevens The Hong Kong Sevens is contested annually as part of the IRB Sevens World Series for international rugby sevens (seven-a-side version of rugby union). The 2008 competition, which took place between March 28 and March 30 in Hong Kong, was the fifth Cup trophy in the 2007-08 IRB Sevens World Series and was won by New Zealand. The winners extended their all-time IRB Sevens record for consecutive match wins to 42 while claiming their fifth Cup win of the season and seventh in a row overall. The tournament's co-title sponsors were Cathay Pacific and Credit Suisse."
"New Zealand national rugby sevens team The New Zealand national rugby sevens team competes in the World Rugby Sevens Series, Rugby World Cup Sevens, Summer Olympic Games and the Commonwealth Games. The team has been officially known as the All Blacks Sevens since 1 June 2012. The team played for the first time at the 1973 International Seven-A-Side Tournament. In 1983 it first entered the Hong Kong Sevens, where it has been champion 10 times and runner-up another 10 times. The team has won twelve of the eighteen IRB Sevens World Series events. Since 2000 when the series first started,"
"to the present, the champions became England and France; both teams won the trophy twice in a row. Portugal won the first edition, while Russia is the current champion. Women's rugby sevens has been dominated by New Zealand, with either the New Zealand team (1999–2001) or Aotearoa Maori Women's Rugby sevens team (playing as New Zealand), winning the annual Hong Kong Sevens tournament from 1997 until 2007. The United States won the Hong Kong Sevens in 2008 by defeating Canada in the final (New Zealand failed to send a team). The inaugural Women's Rugby World Cup Sevens tournament took place"
"successful nations in the Women’s World Cup have been New Zealand, which has won it five times, and England, which has reached the final seven times. The primary annual global competition for women’s rugby sevens is the World Rugby Women’s World Series. The Women’s Series was launched in the 2012-13 season. It features 4-6 tournaments each year. Women's rugby sevens at the Hong Kong Sevens has been dominated by New Zealand, with either the New Zealand team (1999–2001) or the Aotearoa Maori team (playing as New Zealand) winning the annual tournament from 1997 until 2007. The United States won the"
"2007 Dubai Sevens The Dubai Sevens is played annually as part of the IRB Sevens World Series for international rugby sevens (seven-a-side version of rugby union). The 2007 competition, which took place on November 30 and December 1 at the Dubai Exiles Rugby Ground, was the first Cup trophy in the 2007-08 IRB Sevens World Series. It was the last Dubai Sevens to be held at the Exiles Ground. Starting in 2008, the tournament moved to The Sevens, a new stadium built to host the 2009 Rugby World Cup Sevens. The defending series champions New Zealand won the Cup trophy"
"this tournament. 2008 USA Sevens The 2008 USA Sevens competition took place on February 9 and 10 at Petco Park in San Diego, California. It was the fourth Cup trophy in the 2007-08 IRB Sevens World Series. The USA Sevens is played annually as part of the IRB Sevens World Series for international rugby sevens. The top-level Cup competition was won by New Zealand, who became the first team in the history of the IRB Sevens to win the first four tournaments of a season; it was also the Kiwis' sixth consecutive tournament win overall. In the Cup semifinal against"
"1996 the Bledisloe Cup has been contested as part of the Tri Nations/Rugby Championship. . The Rugby World Cup Sevens is World Rugby's equivalent to the (15-man) Rugby World Cup. It is also held every four years, and was originally scheduled in the odd-numbered years in which the 15-man RWC was not held. The competition was first held in 1993. New Zealand won in 2001, were losing finalists to Fiji in 2005, and won the most recent edition in 2013 in Moscow. The 2013 edition was originally intended to be the last because of the impending establishment of an Olympic"
"and came from behind to notch a 19–14 win. Shortly after the tour, the NZRU announced that the Heartland XV would not be assembled in 2009, and would in the future tour every two years. The Black Ferns are the top national women's team in New Zealand. They are the current Women's Rugby World Cup champions, being 3 time winners after they won the 1998 tournament then again in 2002 in Barcelona and again in 2006 in Canada. Sevens is a form of rugby union which involves 7 players per team rather than 15 in the regular game. The games"
"While in some cases they were officially sanctioned by the NZRU, neither were full New Zealand teams, and occasionally included players not eligible to play for New Zealand. As a result, they are not included in the table below. ""The playing record of these unofficial New Zealand teams is: Played 59, Won 55, Lost 4, 93.22%."" As with rankings for 15-a-side rugby, IRB rankings for Sevens are based on the finishing positions in the previous World Cup. The table below shows the final positions for the 2009 tournament: Rugby Europe also produce an annual ranking of European nations, based on"
"the first six seasons in a row from 1999–2000 to 2004–05, led by players such as Karl Te Nana and Amasio Valence. The number of stops in the series varied over the seasons, but experienced a contraction from 11 tournaments in 2001–02 to 7 tournaments in 2002–03 due to the global recession. In the 2005–06 season Fiji clinched the season trophy on the last tournament of the season finishing ahead of England. New Zealand regained the trophy in 2006–07 season in the last tournament of the season. South Africa was the next team to win the series after taking home"