Introduction

  • In 1883 a Scottish butcher’s boy had the inspired idea of seven-a-side rugby or sevens
  • A sevens team is made up of three forwards and four backs
  • As with 15s, it’s five points for a try, two for a conversion and three for a penalty and drop goal
  • Games are split into two seven-minute halves – so you can have lots of matches in a single day
  • Fewer players on the pitch and less time on the clock means a faster, more exciting game
  • The pitch is the same size as 15s – so more space, more running and more points
  • Sevens requires hard training, super human levels of fitness and lots of Olympian character
  • It’s easy to understand, easy to play and easy to watch!
     

The impact of Olympic inclusion

  • Olympic inclusion has had a profound effect on sevens – it is a game-changer for rugby as a whole
  • Global participation has more than doubled to 7.73 million following the vote for inclusion in 2009
  • The women’s game has seen participation increase ten-fold over the same period to two million
  • There has also been huge success in emerging rugby markets where sevens continues to exceed growth predictions thanks to mass participation programmes like World Rugby’s Get Into Rugby
  • Thanks to Olympic inclusion, unions have received significant National Olympic Committee investment and Olympic Solidarity support and rugby has been added to the school programme in places such as China, Russia, Canada and the USA
     

The future of rugby sevens

  • Rio 2016 is just the beginning of the journey – Olympic inclusion is a game-changer for rugby
  • The game is thriving globally and World Rugby’s dedicated development plan is already bearing fruit
  • We are actively involved with Olympic and wider collective sports policy and our sport’s connections and influence within the global sporting community are now stronger than they have ever been
  • Like the Olympic Movement, rugby has character-building values of integrity, respect, solidarity, passion and discipline at its heart
  • By focusing on these traits that set rugby apart and appeal to players and fans across the world, we will continue to go from strength to strength as we look to cement rugby’s place on the Olympic programme beyond Tokyo 2020 and continue the expansion and development of the game globally