Draw Announced for Rugby World Cup Sevens 2009 Oceania Qualifiers
IRB World Cup Sevens Oceania Qualifier
Samoa taste victory. photo Zoomfiji
FORU today announced the draw for the Rugby World Cup Sevens 2009 Oceania Qualifiers to be held in Apia, Samoa on 25-26 July 2008.
The top two teams in both the Men's and Women's competitions will progress to the Rugby World Cup Sevens 2009 in Dubai. Australia, Fiji and New Zealand have already qualified for Dubai in the Men's competition on account of making the quarter finals of the 2005 Rugby World Cup Sevens.
It is the first time that Samoa, one of the new powerhouses to emerge in Sevens Rugby in the last two years, has hosted a World Cup Sevens qualifying tournament and the Samoa Rugby Union are delighted.
"We are honored to be hosting this important event. What's most exciting for us is that all 11 of the FORU Member Unions will be competing which is wonderful news for the rugby public in Samoa" said Sua Peter Schuster, CEO of the Samoa Rugby Union.
"The experiences we have learned from hosting the South Pacific Games as well as the IRB Pacific Rugby Cup and the IRB Pacific Nations Cup have prepared us well to run this major sporting event and we are ready to host some of the best sevens players in the Region" Schuster added
In more ways than one this will be a unique event as it is one of the rare occassions that all of the Region's Member Unions will gather for a tournament.
"This is an exciting time for FORU and for Rugby in Oceania. The fact that all 11 of our Member Unions will be competing in Apia reflects the popularity of Sevens rugby and the importance of qualifying for Rugby World Cup Sevens 2009" said FORU Chairman, Harry Schuster.
The Tournament kicks off on Friday 25 July with New Zealand taking on Samoa in the Women's competition followed by 2007 Pacific Sevens Women's Champions, Fiji taking on Niue. The Men's draw kicks off with hosts and 2007 South Pacific Games Silver Medallists, Samoa taking on Niue followed by 2007 Pacific Sevens Men's Champions Tonga taking on Vanuatu.
The finals start on Saturday 26 July.
Follow all the action including immediate results on www.oceaniarugby.com
Full Draw
Match No. | Pool | Day 1 | Time |
1 | W | New Zealandvs Samoa | 9.00 |
2 | W | Fijivs Niue | 9.22 |
3 | M | Samoa vs Niue | 9.44 |
4 | M | Tongavs Vanuatu | 10.06 |
5 | M | Papua New Guineavs Solomon Islands | 10.28 |
6 | M | Cook Islands vs Tahiti | 10.50 |
7 | W | Australiavs Fiji | 11.12 |
8 | W | Samoa vs Niue | 11.34 |
9 | M | Samoa vs Solomon Islands | 11.56 |
10 | M | Tongavs Tahiti | 12.18 |
|
| LUNCH BREAK | 12.34 |
11 | W | Niue vs New Zealand | 13.18 |
12 | W | Samoa vs Australia | 13.40 |
13 | M | Papua New Guineavs Niue | 14.02 |
14 | M | Cook Islands vs Vanuatu | 14.24 |
15 | W | Fijivs New Zealand | 14.46 |
16 | W | Australiavs Niue | 15.08 |
17 | M | Solomon Islandsvs Niue | 15.30 |
18 | M | Tahiti vs Vanuatu | 15.52 |
19 | M | Tongavs Cook Islands | 16.14 |
20 | W | Australiavs New Zealand | 16.36 |
21 | W | Samoa vs Fiji | 16.58 |
22 | M | Samoa vs Papua New Guinea | 17.20 |
· Women’s 2nd Rounds
Top 4 Placed Women go through to Cup Semi Final; 5th placed team finishes
· Men’s 2nd Rounds
Top 2 Placed Men in their Pools go through to Cup Semi Final
Bottom 2 Placed Men in their Pools go through to Plate Semi Final
Draw - Finals
Match No. | Comp. | Day 2 | Time |
23 | MENS’S PLATE SEMI FINAL | 3rd Pool A vs 4th Pool B | 12.00 |
24 | MENS’S PLATE SEMI FINAL | 4TH Pool A vs 3rd Pool B | 12.22 |
25 | WOMEN’S CUP SEMI FINAL | 1st Place vs 4th Place | 12.44 |
26 | WOMEN’S CUP SEMI FINAL | 2nd Placevs 3rd Place | 13.06 |
27 | MEN’S CUP SEMI FINAL | 1st Pool A vs 2nd Pool B | 13.28 |
28 | MEN’S CUP SEMI FINAL | 1st Pool B vs 2nd Pool A | 13.50 |
29 | Men’s 7th & 8th Placing | Loser G23 vs Loser G24 | 14.12 |
30 | Men’s Plate Final | Winner G23 vs Winner G24 | 14.34 |
31 | Women’s 3rd & 4th Placing | Loser G25 vs Loser G26 | 14.56 |
32 | Men’s 3rd and 4th Placing | Loser G27 vs Loser G28 | 15.18 |
33 | Women’s Cup Final | Winner G25 vs Winner G26 | 15.40 |
34 | Men’s Cup Final | Winner G27 vs G28 | 16.02 |