The Growth of 7's Rugby

Seven-a-side rugby is a form of the game which comes around every year when the 15's season is done and dusted. Different players have conflicting views on this abbreviation game, usually to do with the position and body type of the player. A 20 stone prop who specialises in scrummaging will struggle to cope with the pace,intensity and lack of structure of sevens rugby, while an outside back with fast feet and gas to burn may revel in the extra space on offer.


Sevens is and always had been a more social form of the game. It is played at the start of summer when the weather is dry and the grounds are hard. Beer tents usually have 10 minute long queues, and groups of grown men dressed as females or nuns will often be seen stumbling around the tournament's grounds. It is the end of a hard rugby season and there is in general a party atmosphere, deservedly so.


However, the coverage, reporting and exposure of sevens rugby has recently given it a surge in interest. The major tournaments are becoming more prestigious than ever, and the HSBC World Sevens series is becoming a highly regarded tournament, not just in sevens rugby, but in rugby in general. Couple this with the fact that rugby sevens is now a recognised Olympic sport, making its debut in Rio at the 2016 Games, it's fair to say the game is continuously reaching higher heights. But what does all this mean for the traditional 15's game?


Raised exposure of the sport, despite it being played in a different form will allow for more World recognition. Sevens will be played in the Rio Olympic Games, and what a sight it would be to see kids throwing around rugby balls on the beach having seen the game for perhaps the first time in 2016.


Sevens is also a faster, less predictable and generally higher scoring version of the game. Players have more opportunities to express themselves and many feel it is more of a spectacle. Many of the top Nations use sevens as a development tool for recognised young talent to hone their skills at a high level which, due to the coverage, also has added pressure.

This not only allows these young, talented players to develop their game and skills, but it readies them for the pressures of the higher level in the 15 man game. Developing rugby Nations have also recently shone and impressed. The likes of Kenya and Portugal have strong sides due to a continuous effort in development and expansion of seven-a-side rugby in their countries.


These positives cannot be denied, but are they all of the benefit to rugby in its truest form? Development is great, as is exposure of the game, but the the reality is that sevens is a very different game to regular 15-a-side rugby. If the developing Nations are putting so much into the sevens form of the game, taking into account the difference in the way the game is played, is it really helping them develop in rugby as a whole?


Again, more coverage of the game in any form is great, but could viewers start to prioritise sevens rugby? Will the more casual rugby fan look forward to throwing on a pair of shorts, grabbing a beer and watching sevens in the sun rather than tune in or turn up to 15's games during the regular season?


To many, especially the die-hard rugby fans, sevens is an inferior version of the sport. Some feel competition from sevens is not a good thing, and is in fact a potential hazard to rugby union. When the issue was discussed on Sky Sports' Rugby Club, newspaper columnist and rugby analyser Stuart Barnes voiced his concerns for exactly this reason. He stated that he was concerned that what is essentially an inferior form of rugby could have the potential opportunity to overshadow the true form of the sport.


Different people will have their own views, and time will tell if the expansion of sevens rugby will continue, and if it does, will it do so to a level which will threaten the 15-a-side game? There are thoughts of both optimism and pessimism, but most will agree that to see rugby in the Olympic games is certainly an exciting prospect.