Rugby
Understanding the rules of rugby 7s
Discover the basic rules and subtleties of rugby 7s and learn all about this very special sport that is growing in popularity year after year.
Rugby 7s is the little brother of rugby 15s, a team sport that originated in England in the 19th century. With the recent performance of Stade Toulousain and their crushing victory in the Top 14 final, it's highly likely that you'll want to know a little more about the oval ball. And if you're not old enough to play 15-a-side rugby, we can tell you all about the 7-a-side variant.
01
The basics of 7-a-side rugby
7-a-side rugby is played on the same pitch as its 15-a-side counterpart, but with fewer players and adapted rules. What sets it apart is its dynamic, strategic style of play. It is gaining in popularity for exactly these reasons. For the general public, understanding all the rules of 15-a-side rugby can be daunting, but its 7-a-side variant, with its short match duration, tries in all directions and above all its unprecedented dynamism, has revived the very essence of rugby.
This version was born in Scotland on an afternoon when two butchers from Melrose decided to organise the first rugby 7s tournament, in 1883. They decided to add 2 major differences to traditional rugby: 2 halves of 7 minutes each and, above all, half as many players on the pitch.
A well-controlled try
© Red Bull
02
The basic rules of rugby 7s
Number of players and composition:
- As the name suggests, there are 7 players on the pitch, each with a specific role.
- There is a left prop, a hooker, a right prop, a scrum-half, a left winger, a right winger and a full-back.
- Substitutions are made following an injury or a tactical choice. However, a player who has been tactically replaced may not return to the game, even to replace an injured player (with the exception of bleeding or an open wound).
Duration and structure of a match :
- As mentioned above, a match is made up of 2 halves of 7 minutes each. In a final, this time is increased to 10 minutes.
- There is no additional time, as the referee stops the clock whenever there is a stoppage in play, for example in the event of an injury.
- In the event of a tie at the end of normal time, extra time is played for a maximum of 2 x 5 minutes, because extra time is stopped as soon as a team scores a single point under the famous "golden goal" rule.
Points and scoring:
- Scoring is identical in 7-a-side rugby and 15-a-side rugby. The drop kick (kicking the ball between the posts) is worth 3 points, the try (flattening the ball behind the goal line) is worth 5 points and the conversion attempt (set-piece, lined up with the place where the try was scored) is worth 2 points. A penalty is the last way to gain points in rugby and is kicked in the same way as a conversion, but from the place where the foul occurred.
03
Sequence of a rugby 7s match
Scrum and line-outs:
- The scrum consists of 3 forwards from each team holding each other by the shoulders. As in 15-a-side rugby, the aim is to pass the ball behind you to your scrum-half.
- Touches are made by the hooker, who throws the ball into a corridor formed by 2 players from each team.
Forwards and kicking:
- When a player who has the ball in his hands drops it in front of him, he causes a "forwards", which is a foul that results in the loss of possession of the ball. If a player passes the ball to another player in his team and that player is in front of him when he receives the ball, the pass is said to be "in front".
- If a player decides not to run with the ball or pass it to a team-mate, he can choose to kick to create an option towards the in-goal line or to create space for his team-mates. An important strategic asset in rugby, it is often used to send the ball into touch and the team can contest possession, thanks to the ensuing touch, in a much more advantageous position on the field.
04
Fouls and penalties
Yellow and red cards:
- The duration of a yellow card leading to a temporary exclusion has been reduced to 2 minutes, a far cry from the 10 minutes of a 15-a-side rugby match. If a player receives 2 yellow cards in the same match, he is excluded from that match and will miss the following match. If a player receives 3 yellow cards in the same tournament, he is no longer allowed to take part in a match for the entire tournament. There are many reasons for a yellow card, ranging from repeated offences to high tackles and deliberate forwards, all of which are judged by the referee with the help of VAR.
- When a player is shown a red card, he is permanently excluded until the end of the tournament. A red card is issued most of the time for bad gestures prohibited on a rugby pitch, such as punches, elbows and the like. Obviously, a second yellow is synonymous with exclusion.
Tackles and offside:
- Tackling prevents the attacking team from advancing with the ball. It occurs when the player carrying the ball is grabbed by one or more opponents and knocked to the ground.
- A player is in an offside position when he is in front of a team-mate carrying the ball. If an offside player receives the ball or takes part in the play, his team is penalised.
The joy of the tackle is also rugby
© Red Bull
05
Rugby 7s competitions and tournaments
Rugby 7s World Cup:
- The Rugby 7s World Cup was created in 1993 under the name Melrose Cup and is held every 4 years. The New Zealanders and the Fijians are the most successful, each winning 3 World Cups in a possible 8 editions.
Men's and Women's Rugby 7s World Series:
- There is also an annual tournament called the Men's Rugby Sevens World Series. This is a world circuit made up of several stages, tournaments played over a weekend. At the end of the season, the tournament consists of 2 group stages followed by a play-off to determine the winner of the season.
- The French men's team won the 2023-24 season by beating the Argentinians 19-5 in the final.
- The French women's team reached the final, but unfortunately lost to Australia.
Continental championships and tournaments:
There is a French rugby 7s championship called the SuperSevens, which pits 16 teams from the top 14 clubs against each other, as well as a surprise team and another from Monaco. This is a very recent championship that has been in existence since 2020. The French Barbarians have won 2 of the last 3 editions.
A large number of sportsmen and women who are fans of 15-a-side rugby have gone through the 7-a-side version to improve their skills and discover a new way of playing their sport. We hope to see Romain Ntamack try his hand at it too, having just won the league and cup double with Stade Toulousain in a historic 2024 season.
