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 2008 competition was held on November 28 and 29 at The Sevens, a brand-new facility built to host the 2009 Rugby World Cup Sevens. ^[1] It was the first of eight events in the 2008-09 IRB Sevens World Series. The top-tier Cup trophy was won by South Africa.

This was the first edition of the Dubai Sevens to be held at The Sevens. Previous editions were held at the Dubai Exiles Rugby Ground.

Format

The tournament consists of four round-robin pools of four teams. All sixteen teams progress to the knockout stage. The top two teams from each group progress to quarter-finals in the main competition, with the winners of those quarter-finals competing in cup semi-finals and the losers competing in plate semi-finals. The bottom two teams from each group progress to quarter-finals in the consolation competition, with the winners of those quarter-finals competing in bowl semi-finals and the losers competing in shield semi-finals.

Teams

•   Australia
•   England
•   France
•   Fiji
•   Georgia
•   Kenya
•   New Zealand
•   Portugal
•   Samoa
•   Scotland
•   South Africa
•   United States
•   Wales
•   Zimbabwe

Pool stages

Pool A

Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	+/-	Pts
New Zealand	3	3	0	0	104	21	+83	9
Australia	3	2	0	1	50	62	−12	7
Wales	3	1	0	2	50	62	−12	5
Zimbabwe	3	0	0	3	31	90	−59	3

Date	Team 1	Score	Team 2
2008-11-28	New Zealand	28 - 7	Wales
2008-11-28	Australia	21 - 12	Zimbabwe
2008-11-28	New Zealand	43 - 7	Zimbabwe
2008-11-28	Australia	22 - 17	Wales
2008-11-28	Wales	26 - 12	Zimbabwe
2008-11-28	New Zealand	33 - 7	Australia

Pool B

Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	+/-	Pts
South Africa	3	3	0	0	95	10	+85	9
Kenya	3	2	0	1	66	38	+28	7
Scotland	3	1	0	2	29	83	−54	5
Arabian Gulf	3	0	0	3	21	80	−59	3

Date	Team 1	Score	Team 2
2008-11-28	South Africa	31 - 10	Scotland
2008-11-28	Kenya	28 - 7	Arabian Gulf
2008-11-28	South Africa	33 - 0	Arabian Gulf
2008-11-28	Kenya	38 - 0	Scotland
2008-11-28	Scotland	19 - 14	Arabian Gulf
2008-11-28	South Africa	31 - 0	Kenya

Pool C

Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	+/-	Pts
Samoa	3	3	0	0	71	26	+45	9
Argentina	3	2	0	1	52	33	+19	7
France	3	1	0	2	35	53	−17	5
Georgia	3	0	0	3	26	73	−47	3

Date	Team 1	Score	Team 2
2008-11-28	Samoa	19 - 14	France
2008-11-28	Argentina	26 - 7	Georgia
2008-11-28	Samoa	33 - 7	Georgia
2008-11-28	Argentina	21 - 7	France
2008-11-28	France	14 - 12	Georgia
2008-11-28	Samoa	19 - 5	Argentina

Pool D

Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	+/-	Pts
England	3	3	0	0	83	22	+61	9
Fiji	3	2	0	1	64	40	+24	7
Portugal	3	1	0	2	29	55	−26	5
United States	3	0	0	3	34	93	−59	3

Date	Team 1	Score	Team 2
2008-11-28	Fiji	47 - 12	United States
2008-11-28	England	31 - 7	Portugal
2008-11-28	Fiji	12 - 0	Portugal
2008-11-28	England	24 - 10	United States
2008-11-28	United States	12 - 22	Portugal
2008-11-28	Fiji	5 - 28	England

Knockout

Shield

	Quarter-finals				Semi-finals				Final
	November 29 - The Sevens, Dubai
	Wales	26
					November 29 - The Sevens, Dubai
	Arabian Gulf	7
					Arabian Gulf	22
	November 29 - The Sevens, Dubai
					Georgia	12
	Portugal	19
									November 29 - The Sevens, Dubai
	Georgia	7
									Arabian Gulf	7
	November 29 - The Sevens, Dubai
									United States	31
	France	22
					November 29 - The Sevens, Dubai
	United States	12
					United States	17
	November 29 - The Sevens, Dubai
					Scotland	14
	Scotland	5
	Zimbabwe	19

Bowl

	Quarter-finals				Semi-finals				Final
	November 29 - The Sevens, Dubai
	Wales	26
					November 29 - The Sevens, Dubai
	Arabian Gulf	7
					Wales	0
	November 29 - The Sevens, Dubai
					Portugal	24
	Portugal	19
									November 29 - The Sevens, Dubai
	Georgia	7
									Portugal	24
	November 29 - The Sevens, Dubai
									France	0
	France	22
					November 29 - The Sevens, Dubai
	United States	12
					France	17
	November 29 - The Sevens, Dubai
					Zimbabwe	12
	Scotland	5
	Zimbabwe	19

Plate

	Quarter-finals				Semi-finals				Final
	November 29 - The Sevens, Dubai
	New Zealand	21
					November 29 - The Sevens, Dubai
	Kenya	17
					Kenya	26
	November 29 - The Sevens, Dubai
					Argentina	24
	England	15
									November 29 - The Sevens, Dubai
	Argentina	5
									Kenya	7
	November 29 - The Sevens, Dubai
									Samoa	12
	Samoa	7
					November 29 - The Sevens, Dubai
	Fiji	12
					Samoa	17
	November 29 - The Sevens, Dubai
					Australia	14
	South Africa	19
	Australia	0

Cup

	Quarter-finals				Semi-finals				Final
	November 29 - The Sevens, Dubai
	New Zealand	21
					November 29 - The Sevens, Dubai
	Kenya	17
					New Zealand	19
	November 29 - The Sevens, Dubai
					England	21
	England	15
									November 29 - The Sevens, Dubai
	Argentina	5
									England	12
	November 29 - The Sevens, Dubai
									South Africa	19
	Samoa	7
					November 29 - The Sevens, Dubai
	Fiji	12
					Fiji	7
	November 29 - The Sevens, Dubai
					South Africa	10
	South Africa	19
	Australia	0

Statistics

Individual points

Individual points [2] Updated:2008-11-30
Pos.	Player	Country	Points
1	Tomasi Cama	New Zealand	41
2	Ollie Phillips	England	39
3	Lavin Asego	Kenya	36
4=	Collins Injera	Kenya	35
4=	Mzwandile Stick	South Africa	35
6	Lolo Lui	Samoa	32
7	Pedro Leal	Portugal	31
8	Tim Nanai-Williams	New Zealand	26
9=	Robert Ebersohn	South Africa	25
9=	Rayno Benjamin	South Africa	25

Individual tries

Individual tries [3] Updated:2008-11-30
Pos.	Player	Country	Tries
1	Collins Injera	Kenya	7
2=	Rayno Benjamin	South Africa	5
2=	Isoa Damu	England	5
2=	Robert Ebersohn	South Africa	5
2=	David Mateus	Portugal	5
6=	Thomas Combezou	France	4
6=	Apelu Fa'aiuga	Samoa	4
6=	Vereniki Goneva	Fiji	4
6=	Tim Mikkelson	New Zealand	4
6=	Tim Nanai-Williams	New Zealand	4

Notes and references

External links

• IRB Sevens
• Dubai Sevens on irb.com

Preceded by Edinburgh Sevens

Dubai Sevens 2008

Succeeded by George Sevens