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Napolioni Bolaca nominated for World Rugby HSBC sevens Cigna Pressure Play Award
World Rugby today confirmed that the winners of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2020 Awards will be announced on Monday, 21 September.
The Awards recognize and celebrate the players and teams who have performed at the highest level across the season.
Fiji Airways Fijian 7s playmaker Napolioni Bolaca has been nominated for HSBC World Rugby Sevens Cigna Pressure Play Award, the nomination looks at the moment when a player or a team has applied pressure on the opposition to score a try, based on the number of passes, defenders beaten and offloads.
The World Rugby Sevens Awards panel, comprising former international sevens players and series commentators, have cast their votes to determine this year’s nominees and winners across the six men’s and women’s award categories.
Throughout the 2019 – 2020 HSBC Sevens series, Bolaca has played a total 27 matches scoring 15 tries, slotting over 42 total conversions with a total of 159 points.
Bolaca was really instrumental in a couple of 2019 – 2020 Cup victories and also received DHL Rugby Impact Player award at LA Sevens and player of the tournament at the Paris Sevens.
Apart from Naps, other Cigna Pressure Play nominees includes, the swift Blitz Boks Seabelo Senatla, and the South African powerhouse JC Pretorious.
The World Rugby Sevens Awards panel, comprising former international sevens players and series commentators, have cast their votes to determine this year’s nominees and winners across the six men’s and women’s award categories.
The global rugby family will also get an opportunity to have their say with fans given the chance to cast their votes to determine the winners of the Cigna Pressure Play Award and the UL Mark of Excellence Award as voting opens yesterday.
Exclusive interviews with award winners will be broadcast across World Rugby digital channels as part of a dedicated HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series Awards celebration week.
The week will also acknowledge and celebrate the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2020 champions New Zealand, who were awarded both the women’s and men’s titles, alongside Olympic champions Australia and Canada who finished second and third respectively in the women’s series, and South Africa and Fiji who placed second and third in the men’s series.
HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2020 Award Categories
HSBC Dream Team: The best of the best. The Awards panel, including special guest panellists, HSBC Ambassadors Danielle Waterman and Bryan Habana, will determine the best seven men’s and women’s players to make up the HSBC Dream Teams.
UL Mark of Excellence: The Awards panel, together with by UL Executive Mike Galeski, have selected a shortlist of nominees from the list of UL Mark of the Excellence Award tournament winners on the 2020 series. Fans will have the final say in determining the moment from the men’s and women’s shortlists which stand out as the biggest of the 2020 series.
- New Zealand and Samoa teams: The New Zealand and Samoa teams have been jointly nominated for standing together in a show of solidarity to remember those affected by the measles outbreak in Samoa
- France team: France for beating Fiji for the first time in four years at the HSBC Cape Town Sevens in December
- Canada team: The Canada team for their fundraising initiative for the Ronald McDonald House, auctioning their match boots which had been designed by children at Ronald McDonald House
- Dan Norton (England): Dan Norton’s achievement of becoming the first sevens player to score 350 tries on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series at the HSBC Sydney Sevens
- Lauren Doyle (USA): Lauren Doyle’s try-saving tackle against New Zealand in the Cup semi-final at the HSBC USA Women’s Sevens. The hosts went on to claim the title
- Tyla Nathan-Wong (New Zealand): Tyla Nathan-Wong for becoming the first Black Ferns Sevens player – and second overall – to reach 1,000 points at the HSBC Sydney Sevens
- Emilee Cherry (Australia): Emilee Cherry for scoring a double in her first match at the HSBC Hamilton Sevens, just seven months after the birth of her daughter
- Ellia Green (Australia): Ellia Green for breaking the Australian sevens try-scoring record with her 129th try in the HSBC Cape Town Sevens semi-final against France
Cigna Pressure Play Award: The Awards panel have determined a shortlist of three men’s and three women’s players with sevens fans having the last say in voting for their favourite pressure play moment of the men’s and women’s series.
- Fiji: HSBC Sydney Sevens – Cup final try against South Africa
- South Africa : Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens Cup final try against New Zealand
- South Africa: HSBC LA Sevens Cup quarter-final try against USA
- France: HSBC Sydney Sevens – France semi-final try against New Zealand
- New Zealand: HSBC Cape Town Sevens quarter-final try against England
- Canada: Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens Cup final try against New Zealand
Capgemini Momentum Tracker: A stats-based award using Capgemini’s unique tool, the Momentum Tracker, which analyses teams’ performances at individual tournaments and across the series to assess their capacity to improve throughout the season. The award will go to the team which records the highest momentum score on the tracker as a result of quantified performance and evolution scores.
Gilbert Top Try Scorer: An award for the top try-scorer on the men’s and women’s series.
DHL Impact Player: A stats-based award which statistically analyses individual players’ performances measured against four key criteria – offloads, carries, line-breaks and tackles.
World Rugby Chairman Sir Bill Beaumont said: “Despite the early conclusion of the series due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Awards 2020 are set to not only commemorate the achievements of both the 2020 series title winners New Zealand, silver medallists Australia and South Africa, and bronze medallists Canada and Fiji, but also importantly recognise the outstanding team and individual performances. We would like to acknowledge all those who have been nominated and look forward to Sevens Awards week where the remaining award winners will be announced.”
World Rugby Sevens Awards panellist Rob Vickerman said: “It’s one of the toughest jobs to single out winners for sevens awards due to the abundance of incredibly talented players and teams who compete on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series. While last season’s series was cut short there was no shortage of magical moments of skill, pace and flair across all teams. Congratulations to the teams and players who have been shortlisted and we are looking forward to unveiling the winners for all the award categories on 21 September.”