England, Australia end Wales’ World Deaf Rugby Sevens dominance

Wales’ two-decade stranglehold on the World Deaf Rugby Sevens Championships has come to an emphatic end in Tokyo, as England and Australia claimed top honours in the 2026 iterations of the men’s and women’s tournaments, respectively.

Played across three days of action in Tokyo, it all culminated on the final day of knockout rugby at Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium, which saw the English and Australians dominate both the men’s and women’s tournaments to play each other in both finals.

After going unbeaten in Pool B in the men’s tournament, the English breezed past South Africa 36-0 in the quarter finals to find themselves in the box seat in the semi-finals.

Australia, who finished as runner’s up in Pool B, also easily accounted for Samoa 37-5, setting up a semi final clash with the winners of Pool A, Fiji, eventually winning 31-14 to make the final.

Despite finishing second in Pool A, Wales made it to the semi final after defeating hosts Japan 12-10, before ultimately going down 25-12 to the English before losing the third placed play-off against the Fijians, 25-7.

The English ultimately ran away with the result in the men’s final, winning 45-5 over Australia to claim their first ever World Deaf Rugby Sevens men’s title – but the Aussies would get their revenge in the women’s tournament later in the day.

Played across a single six-team pool, the women’s competition saw a far tighter affair, with Australia, England and Wales all finishing on four wins and one loss, the women in gold topping the table on points differential.

With the three sides all making the semi finals, the fourth team to join them would once again be Fiji, who accounted for New Zealand 10-5 in the quarterfinals but ultimately would run out of steam against Australia, going down 22-5.

The defending champions in the women’s tournament as well, Wales would stumble in the semi finals for a second time against the English, going down 19-12 before bouncing back to defeat Fiji 32-12 to claim bronze.

Meeting in the women’s final, the Australians had to dig deep but ultimately triumphed 31-14 over the English, claiming their first World Deaf Rugby Sevens women’s title.

The events in Tokyo mark the first time a nation other than Wales has triumphed in the history of the World Deaf Rugby Championships – with the Welsh having claimed the first and only XVs tournament in 2002 with a 28-14 victory over New Zealand at Eden Park.

When the tournament returned in the sevens format, Wales defended their titles in 2018 and 2023, the latter marking the first tournament to feature a women’s competition – also won by Wales.

Despite the disappointment for the Welsh, the 2026 iteration in Japan proved a big success for the tournament at large both on and off the park, marking a notable increase in the number of participating teams, and a notable increase in the overall level of competition.