The Kenya rugby sevens team Shujaa has finished 12th in the 2019/2020 HSBC World Rugby Sevens season after five remaining rounds were cancelled.
The Langford, London, Paris, Singapore and Hong Kong rounds were cancelled by the rugby governing body after a consultation process due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“Following a comprehensive consultation process the remaining rounds of the women’s and men’s HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2020 in Langford, London, Paris, Singapore and Hong Kong have been cancelled due to the ongoing and dynamic global nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing the 2020 Series to an early conclusion,” said world rugby.
Series leaders, New Zealand have been awarded both the women’s and men’s titles courtesy of being top of the standings before the pandemic interrupted the Series with five of the eight women’s rounds and six of the 10 men’s rounds successfully completed.
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The Black Ferns Sevens had topped the podium in four of the five rounds in the women’s Series so far, while the All Blacks Sevens had claimed three victories and five podium finishes in the six rounds completed in the men’s Series.
Olympic champions Australia finish second in the women’s Series with Canada in third.
In the men’s Series, the 2018 champions South Africa finish in second place with Olympic and 2019 Series champions Fiji in third.
There will be no relegation from the women’s or men’s Series in 2020.
The HSBC World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series men’s and women’s final events will also not take place in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Challenger Series was launched by World Rugby this year to boost rugby sevens’ development across the globe, particularly in emerging nations, and this objective remains a key priority, providing a promotion pathway into the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series.
Japan are awarded the inaugural men’s Challenger Series title as they topped the rankings after the two completed events, claiming gold and bronze in the two rounds that took place earlier in 2020 in Chile and Uruguay.
Japan will join the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2021 as the 16th core team.
