The 2022 USA Sevens was the seventeenth edition of the rugby sevens tournament. It was held at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, Los Angeles, California between 27 and 28 August 2022. The title defenders were five-time USA Sevens champions South Africa.
The final event of the season saw the most competitive sole event in World Rugby Sevens Series history as all sixteen core teams vied for the event title, four of whom were simultaneously vying for the series title (South Africa, Australia, Argentina, Fiji).
On the season standings for the 2021–22 season post-London were the most competitive since the establishment of the Sevens Series, with just six points separating the top three teams (two points between the top two). There were four teams mathematically capable of winning the series, depending on the results of this event.
At the conclusion of day one, when all the pool fixtures had been played, South Africa finished third in their pool, thus were not eligible to play in the Cup playoffs and were eliminated from winning the event and the series.
New Zealand won the tournament claiming their first win in the series after beating Fiji 28–21. New Zealand's victory, along with Argentina's quarterfinal loss, South Africa's defeat in the pool stages, and Australia's third place finish, meant that Australia were crowned World Series champions for the first time.
Format The sixteen teams were drawn into four pools of four. Each team played the three opponents in their pool once. The top two teams from each pool advanced to the Cup bracket, with the losers of the quarter-finals vying for a fifth-place finish. The remaining eight teams that finished third or fourth in their pool played off for 9th place, with the losers of the 9th-place quarter-finals competing for 13th place.
Teams The sixteen national teams competing in Los Angeles were:
Pool stage Team advances to the Cup quarter-finals
Pool A TeamPldWDLPFPAPDPts330013414+1209320110038+62731024595–50530037139–1323
Pool B TeamPldWDLPFPAPDPts33007631+45932015957+2731024355–12530033974–353
Pool C TeamPldWDLPFPAPDPts33007838+409 32016745+227 31025755+25 300336100–643
Pool D TeamPldWDLPFPAPDPts33008626+609 32015357–47 31023647–115 30032469–453
Knockout stage 13th–16th playoffs
MatchesSemi-finals
13th place Final
9th–12th playoffs
MatchesQuarter-finals
Semi-finals
9th place Final
5th–8th playoffs
MatchesSemi-finals
5th place Final
Cup playoffs
MatchesQuarter-finals
Semi-finals
Third place
Cup Final
Placings
PlaceTeam Points 22 19 17 4 15 5 13 6 12 7 10 10
PlaceTeam Points 9 810 7 11 5 513 314 2 15 1 1
References