First of all, let me say that if you’re here because you’re going to Hong Kong Rugby Sevens or one of the other International Rugby Board tournaments and you’re worried that you don’t understand the game, relax. The event is as much about the party atmosphere and alcohol as it is the attempts and scrums.
That said, you’ll have more fun if you know why everyone runs and bumps into each other.
The Rugby Sevens Rules You Should Know
Most of the rules in rugby sevens are the same as in full rugby union, where there are fifteen players.
In short, you get seven points for placing the ball on the try line and two points for the next shot through the vertical posts and you receive three points for a penalty kick. He cannot pass or throw the ball forward, but he can kick it forward. All of these rules and the scoring system apply in rugby sevens. However, there are several key adaptations to the rugby sevens rules.
Designed to be a faster and more fluid game, with less emphasis on power or tactical kicks and more on speed, running and passing, the amendments below are what make the game so explosively enjoyable to watch.
- While a rugby team plays with 15 players, sevens have only seven players on each team. Teams are made up of three forwards and four backs, although even forwards, traditionally the heavyweights in rugby, are comparatively thin-lined in sevens.
- Games are played in two seven-minute halves with a single minute per half time. Final games are played over two 10-minute halves with a 2-minute break at half time. The short game time is designed to encourage attacking play.
- Conversions after an attempt are taken as a dropped goal rather than a place kick and must be taken quickly, within 40 seconds.
- Yellow card players are locked in sin for just two minutes, instead of ten.
- Line exits and scrums are much less important and are generally contested by only two or three players.
- Teams may make a total of three substitutions, from a selection of five replacements.
Why is Rugby Sevens so exciting?
And that is. Simple enough, which is part of the attraction of rugby sevens; the rules are easy to learn and the game is easy to follow. While full-length rugby has a long list of rules in the breakdown (when a player is tackled) or during the constant kick through territory, there is relatively little of that in sevens.
Instead, there is plenty of open space and players are encouraged to use it; long and lengthy breakdowns are unusual, as are penalties. The ball is quickly reused. There are very few kicks, which in the opinion of some people is why sevens are so enjoyable, because the shortness of each half means that if you kick the ball you run the risk of not getting it back.
Players are usually fast too. In fact, some Sevens players have approached Olympic speeds when running over 100 meters. Expect lots of short bursts across the field.
