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WINNERS: SamoaWHEN: 19 April-1 MayWHERE: Harare, ZimbabweFINAL STANDINGS: 1. Samoa 2. Spain 3. Fiji 4. Namibia 5. USA 6. Uruguay 7. Hong Kong 8. ZimbabweLEADING POINTS AND TRY SCORER: Hanco Germishuys (USA), 48 points, eight triesEXTRA-TIME THRILLER: Samoa and tournament debutants Spain served up a classic final that went right down to the wire. Spain looked on course to take the title as they led by eight points with nine minutes to go, but Samoan number eight Elia Elia had other ideas, forcing the game beyond 80 minutes with his hat-trick try before Tivoli Masaga struck the telling blow three minutes into sudden death extra-time.TRY-FEST: An incredible 141 tries – each of them worth six points apiece under the new points-scoring system being trialled at the tournament – were scored across the 16 matches at an average of nearly nine per game, representing an increase of nearly 25 per cent on the previous year.NEW MILESTONES: Samoa and Spain weren’t the only teams to take huge credit from the tournament with Namibia recording their best-ever finish of fourth while Hong Kong celebrated their first-ever victory at this level – a 44-40 win over hosts Zimbabwe in the seventh place play-off.THEY SAID: “Winning the World Trophy has been one hell of an achievement, one that will never be forgotten. After the disappointment of being relegated last year, we knew we had to get our country’s name back up in the top tier and competing at the highest level of rugby where Samoa belongs.” Samoa number eight Elia Elia.WORLD RUGBY U20 TROPHY 2016Full results at: www.worldrugby.orgContinued investment in World Rugby’s competition structure has enabled tier two nations to build on their ground-breaking performances at RWC 2015 in the 12 months that followed the tournament in England.The inaugural Americas Rugby Championship (ARC) was a welcome and successful addition to the playing programme at the start of the year, the test teams of USA, Canada, Uruguay, Chile and Brazil and an Argentina XV facing each other over five consecutive weekends in a tournament that can only enhance their long-term prospects.A busy June schedule saw RWC 2019 preparations begin for Fiji, Tonga and Samoa, in a new-look World Rugby Pacific Nations Cup which at the end of 2017 will deliver two qualifiers to Japan 2019. Fiji and Samoa hold the top two spots at the halfway stage. Tonga, however, ended the year on a high with three straight wins on the road in November, including victory over an Italian side that had downed South Africa the week before.Running concurrently to the PNC, Georgia embarked on an historic tour of the Pacific and came through tests against Samoa, Tonga and Fiji unbeaten, drawing the first game and winning the other two. 2016 was a year of change for RWC 2019 hosts Japan. The Sunwolves competed in Super Rugby and Jamie Joseph took over as head coach. While wins on home soil against Scotland and Argentina proved elusive, the new-look Brave Blossoms beat Georgia in Tbilisi and almost took their first tier one scalp away from home outside of a Rugby World Cup, losing 33-30 to Wales.The annual World Rugby Nations Cup gave an opportunity to hosts Romania, Uruguay and Namibia to build on their RWC 2015 performances, and it was the Oaks who once again dominated, winning the title for the fourth time in five years. Russia, meanwhile, won the Cup of Nations in Hong Kong.After an eye-catching win against USA in the ARC, Uruguay’s performances tailed off as the year progressed, culminating in a clean sweep of defeats on their first-ever November tour of Europe. Off the field, however, there were plenty of positives with the Estadio Charrúa successfully staging the inaugural World Rugby Americas Pacific Challenge.TIER TWO REVIEW OF 2016Full results at: www.worldrugby.org40 WORLD RUGBY YEAR IN REVIEW 2016INSPIRE | TOURNAMENTS REVIEW