A short history of rugby sevens

Popular belief has rugby sevens down as a relative newcomer to the world of international sport; however, originating in Scotland, it is over 130 years old.                                                                                               

As with the origins of rugby football, rugby sevens happened quite unexpectedly. Melrose Rugby Club organised a fundraising event, with club officials suggesting that teams fielded just seven players in place of the standard 15 to reduce overheads and to play for just 15 minutes. The tournament was a great success, and rugby sevens was born.

Popular worldwide

The game spread quickly across Scotland, then to other countries when the 15-man version was popular and established. New Zealand was the next country after Scotland to host a tournament, in 1921, and there were events in England and Argentina the same year.

The game’s popularity grew quickly. By 1926, the most famous tournament – the Middlesex Sevens – was established. By the 1970s, sevens had grown so much that the Scottish Rugby Union held the first international tournament, and in 1976 the Hong Kong Sevens was born.

Today people travel from all corners of the globe to watch the Hong Kong Sevens. They get to see the world’s best players in one of the fastest, most exciting team sports, with what many call the greatest atmosphere of any regular competition.

A well-supported circuit of tournaments has developed, with a group of partisan fans following the game around the world, visiting exciting venues such as Dubai, Singapore and even Las Vegas.

Olympic sport

Rugby sevens made its Olympic debut at Rio 2016 in both the men’s and women’s game, which was testament to the continued popularity of the sport.

Due to the speed, players have to have very finely-tuned skills and usually practise every day. Rugby training drill videos from specialists such as https://www.sportplan.net/drills/Rugby/ are a great place to start honing your skills, with something for every level of player.

For more information on the history of the sevens format of the game, visit the World Rugby site.

Fans are already looking ahead to Tokyo 2020. The Japanese will be looking for medals in their home country, with the pace of the sevens format suiting their game. As an inclusive sport, with the men’s and women’s game gaining momentum, it is also a real crowd-pleaser for spectators.