Rugby Sevens sanctioned by IRB

by Hafiz Marikar

Rugby sevens is sanctioned by the IRB and is played under substantially the same laws and on a field of the same dimensions as the 15-a side game. While a normal rugby union match lasts at least 80 minutes, a normal sevens match consists of two halves of seven minutes with a one-minute half-time break.

The final of a competition can be played over two halves of ten minutes each, with a half-time break of two minutes. In the IRB Sevens World Series, only the Cup final, which determines the overall winner of an event, is played with 10-minute halves; all finals for lower-level trophies are played with 7-minute halves. This allows rugby tournaments to be completed in a day or a weekend.

However, sevens scores are generally comparable to union scores; scoring occurs much more frequently in sevens, since the defenders are more spaced out. Many rugby seven's tournaments have a competition for a cup, a plate, a bowl, and a shield, allowing many teams of different standards to avoid leaving empty handed.

Seven's tournaments are traditionally known for having more of a relaxed atmosphere than fifteen-a-side games, and are often known as "festivals".

As The Encyclopedia of Rugby Union Football(1976) puts it, they gained their "popularity as an end of season diversion from the dourer and sterner stuff that provides the bulk of a normal season's watching."

The Hong Kong Sevens Tournament has been especially important in popularizing the game in the Asian region, and rugby sevens has been important as a form of International rugby "evangelism" hence is perhaps the most widely played form of the game.

There are tournaments in places as far as Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, China,Philippine, Africa, and the Scandinavian countries, as well as the countries in which rugby union is well known.

Seven-a-side rugby is a game of speed, skill and strength. There are different skill sets required for sevens athletes in comparison with 15-a-side players.

However, rugby 7's is one of the most popular games among the rugby players and lovers, the game which was born in 1883 in Scotland.

It was decade after the formation of the Scottish Union, Melrose, a little town in the South of Scotland; better known as the Scottish borders was the birth place of this abbreviated version of the game.

Melrose Rugby Club had some top class ruggerites, in which their top notch players were the local. It is said that the novelty, the skill and the flow of the game, inspired two eager Union Officials from Hong Kong to replicate the event in the then colony. The committee felt that given the numbers involved, the proposal of a football tournament was unworkable. According to the rugby historians, Melrose Club, Les Allan, David Sanderson had reminded his apprentice and team mate of having played in some sort of reduced numbers tournament working on the English side of the Border. The solution became obvious, to cut down the size of the team to seven players - three forwards, two half backs and two backs and the playing time fifteen minutes. Due to a disagreement between David Sanderson and the some committee members of the Melrose Rugby Club, his role in the birth of the Rugby Sevens, as delayed and eventually forgotten. It was the painstaking research of one of Melrose Rugby Club's leading sons, former Scottish center and the clubs sevens historian Les Allen, the problems was sorted out.

It was on the 28th of April, 1883 the first sevens tournament was played, in which there were seven clubs. So this first ever tournament was won by David Sanderson led Melrose Rugby Club. With this tournament the sevens rugby spread quickly in the Scottish Borders, Since 1890s Seven a side rugby has become a major feature

both at the beginning and the end of the Scottish season. It was New Zeeland, who first held a schools sevens tournament, around the turn of the century. There is also plenty of evidence between 1920-1921 seven-a-side rugby took off internationally, with Buenos Aires Cricket and Rugby club sevens in mid 1920. Then came the Rosslyn Park Sevens in 1939.

It was since 1973 that the first ever international sevens tournament was held at Murray field, it was in connection with the celebrations of the Scottish Union's centenary year. There were eight teams that took part. It was England who won this inaugural tournament; some of the team who took part were from Wales and Scotland,

Then the Hong Kong International Sevens was born in 1976 and after several lean tournaments, it finally became the most looked forward international tournament. Now this tournament attracts not only rugby playing nations, spectators from the respective countries, corporate business organizations, sports bodies of the Asian region with huge celebrations, fun with great entertainment. So, today is the second and the last day of Sri Lanka Rugby Football Unions inter-club seven aside tournament, where sixteen teams were seen in action on the first day. And some top class rugby was witnessed and today it is going to be the best day of the tournament which is expected to be kicked off soon after noon at the same venue at Havelock Park.