View source for Rugby sevens

{{Short description|7-a-side team sport, sub-code of rugby union}}
{{About|the rugby union variant|the rugby league variant|Rugby league sevens|the association football variant|Seven-a-side football|the Paralympic football sport|CP football}}
{{EngvarB|date=May 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}}
{{infobox sport
| image      = New Zealand vs. South Africa, 2024 Summer Olympic rugby sevens, men's quarter-final, 2024-07-25 (53).jpg
| caption    = [[Rugby sevens at the 2024 Summer Olympics]].
| union      = [[World Rugby]]
| nickname   = Sevens, 7s, VIIs,<br />Seven-a-side<ref name=Bathnick>Bath, '' The Complete Book of Rugby'', p. 29</ref>
| first      = 1883 in [[Melrose, Scottish Borders|Melrose]], [[Scotland]]
| registered = 
| clubs      =
| contact    = [[Full-contact|Full]]
| team       = 7
| mgender    = Separate competitions
| category   = Outdoor [[team sport]], variant of [[rugby union]]
| equipment  = [[Rugby ball]]
| venue      =
| olympic    = [[2016 Summer Olympics|2016]] onwards
| IWGA       = [[2001 World Games|2001]]{{snds}}[[2013 World Games|2013]]
}}
[[File:Rugby sevens pictogram.svg|thumb|Pictogram for [[Rugby sevens at the Summer Olympics]]]]

'''Rugby sevens''' (commonly known simply as '''sevens''', and originally '''seven-a-side rugby''') is a variant of [[rugby union]] in which teams are made up of seven players playing seven-minute halves, instead of the usual 15 players playing 40-minute halves. Rugby sevens is administered by [[World Rugby]], the body responsible for rugby union worldwide. The game is popular at all levels, with amateur and club tournaments generally held in the summer months. Sevens is one of the most well distributed forms of rugby, and is popular in parts of Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas, and especially in the South Pacific.<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20110714071807/http://www.melrose7s.com/history/spread.html "The Spread of the Sevens"]}}, Melrose Sevens official site, retrieved 25 February 2010</ref>

Rugby sevens originated in the 1880s in the Scottish town of [[Melrose, Scottish Borders|Melrose]]; the [[Melrose Sevens]] tournament is still played annually. The popularity of rugby sevens increased further with the development of the [[Hong Kong Sevens]] in the 1970s and was later followed by the inclusion of the sport into the [[Commonwealth Games]] for the first time in 1998 and the establishment of the annual [[World Rugby Sevens Series]] in 1999 and the [[World Rugby Women's Sevens Series]] in 2012. In [[2016 Summer Olympics|2016]], rugby sevens was [[Rugby sevens at the Summer Olympics|contested]] in the [[Summer Olympics]] for the first time. It has also been played in events such as the [[Games of the Small States of Europe]], [[Rugby sevens at the Pan American Games|Pan American Games]] and the [[Asian Games]], and in 2018 a women's tournament was played for the first time at the [[Rugby sevens at the 2018 Commonwealth Games – Women's tournament|Commonwealth Games]].

==Overview==
Rugby sevens is sanctioned by [[World Rugby]], and is played under similar laws (with exceptions noted [[Rugby sevens#Variations to the laws of the game|below]]) and on a field of the same dimensions as the [[rugby union|15 player game]]. Whereas a regular rugby union match lasts at least 80 minutes, a normal sevens match consists of two halves of seven minutes with a two-minute half-time break. Previously, the final of a competition could be played over two halves of ten minutes each,<ref name="IRB Sevens 2006-07">{{cite web |url=http://www.irbsevens.com/NR/rdonlyres/7A7C20FC-056B-4CE6-B5A5-D4F6ECBF40F7/0/061026SL7sguidegeneric.pdf |title=2006–07 IRB Sevens World Series Media Guide |publisher=[[World Rugby|International Rugby Board]] |access-date=10 February 2007 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070703041321/http://www.irbsevens.com/NR/rdonlyres/7A7C20FC-056B-4CE6-B5A5-D4F6ECBF40F7/0/061026SL7sguidegeneric.pdf |archive-date=3 July 2007 }}</ref> but beginning in 2017, final-round matches were limited to seven-minute halves<ref name="Big Sevens finals cut to seven minutes">{{cite web |url=http://www.rugby.com.au/news/2016/11/19/07/34/world-rugby-law-changes |title=Big Sevens finals cut to seven minutes |date=19 November 2016 |publisher=Australian Rugby |access-date=24 April 2020 }}</ref> (excluding ties) in an effort to reduce injuries. Sevens scores are generally comparable to regular rugby scores, but scoring occurs much more frequently in sevens, since the defenders are more spaced out. The scoring system is the same as regular rugby union, namely five points for a try, three points for a penalty or drop goal and two points for a post-try conversion.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usasevens.com/las-vegas/rugby-101/|title=Rugby 7s rules – Rugby rules for dummies|date=8 September 2011}}</ref>

The shorter match length allows rugby sevens tournaments to be completed in a day or a weekend. Many sevens 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.

Sevens tournaments are traditionally known for having more of a relaxed atmosphere than fifteen-a-side games, and are often known as "festivals". Sevens tournaments 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."<ref>Jones, ''The Encyclopedia of Rugby Union Football'' (1976), p. 122.</ref> Fans frequently attend in [[Costume party|fancy dress]], and entertainment is put on for them.

The [[Hong Kong Sevens]] tournament has been especially important in popularising the game in Asia, and rugby sevens has been important as a form of international rugby "evangelism"; hence it is perhaps the most widely played form of the game, with tournaments in places as far apart as Bogota and Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Kenya, Singapore and Scandinavia, as well as the countries in which rugby union is well known.<ref name=Bathevents>Bath (1997), p29.</ref>

==Laws ==

Sevens is played on a standard [[rugby union]] playing field. The field measures up to {{convert|100|m|ft}} long and {{convert|70|m|ft}} wide.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.irb.com/mm/Document/LawsRegs/0/Law2EN_7708.pdf |title=Intro EN |access-date=2010-02-06 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091116195453/http://www.irb.com/mm/document/lawsregs/0/law2en_7708.pdf |archive-date=16 November 2009 }}</ref><ref name="pitch size">{{cite web |url=http://www.irb.com/mm/Document/LawsRegs/0/Law1EN_7709.pdf |title=Intro EN |access-date=2010-02-06 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111219162936/http://www.irb.com/mm/Document/LawsRegs/0/Law1EN_7709.pdf |archive-date=19 December 2011 }}</ref> On each goal line is an H-shaped goal.

==={{Anchor|Variations to the Laws of the Game}}Variations to the laws of the game===
[[File:Rugby Feminino Canadá vs. Japão 06.jpg|thumb|During a [[Scrum (rugby)|scrum]] in rugby sevens, three players from each team participate instead of eight.]]

There are several variations in laws which apply to rugby sevens,<ref name=IRBSevenVariations>{{cite web|url=http://www.irb.com/NR/rdonlyres/5D619ADC-B698-4EDF-9DFB-0E9F00FC7736/0/060704LGLAWSEN_26b_Variations7s.pdf |title=Seven-a-side Variations: Standard Set of Variations Appropriate to the Seven-a-side Game |publisher=International Rugby Board |access-date=10 February 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070615051413/http://www.irb.com/NR/rdonlyres/5D619ADC-B698-4EDF-9DFB-0E9F00FC7736/0/060704LGLAWSEN_26b_Variations7s.pdf <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 15 June 2007}}</ref><ref name=WRSevenVariations>{{cite web|url=http://laws.worldrugby.org/?variation=2 |title=Laws of the Game: Seven-a-side Variations |publisher=World Rugby |access-date=4 June 2016}}</ref> primarily to speed up the game and to account for the reduced number of players. The main changes can be summarised as follows:

* 7 players per team on field (instead of 15).
* Five substitutes, with five interchanges (instead of 8).
* Seven minute halves (instead of 40-minute halves, in fifteen-a-side).
* Maximum of two minutes half-time (instead of ten minutes).
* Matches drawn after regulation are continued into [[golden point]] [[overtime (sport)|extra time]], in multiple 5-minute periods.
* All conversion attempts must be drop-kicked (instead of having the option to place-kick).
* Conversions must be taken within 30 seconds of scoring a try (instead of 90 seconds). Prior to 2016, the limit had been 40 seconds.
* Three player scrums (instead of eight players).
* Kick-offs: in sevens, the team which has just scored kicks off, rather than the conceding team, as in fifteen-a-side.
* Yellow cards net a 2-minute suspension (instead of 10 minutes) to the offender.
* Referees decide on advantage quickly (where one play usually ends advantage, unlike in fifteens).
* In major competitions, there are additional officials present (in-goal touch judges) to judge success of kicks at goals, which means the game is not delayed waiting for touch judges to move into position to judge conversion attempts.

==Gameplay==

===Positions and gameplay===
Teams are composed of seven players – three forwards and four backs.<ref>"Rugby Sevens: What to Know About This International Sport", A Healthier Michigan, Katrina Danko, 4 August 2016.</ref> [[Scrum (rugby)|Scrum]]s are made up of three players from each team. The chart below shows a team's typical formation at scrum time, with three forwards bound into the scrum, a scrum-half waiting to retrieve the ball once it exits the scrum, and three backs positioned to receive a pass.
The numbers shown here are for illustrative purposes only. Unlike rugby fifteens, where a player's number corresponds to their position, numbering in rugby sevens is more flexible. In a squad of twelve players, the players will be numbered one through twelve. The starting players can have any of the twelve numbers, not necessarily one through seven. No set numbers differentiate positions; for example, numbers one through three are not reserved for forwards, but can be worn by any squad player. 
{{Rugby sevens positions}}
In open play, a typical defensive formation involves a line of six defenders, with one sweeper behind the line.<ref>"10 Principles of Playing Good 7’s", Rugby Thoughts, Billy Millard, Accessed 17 October 2016.</ref> With the attacking team using all seven players against the defending team's six in the line, the attacking team often attempts to move the ball to create an overload.<ref>[https://www.rugbycoachweekly.net/rugby-drills-and-skills/touch-tag-sevens/set-up-your-rugby-sevens-defence/ "Set up your rugby sevens defence"], Rugby Coach Weekly, Dan Cottrell.</ref> The defensive line can be put under pressure if the defending team makes a tackle and commits players to the ruck; with fewer players in the defending line, it leaves more space for the attacking team to exploit.<ref>{{cite book | last=Blackburn | first=M. | title=Coaching Rugby Sevens | publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing | year=2014 | isbn=978-1-4081-9214-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sm_jAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA85 | page=85}}</ref>

===Pace of the game===
Rugby sevens tends to be played at a faster pace than rugby fifteens. Because of the faster nature of the game, sevens players are often backs or loose forwards in fifteens rugby. The differences are most notable on game restarts. Because scrums in sevens involve three players forming one row instead of eight players forming three rows, scrums tend to assemble more quickly, require fewer restarts, and the ball exits the scrum more quickly.<ref>"Can't tell a scrum from a sin bin?”, Today.com, Lexi Dwyer, 9 August 2016.</ref><ref>"Comparing Rugby Sevens with 15-Man Rugby", Bleacher Report, Daniel Rey, 15 May 2015.</ref> Penalties in sevens are generally taken with a quick tap, instead of a kick for touch and a line out, resulting in the ball being put back in play more quickly.<ref>"Rugby penalties in Sevens", Rugby Coach Weekly, Dan Cottrell, Accessed 17 October 2018.</ref> When a player is tackled and a ruck is formed, the ball tends to exit the ruck more quickly, as the attacking team generally has only three players involved in the ruck – the tackled player, one support player, and one scrum-half.<ref>"Situational coupling at the ruck", J.F. Barkell, 2017.</ref>

==History==
{{See also|Rugby union in the Scottish Borders|Melrose Sevens|Border Sevens Circuit}}

===Origins===

At [[Loretto School]] in [[Musselburgh]], Scotland, the then headmaster [[Hely Hutchinson Almond]] got the schoolboys to play short-sided matches in the 1860s and 1870s. This was to improve the players' passing. A full rugby union match, at the time, was twenty-a-side and individualism was the style. Almond stated that he:
<blockquote>
urged on his boys in the sixties that if only they would pass constantly and systematically to each other, they would baffle any side unaccustomed to such tactics.
</blockquote>
Almond, a pioneer in collectivism in rugby union, struggled to get his schoolboys to get used to the system. The schoolboys stated this was 'funking'; but by 1872 he was organising eleven-a-side matches with [[Edinburgh Academical Football Club|Edinburgh Academicals]].<ref name="auto3">{{Cite web|url=https://scottishsevens.sport.blog/2022/07/21/short-sided-games/|title=Short-sided games|date=21 July 2022}}</ref> In 2007, Almond was nominated for the IRB Hall of Fame but was not inducted.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.irb.com/history/halloffame/nominees19th.html |title=International Rugby Board - Nominees - 19th century |website=www.irb.com |access-date=18 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071111040323/http://www.irb.com/history/halloffame/nominees19th.html |archive-date=11 November 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Collectivism did eventually take hold with new clubs, and Scotland exported it through Sevens around the world, and sides like New Zealand and South Africa quickly realised the benefits of collectivism. The bigger clubs in Scotland were reluctant to change their ways. They were winning, and could attract the best individualists from other clubs to maintain their position. In 1895 the ''Scottish Referee'' newspaper was still criticising [[West of Scotland F.C.|West of Scotland]] for not using the collective method.<ref name="auto3"/>

In England, the push for smaller sides eventually resulted in the formation of rugby league; and there was experimentation with numbers in the north of England prior to the split. There was a six-a-side tournament in [[Huddersfield]] in September 1879, played under regular rules but with 10 minute halves. Other tournaments were played over the next few years across the North before being replaced by a nine-a-side game. Matches attracted large crowds and raised thousands to support the clubs or local hospital charities. In August 1890, [[Yorkshire Rugby Football Union|Yorkshire]] suspended 8 teams and in September [[Lancashire County Rugby Football Union|Lancashire]] banned games with less than 15-a-side over allegations of [[professional sport|professionalism]]; short sided games effectively ended in England.<ref name="Collins">{{cite book |last=Collins |first=Tony | title= The Oval World: A Global History of Rugby |year= 2015 |page=62 |publisher=Bloomsbury USA |isbn=978-1-4088-4370-3 }}</ref>

====Scotland====
{{Multiple image|direction=vertical|image1=Greenyardsmelrose.jpg|image2=Turnstiles, Greenyards - geograph.org.uk - 1939422.jpg|footer=The Greenyards in [[Melrose, Scottish Borders|Melrose]], Scotland, was the site of the first rugby sevens game in 1883.}}

Rugby sevens was initially conceived in 1883 by [[Ned Haig]] and David Sanderson,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://scottishsevens.sport.blog/2022/06/09/davie-sanderson/|title=Davie Sanderson|date=8 June 2022}}</ref> who were butchers from [[Melrose, Scotland|Melrose]], Scotland as a fund-raising event for their local club, [[Melrose RFC]]. The first-ever sevens match was played at [[The Greenyards]], the Melrose ground, where it was well received. Two years later, [[Tynedale R.F.C.|Tynedale]] was the first non-Scottish club to win one of the Borders Sevens titles at [[Gala RFC|Gala]] in 1885.<ref name=BathMisc>Bath, ''Scotland Rugby Miscellany'', p82</ref>

Rugby union sevens' popularity in the Borders spread north throughout Scotland:-<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=https://scottishsevens.sport.blog/2019/07/27/oldest-sevens-tournaments/|title=Oldest Sevens tournaments in the world|date=27 July 2019}}</ref> Aberdeen hosting Sevens in 1889;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://scottishsevens.sport.blog/aberdeen-f-c-sevens/|title=Aberdeen F.C. Sevens|date=14 July 2019}}</ref> Edinburgh hosting Sevens in 1896;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://scottishsevens.sport.blog/edinburgh-st-george-sevens/|title=Edinburgh St. George Sevens|date=21 July 2019}}</ref> Glasgow hosting Sevens in 1898;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://scottishsevens.sport.blog/glasgow-university-sevens/|title=Glasgow University Sevens|date=7 June 2019}}</ref> Dundee hosting Sevens in 1901.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://scottishsevens.sport.blog/dundee-hsfp-sevens/|title=Dundee HSFP Sevens|date=9 June 2019}}</ref> The popularity of Sevens exploded in the 1920s and 1930s.<ref name=SS1>Starmer-Smith, p60</ref> From the 19th century to today, over 150 Sevens tournaments in Scotland are known; and though some tournaments have folded; new tournaments continue to be born.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://scottishsevens.sport.blog/|title=Scottish Sevens tournaments|website=Scottish Sevens tournaments}}</ref>

Sevens remain popular in Scotland; and the Melrose Sevens annually attracts around 12,000 spectators to the small Borders town.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eventscotland.org/news/2016/3/guest-teams-announced-for-melrose-sevens/|title=Guest Teams announced for Melrose Sevens – EventScotland|website=eventscotland.org}}</ref> The Melrose Sevens centenary tournament in 1983 attracted 17,500 fans.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.melrose7s.com/rugby-sevens-history/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180731175500/https://www.melrose7s.com/rugby-sevens-history/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=31 July 2018|title=History of the Melrose 7s}}</ref>

===International spread===

====England====

A rugby sevens tournament was played by St. Helens Cricket Club on 29 May 1886; and the final took place a week later. A rugby sevens tournament was organised by Warrington F.C. (a rugby club) on their athletics day on 14 August 1886 but it was not repeated. A rugby sevens match was played in Chorley, Lancashire as part of the Chorley Rugby and Athletic club's sports day on 22 July 1888; another match looks to have taken place the following year on 24 August 1889. The Rainford Athletics Club hosted a Sports Day on 7 August 1888 with a 3 team rugby sevens tournament, but this was a one-off and not repeated. Sevens then ended in England and it would be a long wait for any future English Sevens tournaments to arrive, with the exception of a Whitsuntide event, which included sevens, at Hexham in 1894 which seemed to go ahead without official backing. The Hexham Whitsuntide Sports committee tried to invite [[Hawick RFC]] as their star guests, but without backing this did not come off.<ref name="auto2">{{cite web|url=https://scottishsevens.sport.blog/2019/08/18/scotland-to-england-the-spread-of-sevens/|title=Scotland to England: the spread of Sevens|date=18 August 2019}}</ref>

For a long time the English Rugby Union held against rugby sevens being played in England. English clubs, particularly those close to the Scottish border and aware of the game's success in Scotland, wanted to play their own tournaments. Their pleas went in vain.<ref name="auto2"/>

England finally hosted its first Sevens tournament in 1921 as the Scottish game crept south over the border. This was on 23 April 1921 by Carlisle rugby club; they beat a Hawick 'B' side in the final.<ref>{{cite web|last=clinoch|date=2019-08-18|title=Scotland to England: the spread of Sevens|url=https://scottishsevens.sport.blog/2019/08/18/scotland-to-england-the-spread-of-sevens/|access-date=2021-05-17|website=Scottish Sevens tournaments|language=en}}</ref> Next was on 3 September 1921<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001168/19210902/008/0001 |title=Register |url-access=subscription |via=[[British Newspaper Archive]]}}</ref> in north east England at the [[Percy Park RFC|Percy Park]] Sevens in [[North Shields]].<ref name=BathMisc/> It was close to the [[Scottish Borders]] and Scottish sides were invited to play in the tournament with local English sides. The final was contested between [[Selkirk RFC|Selkirk]] and [[Melrose RFC|Melrose]]; with Selkirk winning the event.<ref name=BathMisc/>

First played in 1926, the [[Middlesex Sevens]] were set-up by Dr J.A. Russell-Cargill, a London-based Scot.<ref name=BathMisc/> The tournament was intended as a fundraiser for [[King Edward VII's Hospital Sister Agnes|King Edward VII Hospital]]. It raised £1,600; at a time when standard admission was a [[shilling]], and stand seats cost five shillings.<ref name=SS1/> This became England's premier Sevens tournament:- it had some formidable figures on its sub-committee such as [[Wavell Wakefield]] and [[Bill Ramsay (rugby)|Bill Ramsay]];<ref name=SS1/> it was close to London – and 10,000 spectators attended the second Middlesex tournament; and it helped rugby in London develop –  featuring the aforementioned Wavell Wakefield, [[Carl Aarvold]] (later [[Recorder of London|Recorder of the City of London]]) of [[Blackheath FC]], [[Wick Powell]] of [[London Welsh RFC]], and John Tallent, who would later become chairman of the Four Home Unions Tours Committee.<ref name=SS1/> Invitation sides graced the Sevens tournament:- such as [[Sale Sharks|Sale RFC]] in 1936, which included such players as [[Wilf Wooller]] and [[Claude Davey]] of {{nrut|Wales}} and [[Ken Fyfe]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.espnscrum.com/scotland/rugby/player/4072.html|title=Kenneth Carmichael Fyfe|website=ESPN scrum}}</ref> of {{nrut|Scotland}} amongst their backs; and in 1939, [[Cardiff RFC]], which included players such as Wilf Wooller again, and Les Spence and Wendy Davis.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.espnscrum.com/wales/rugby/player/4675.html|title=William Edward Norman Davis|website=ESPN scrum}}</ref><ref name=SS1/>

====India====

The [[James Broun-Ramsay, 1st Marquess of Dalhousie|Earl of Dalhousie]] became Governor-General of India in the middle of the nineteenth century. He took his summers in the Indian western Himalayas. His base there, also called Dalhousie, and the neighbouring Khajjiar region, remains known as a 'Little Scotland of India'. Teams from Dalhousie and Chamba played various sports against one another at the Khajjiar Gymkhana. The Chamba side was a mixed civilian and native side; the Dalhousie side was a military side. On 29 June 1886 at 1am they played a rugby sevens match, as the Dalhousie players favoured rugby union; and the Chamba players, that had already beaten Dalhousie in cricket and association football, confidently obliged. The Dalhousie side unsurprisingly won the match; with the newspaper report seeming to blame Chamba's native players for the loss, a sad reflection of the times.<ref>{{cite web|author=clinoch |url=https://scottishsevens.sport.blog/2022/06/02/scotland-to-india-the-spread-of-sevens/ |title=Scotland to India: the spread of Sevens – Scottish Sevens tournaments |publisher=Scottishsevens.sport.blog |date=2022-06-02 |accessdate=2022-08-07}}</ref>

====New Zealand====

Sevens then spread from Scotland to [[Dunedin]]; a Scottish expatriate city in New Zealand.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.scotsman.com/news-2-15012/the-scottish-origins-of-new-zealand-city-dunedin-1-4398573|title=The Scottish origins of New Zealand city Dunedin|website=scotsman.com}}</ref> The first Dunedin Sevens tournament was the Charity tournament in aid of Dunedin hospital on 28 September 1889.<ref name="auto"/> From Dunedin, sevens spread north to [[Christchurch]] where Canterbury Rugby Union held a Sevens tournament on 16 September 1893.<ref name="auto"/> On 23 May 1894, sevens had almost reached the North Island with a tournament in [[Nelson, New Zealand|Nelson]].<ref name="auto"/>

====Australia====

The first notice of a Sevens tournament in Australia is that of Central Queensland Rugby Union's tournament in Rockhampton on 4 July 1891. The Wanderers won the tournament beating the [[New South Wales Waratahs|Waratahs]] and the Berserkers.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://scottishsevens.sport.blog/2019/08/25/scotland-to-australia-the-spread-of-sevens/|title=Scotland to Australia: the spread of Sevens|date=25 August 2019}}</ref>

====Ireland====

In Ireland, Douglas RFC of Cork in the South of Ireland attempted to host a Sevens tournament on 8 December 1900. However, due to inclement weather this did not come off. The first Sevens tournament in Ireland was then the Belfast tournament of 30 April 1921 in aid of the Warriors Day fund. This was run by the northern branch of the IRFU.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://scottishsevens.sport.blog/2019/08/20/scotland-to-ireland-the-spread-of-sevens/|title=Scotland to Ireland: the spread of Sevens|date=20 August 2019}}</ref>

====Argentina====

The next country to host a Sevens tournament was Argentina; arriving again via Scottish expatriates.<ref name="auto1">{{cite web|url=http://www.bacrc.com/historia.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140913164020/http://www.bacrc.com/historia.php|url-status=dead|archive-date=13 September 2014|title=Buenos Aires Cricket & Rugby Club|date=13 September 2014}}</ref> The [[Buenos Aires Cricket & Rugby Club]] hosted their own Sevens event on 9 July 1921. The Buenos Aires club defeated [[Belgrano Athletic Club]] in the final. The Buenos Aires club went on to host Sevens tournaments on 9 July every year; however a pitch-invasion tradition at the final meant that no further winners were recorded until 1937.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&u=http://tucumanrugby.org.ar/notas/269/68&prev=search|title=Google Translate|website=translate.google.com}}</ref><ref>[http://www.buenosairesherald.com/article/121206/rugby-sevens-is-a-great-show Rugby sevens is a great show] – Frankie Deges, Buenos Aires Herald, 8 January 2013</ref> The 9 July is Argentina's Independence Day holiday; and a feast is often prepared in celebration. It is said that the pitch invasion tradition started when a bell, announcing that food was ready, rang out during the final.<ref name="auto1"/>

===National side tournaments===

====First international tournament====

The first-ever officially sanctioned tournament for national teams was the [[1973 International Seven-A-Side Tournament]] held at [[Murrayfield Stadium|Murrayfield]] as part of the "[[Scottish Rugby Union]]'s Celebration of Rugby" centenary celebrations.

====Hong Kong Sevens====
{{Main|Hong Kong Sevens}}
[[File:Hong Kong Sevens Parade.jpg|thumb|The [[Hong Kong Sevens]] was one of the most influential tournaments in the development and spread of rugby sevens internationally in the 20th century.]]
Due to the success of the format, the Scottish connection continued in the establishment of the [[Hong Kong Sevens]] in the 1970s. Founded largely by expats such as [[Tokkie Smith|"Tokkie" Smith]], the Hong Kong Sevens were ahead of their time and an influential force in the modernisation of rugby union. For example, the Hong Kong Sevens was one of the first rugby union tournaments to attract major sponsorship when the airline [[Cathay Pacific]] sponsored the inaugural tournament in 1976.<ref name=SS2>Starmer-Smith, p144</ref> They also provided a level of cosmopolitan international competition, which tended not to exist in rugby before the first [[Rugby World Cup]] in 1987,<ref name=SS3>Starmer-Smith, p142</ref> especially since {{nrut|Hong Kong}} was not seen as one of the "Big Eight". By 1986, the Hong Kong Sevens were held up as a positive example to others, although many of the smaller nations' teams were largely made up of expatriates.<ref name=SS3/><ref name=SS4>Starmer-Smith, p146</ref>

====World Cup====

The [[Rugby World Cup Sevens]], in which the ''Melrose Cup'' is contested, was launched in 1993.

===International development===

Rugby sevens continues to be popular in the [[Scottish Borders]], where the ten most prestigious tournaments make up a league competition known as the [[Kings of the Sevens]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.radioborders.com/article.asp?id=74858|title=Radio Borders – All The Biggest Hits|website=Radio Borders}}</ref> In honour of the role of Melrose RFC in the creation of rugby sevens, the club was inducted, along with Haig, to the IRB Hall of Fame in 2008.<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://www.worldrugby.org/news/23768 |title=IRB Hall of Fame Welcomes Five Inductees |publisher=International Rugby Board |date=23 November 2008 |access-date=8 October 2015}}</ref> Top club sides and international sides frequently enter the Sevens tournaments in Scotland; the [[Melrose Sevens]], as the founding event of the sport, being the most prestigious.<ref name="Melrose Sevens">{{cite web|url=https://scottishsevens.sport.blog/melrose-sevens/|title=Melrose Sevens|date=7 June 2019}}</ref>

Sevens has also taken strong root in the Pacific island nations of [[Fiji]], [[Tonga]], and [[Samoa]], as well as in [[Kenya]]. In many minor rugby nations, such as in [[rugby union in Poland|Poland]], development has tended to concentrate on rugby sevens as a means of introducing the sport to people.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pzrugby.pl/liga-7.html |title=Strona zosta?a przeniesiona |access-date=2014-07-26 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719124446/http://www.pzrugby.pl/liga-7.html |archive-date=19 July 2011 }} retrieved, 7 November 2009</ref> Rugby sevens has become popular in places such as [[rugby union in Hong Kong|Hong Kong]], [[rugby union in Singapore|Singapore]] and [[rugby union in Dubai|Dubai]], which are not so successful in the fifteen-a-side code. In addition, seven of the 15 current "core teams" that compete in all legs of the World Series represent nations that are not within the recognised top tier of the 15-man game – [[Fiji national rugby sevens team|Fiji]], [[Samoa national rugby sevens team|Samoa]], [[Kenya national rugby sevens team|Kenya]], the [[United States national rugby sevens team|United States]], [[Canada national rugby sevens team|Canada]], [[Portugal national rugby sevens team|Portugal]], and [[Japan national rugby sevens team|Japan]].
Recently there has been the introduction of many new teams to the sevens circuit such as Russia and Germany.

===Rugby league sevens===

Rugby league also has a long heritage in the seven-a-side game. The world record rugby league crowd for sevens was 80,000 in Roundhay Park, Leeds, 1932, before a royal audience. In the modern era, however, small-sided rugby league has concentrated on the [[rugby league nines|Nines]] format, which boasts similar adaptations to the league code as sevens does with the union code.

Both Bradford and Wigan rugby league sides have defeated rugby union teams in major rugby union sevens tournaments, demonstrating the adaptability of rugby league players generally.

==Major tournaments==
{{more citations needed section|date=April 2015}}

=== World Rugby Sevens Series ===
{{main|World Rugby Sevens Series}}
[[File:New Zealand Sevens Rugby Team.jpg|thumb|upright|[[New Zealand national rugby sevens team|New Zealand]] have won thirteen [[World Rugby Sevens Series]] titles; the most of any nation that has competed in the annual series of tournaments.]]
The World Series was a series held every season since the 1999–2000 inaugural season. Each season the Sevens Series held from seven to eleven tournaments, from around October and concluding around June. Most tournaments see 16 teams competing – mostly "core teams" that participate in each event, but also some teams that win the right to participate in select events. The last tournament was held in the 2022–2023 season.

[[New Zealand national rugby sevens team|New Zealand]] has been the dominant force in the Sevens Series, winning 13 out of the 23 seasons, including the first six seasons from 1999–2000 to 2004–05. In recent years, however, several other teams have challenged New Zealand's dominance. [[Fiji national rugby sevens team|Fiji]] won the Series in 2005–06 and again in 2014–15 and 2015–16; [[South Africa national rugby sevens team|South Africa]] won in 2008–09 and 2016–17; and [[Samoa national rugby sevens team|Samoa]] claimed the 2009–10 crown. Other strong contenders include [[England national rugby sevens team|England]] and [[Australia national rugby sevens team|Australia]], each of whom have had several top four finishes in recent seasons.<ref name="2010-11 schedule">{{cite press release |url=http://www.irb.com/irbsevens/news/newsid=2037992.html#dates+201011+irb+sevens+world+series |title=Dates set for 2010/11 IRB Sevens World Series |publisher=International Rugby Board |date=1 June 2010 |access-date=2 June 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100604050842/http://www.irb.com/irbsevens/news/newsid=2037992.html#dates+201011+irb+sevens+world+series |archive-date=4 June 2010 }}</ref> The [[2015 London Sevens]], saw the [[United States national rugby sevens team|United States]] win their first-ever tournament in the World Series.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.espn.com/rugby/story/_/id/12902812/usa-make-history-twickenham-first-world-rugby-series-tournament-win |title=USA make history at Twickenham with first World Rugby Series tournament win |first=Tom |last=Hamilton |publisher=[[ESPN.com|ESPN (US)]] |date=17 May 2015 |access-date=17 May 2015}}</ref>

[[World Rugby Sevens Series#Player records|Notable World Series players]] include England's [[Dan Norton]], who has scored more tries (>230) than any other player; and England's [[Ben Gollings]], who has scored more points (2,652) than any other player.

=== World Rugby Women's Sevens Series ===
{{main|World Rugby Women's Sevens Series}}

The Rugby Women's Sevens Series was held every season since the 2012–13 inaugural season. Each season the Sevens Series held from five to six tournaments, usually starting around November and concluding around June. Most tournaments see 12 teams competing – mostly "core teams" that participate in each event, but also some teams that win the right to participate in select events. The last series was held in the 2022–2023 season

[[New Zealand women's national rugby sevens team|New Zealand]] have been the most dominant team in the series since its establishment by winning four of the six competitions held up to and including 2018.

===SVNS===

In 2023 World Rugby re-branded the Sevens series to a new [[World Rugby SVNS Series]] (known for sponsorship reasons as the HSBC SVNS). World Rugby announced it will fully combine the men’s and women’s tours aligning with the Olympic competition model, with both taking place on the same weekends in the same cities and venues starting in December 2023 in Dubai and will conclude in Madrid in June 2024. The idea is to bring about a festival type atmosphere in each city across the world. Both men and women's teams will earn the same with equal participation fees. The new format will showcase the twelve best men's and women's teams, which will conclude in a Grand Final weekend where the top eight teams will compete to be crowned Series champions. The teams ranked ninth to twelfth will compete against the top four teams from a new Challenger Series in a relegation play-off to see who secures their place in the 2024–2025 season.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.world.rugby/news/825817/hsbc-svns-set-to-supercharge-rugbys-global-appeal-as-the-ultimate-festival-of-immersive-experiences|title=HSBC SVNS set to supercharge rugby's global appeal as the ultimate festival of immersive experiences |work=worldrugby.org|access-date=18 July 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.svns.com/en|title= HSBC SVNS IS GOING NEXT LEVEL|work=HSBC SVNS|access-date=18 July 2023}}</ref>

===Summer Olympics===
{{Main|Rugby sevens at the Summer Olympics}}
[[File:Rugby Sept Féminin Quart de finale Nouvelle-Zélande x Chine Jeux Olympiques 2024 Stade France - Saint-Denis (FR93) - 2024-07-29 - 25.jpg|thumb|[[New Zealand women's national rugby sevens team|New Zealand]] captain [[Sarah Hirini]] is chased down during a match against [[China women's national rugby sevens team|China]] at the [[Rugby sevens at the 2024 Summer Olympics|2024 Summer Olympics]].]]
The International Olympic Committee voted in 2009 to include rugby sevens on the program for the 2016 Olympic Games in [[Rio de Janeiro]], Brazil.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Olympics-2016-IOC-Approves-Golf-And-Rugby-Sevens-To-Be-Included-In-Rio-De-Janeiro-Games/Article/200910215402514?lpos=World_News_First_Home_Article_Teaser_Region_9&lid=ARTICLE_15402514_Olympics_2016%3A_IOC_Approves_Golf_And_Rugby_Sevens_To_Be_Included_In_Rio_De_Janeiro_Games|title = The Latest News from the UK and Around the World}}</ref> There were two open spots for sports and initially seven sports began the bidding for inclusion in the 2016 program.  The event debuted in an Olympic program at the [[2014 Summer Youth Olympics]].

Two issues related to differences between the structures of rugby union and the Olympics were sorted out before the 2016 Olympic Games. The issue of a combined British team has proven less of a problem in rugby union. World Rugby chief executive Mike Miller endorsed the concept of a combined British sevens team in 2011 for the 2016 Olympics and beyond.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/12982888 |title=International Board backs British Olympic sevens team |publisher=BBC Sport |date=6 April 2011 |access-date=7 April 2011}}</ref> Another issue is the status of Northern Ireland. World Rugby recognises the [[Irish Rugby Football Union]] as the sport's governing body for the entire island of Ireland. By contrast, the [[International Olympic Committee]] recognises the [[British Olympic Association]] as the governing body of the UK Olympic team, while the [[Olympic Council of Ireland]] usually fields teams representing all of Ireland in sports which are organised on an [[all-Ireland]] basis. Northern Irish sevens players play for the Irish team.<ref>{{cite news|first=Mairs|last=Gavin |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/olympics/6246949/Great-Britain-will-enter-team-if-Rugby-Sevens-gets-2016-Olympic-green-light.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091003141637/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/olympics/6246949/Great-Britain-will-enter-team-if-Rugby-Sevens-gets-2016-Olympic-green-light.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=3 October 2009 |title=Great Britain will enter team if Rugby Sevens gets 2016 Olympic green light |work=The Daily Telegraph|location=London|date=30 September 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Staff|url=http://www.morethanthegames.co.uk/other-sports/2213042-ireland-finally-look-take-sevens-seriously-ahead-rio-2016|title=Ireland finally look to take Sevens seriously ahead of Rio 2016|publisher=Sportsbeat|date=22 October 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727024807/http://www.morethanthegames.co.uk/other-sports/2213042-ireland-finally-look-take-sevens-seriously-ahead-rio-2016|archive-date=27 July 2011}}</ref>

In the men's competition Fiji won the gold medal in the sport's Olympic debut, with Great Britain taking the silver and South Africa the bronze. The women's gold medal was won by Australia, with New Zealand taking silver and Canada bronze.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.olympic.org/rio-2016/rugby/rugby-7-men|title=Rio 2016 : 7 Rugby Men|publisher=International Olympic Committee|access-date=12 March 2017}}</ref>

===World Cup Sevens===
{{main|Rugby World Cup Sevens}}
[[File:2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens First Day 71.JPG|thumb|A scene from the opening ceremony of the [[2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens]], which was held at [[Luzhniki Stadium]] in [[Moscow]], Russia.]]
The Rugby World Cup Sevens is held every four years and is the premier international rugby sevens tournament outside of the Olympic Games. The first tournament was held at [[Murrayfield Stadium|Murrayfield]] in [[1993 Rugby World Cup Sevens|1993]] with [[England]] becoming the first team to win the event. Fiji and New Zealand are the most successful, with Fiji winning two World Cups and New Zealand winning three World Cups. In the men's competition teams compete for the [[Melrose Cup]] and in the women's competition, launched in 2009, teams compete for the Women's Rugby World Cup Sevens Trophy.

Beginning with the 2018 edition, which was held in [[San Francisco]], [[United States]], the World Cup Sevens is held in the middle of the Summer Olympic cycle, two years after each Olympics. As part of the drive to include Sevens as an Olympic sport, [[World Rugby]] proposed ending the World Cup event entirely to ensure the Olympic event had the greatest prestige.  However, following feedback, World Rugby and the IOC recognised the benefit to keeping the typically much larger World Cup event (24 teams), but to align it timewise with the more streamlined Olympic tournament (12 to 16 teams).<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.espnscrum.com/worldcup/rugby/story/97215.html | title=Rugby Teams, Scores, Stats, News, Fixtures, Results, Tables - ESPN | website=ESPNscrum }}</ref>

===Commonwealth Games===
{{main|Rugby sevens at the Commonwealth Games}}
Rugby sevens has been played at each of the Commonwealth Games every four years since its first appearance at the [[1998 Commonwealth Games]] in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and was the first major international multisports event to include the sport. Rugby sevens is a "Core" sport by the [[Commonwealth Games Federation]], necessitating its appearance at all future games. The New Zealand team has won the gold medal four times with South Africa winning the tournament at [[Rugby sevens at the 2014 Commonwealth Games|Glasgow 2014]] beating the defending champions in the final.  Through the [[2014 Commonwealth Games|2014 Games]] in [[Glasgow]], it was the last remaining male-only sport at the Commonwealth Games, after women's [[boxing]] was added for those Games. Women's sevens made its Commonwealth Games debut in the [[2018 Commonwealth Games|2018 Games]]. The New Zealand teams won the gold medal in both the men's and women's competitions.

==Regional tournaments==
{{more citations needed section|date=July 2016}}
Rugby sevens is played at various regional multi-sport competitions, including the [[Rugby union at the Asian Games|Asian Games]] and the [[Rugby union at the Pacific Games|Pacific Games]]. Rugby union was formerly played at the [[Rugby sevens at the World Games|World Games]], but this has ceased as rugby is now an Olympic sport.

===Asian Games===
{{Main|Rugby sevens at the Asian Games}}
A men's rugby sevens was introduced at the [[Asian Games]] in 1998. A women's tournament was added in 2010.

===Pan American Games===
{{Main|Rugby sevens at the Pan American Games}}
Men's rugby sevens at the [[Pan American Games]] has been held every four years since the 2011 Pan American Games, with Canada, Argentina, and the United States placing for medals each time.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.espn.com/olympics/news/story?id=2932778|title=Rugby, racquetball added to 2011 Pan Am Games|date=11 July 2007|website=ESPN.com}}</ref> Women's rugby sevens was later added to the program for the [[2015 Pan American Games]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.toronto2015.org/news/archive/pan-am-games-tickets-be-here-for-gold-medal-history/918|title=Pan Am Games Tickets: Be Here for Gold-Medal History|date=18 August 2014|publisher=[[TO2015]]|access-date=28 October 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141029025620/http://www.toronto2015.org/news/archive/pan-am-games-tickets-be-here-for-gold-medal-history/918|archive-date=29 October 2014}}</ref>

===European Sevens Championship===
{{See also|Sevens Grand Prix Series}}

The Rugby Europe Sevens Grand Prix Series serves as a regional qualifier for two types of tournaments. The top two finishing teams each year who are not core members of the World Rugby Sevens Series advance to the Hong Kong Sevens, the qualifying tournament for teams vying to achieve core team status in the World Rugby Sevens Series. The Europe Grand Prix also serves as a regional qualifier for major quadrennial tournaments, such as the summer Olympics and the Rugby World Cup Sevens.

In Europe, [[Portugal national rugby sevens team|Portugal]] dominated in sevens during the Championship era (2002–10); only twice the team did not win the trophy, in 2007 and 2009, when both times the championships were won by [[Russia national rugby sevens team|Russia]]. 
In the Grand Prix Series era from 2011 to the present, the champions became [[England national rugby sevens team|England]] and [[France national rugby sevens team|France]]; both teams won the trophy twice in a row. Portugal won the first edition, while France is the current  (2025) champion.

===Premier Rugby Sevens===
{{Main|Premier Rugby Sevens}}

Premier Rugby Sevens is a standalone, professional rugby sevens circuit based in North America and sanctioned by [[USA Rugby]] as the highest level of domestic sevens.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-08-24 |title=USA Rugby announces sanctioning agreement with Premiere Rugby Sevens as highest level of domestic seven-a-side rugby. {{!}} Latest Rugby News {{!}} USA Rugby |url=https://usa.rugby/news/usa-rugby-announces-sanctioning-agreement-with-premiere-rugby-sevens-as-highest-level-of-domestic-seven-aside-rugby |access-date=2023-05-18 |website=usa.rugby |language=en}}</ref> The league began play in 2021 and has been scheduled opposite to the World Rugby Sevens Series in order to feature top American and other international caliber players.

==Women's rugby sevens==
{{See also|List of women's rugby sevens competitions|World Rugby Women's Sevens Series}}
[[File:Espagne-Japon 2017-06-25.jpg|thumb|[[Patricia García (rugby union)|Patricia García]] of [[Spain women's national rugby sevens team|Spain]] breaks through [[Japan women's national rugby sevens team|Japan]]'s defensive line during the Challenge Cup Final of the [[2017 France Women's Sevens]] tournament.]]
Women's rugby sevens has been dominated by New Zealand, with either the New Zealand team (1999–2001) or Aotearoa Maori Women's Rugby sevens team (playing as New Zealand),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.amwr.co.nz/ |title=Aotearoa Maori Womens Rugby 7's |website=amwr.co.nz |access-date=12 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020526192134/http://www.amwr.co.nz/ |archive-date=26 May 2002 |url-status=dead}}</ref> winning the annual Hong Kong Sevens tournament from 1997 until 2007. The United States won the Hong Kong Sevens in 2008 by defeating Canada in the final (New Zealand failed to send a team).

The inaugural Women's Rugby World Cup Sevens tournament took place in Dubai together with the men's tournament during the first weekend of March 2009. England defeated Canada 12–0 in the Bowl final while Australia edged New Zealand 15–10 in extra-time to become the first to win the Women's Rugby World Cup.

WR, then known as the International Rugby Board (IRB), organised its first official women's sevens tournament outside of the World Cup as part of the 2011 Dubai Sevens. This was part of a plan to launch a full IRB International Women's Sevens Series for 2012–13.<ref>{{cite press release|url=http://www.irbsevens.com/destination/edition=1/news/newsid=2051135.html#first+irb+womens+sevens+event+announced |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110925225938/http://www.irbsevens.com/destination/edition=1/news/newsid=2051135.html#first+irb+womens+sevens+event+announced |url-status=usurped |archive-date=25 September 2011 |title=First IRB Women's Sevens event announced |publisher=International Rugby Board |date=14 September 2011 |access-date=30 October 2011}}</ref> The international series was officially christened as the [[World Rugby Women's Sevens Series|IRB Women's Sevens World Series]] in an IRB announcement on 4 October 2012. The series, as planned, launched for the [[2012–13 IRB Women's Sevens World Series|2012–13 season]] and initially featured events in Dubai, the US, China and the [[Netherlands]].<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://www.irb.com/newsmedia/mediazone/pressrelease/newsid=2063752.html#irb+announces+womens+sevens+world+series |title=IRB announces Women's Sevens World Series |publisher=International Rugby Board |date=4 October 2012 |access-date=4 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141019122715/http://www.irb.com/newsmedia/mediazone/pressrelease/newsid=2063752.html#irb+announces+womens+sevens+world+series |archive-date=19 October 2014 }}</ref> Two additional events were planned for the [[2013–14 IRB Women's Sevens World Series|2013–14 series]], but in the end only one of these events, in [[Brazil]], took place. For the [[2014–15 World Rugby Women's Sevens Series|2014–15 series]], China dropped from the schedule, while [[Canada]] and [[England]] hosted new events. The series was rechristened for 2014–15 as the World Rugby Women's Sevens Series, following the November 2014 renaming of the IRB as World Rugby. The [[2015–16 World Rugby Women's Sevens Series|2015–16 series]] included only five events; the England and Netherlands events were dropped and an event in [[France]] was added. The [[2016–17 World Rugby Women's Sevens Series|2016–17 series]] returned to six events with the launch of an event in Japan.

Women's rugby sevens was included in the 2016 Olympic Games due to the IRB's successful bid to reintroduce rugby to the Summer games. Australia claimed the gold medal for the event, beating New Zealand in the final with a score of 24–17. Canada claimed the bronze medal after beating Great Britain 33–10 in the third place play-off. WR also successfully pushed for the inclusion of women's sevens in the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Many of the Scottish Sevens club tournaments run women's events as part of their Sevens.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://scottishsevens.sport.blog/ayr-sevens/|title=Ayr Sevens|date=7 June 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://scottishsevens.sport.blog/howe-of-fife-sevens/|title=Howe of Fife Sevens|date=7 June 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://scottishsevens.sport.blog/kirkcaldy-sevens/|title=Kirkcaldy Sevens|date=7 June 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://scottishsevens.sport.blog/shetland-sevens/|title=Shetland Sevens|date=7 June 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://scottishsevens.sport.blog/wigtownshire-sevens/|title=Wigtownshire Sevens|date=7 June 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://scottishsevens.sport.blog/garioch-sevens/|title=Garioch Sevens|date=7 June 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://scottishsevens.sport.blog/edinburgh-city-sevens/|title=Edinburgh City Sevens|date=7 June 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://scottishsevens.sport.blog/mull-sevens/|title=Mull Sevens|date=8 June 2019}}</ref><ref name="Melrose Sevens"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://scottishsevens.sport.blog/biggar-sevens/|title=Biggar Sevens|date=10 June 2019}}</ref>

==Sevens vs Fifteens==
As sevens has proven a commercial and competitive success, sevens is starting to become divorced from the 15-man game. Former Wales rugby union player and current pundit [[John Taylor (rugby union born 1945)|John Taylor]] wrote in 2010, stating:
{{cquote|[Sevens] is in danger of becoming a totally separate game. [[Ben Ryan (rugby union)|Ben Ryan]], who coached both the [[England national rugby sevens team|England Sevens]] and the [[Fiji national rugby sevens team|Fiji Sevens]], dismisses the idea that it should be seen mainly as a development tool. A few years ago players would spend a year or two with the Sevens squad to improve their running and passing skills. Many international players refined their game on the Sevens circuit including all-time greats such as [[Jonah Lomu]].

That is happening less and less. Players have to make a choice: Do they want to concentrate on Sevens or 15s? The techniques and training required are becoming very different. Modern professional players are already pretty lean but the forwards in 15-a-side do need bulk as well. In Sevens that is not required and new training regimes are making body fat levels even lower so they are not able to transfer from one game to the other.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.espnscrum.com/scrum/rugby/story/124011.html |title=Fears for sevens specialists |first=John |last=Taylor |author-link=John Taylor (rugby union born 1945) |work=ESPN Scrum |date=29 September 2010 |access-date=2010-10-11}}</ref>}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Sports}}
*[[Rugby X]]
*[[Tag Rugby]]
**[[Mini rugby]]
**[[American Flag Rugby]]
*[[Beach rugby]]
*[[Touch rugby]]
*[[Rugby tens]]
*[[Rugby league sevens]]
*[[Five-a-side football#Seven-a-side football|Seven-a-side football]] (association football)

==References==

===Works cited===

* Bath, Richard (ed.) ''The Complete Book of Rugby'' (Seven Oaks Ltd, 1997 {{ISBN|1-86200-013-1}})
<!--<ref>{{cite book
 | editor-last = Bath | editor-first = Richard
 | date = 1997
 | title = Complete Book of Rugby
 | publisher = Seven Oaks Ltd
 | ISBN = 1-86200-013-1}}</ref> -->
* Bath, Richard (ed.) ''The Scotland Rugby Miscellany'' (Vision Sports Publishing Ltd, 2007 {{ISBN|1-905326-24-6}})
* Jones, J.R. ''Encyclopedia of Rugby Union Football'' (Robert Hale, London, 1976 {{ISBN|0-7091-5394-5}})
* [[Bill McLaren|McLaren, Bill]] ''Talking of Rugby'' (1991, Stanley Paul, London {{ISBN|0-09-173875-X}})
* [[Allan Massie|Massie, Allan]] ''A Portrait of Scottish Rugby'' (Polygon, Edinburgh; {{ISBN|0-904919-84-6}})
* {{cite book| last = Richards| first = Huw| title = A Game for Hooligans: The History of Rugby Union| publisher = [[Mainstream Publishing]]| year = 2007| location = Edinburgh| url = https://archive.org/details/gameforhooligans0000rich| isbn = 978-1-84596-255-5| url-access = registration}}
* [[Nigel Starmer-Smith|Starmer-Smith, Nigel]] (ed) ''Rugby – A Way of Life, An Illustrated History of Rugby'' (Lennard Books, 1986 {{ISBN|0-7126-2662-X}})
* {{cite book| last = Stubbs| first = Ray| title = The Sports Book| publisher = [[Dorling Kindersley]]| year = 2009| isbn = 978-1-4053-3697-0}}

===References===
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://www.worldrugby.org/sevens-series World Rugby Sevens Series official website]
* [http://www.worldrugby.org/womens-sevens-series World Rugby Women's Sevens Series official website]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090127011441/http://guide.rugbyrugby.com/Rugby%20Sections/Coaching/Coaching7s.asp The RugbyRugby Guide- Coaching 7s] (archived)
* [http://ur7s.com Ultimate Rugby Sevens]
* [http://www.rugbysevens.co.uk/ Rugby Sevens – History & Tournaments]
* [http://www.rugbysevensguru.com Guide to playing training and coaching sevens rugby]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140109072649/http://www.scrrs.net/resources/usa-rugby-refereeing-sevens-handbook/ 2011 Refereeing Sevens Handbook] (archived)
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20070629182346/http://www.melrose7s.com/history/ned-haig.html A Brief History of Seven a Side Rugby]}} (archived)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120629033951/http://www.dubaicalendar.ae/en/event/events/emirates-airline-dubai-rugby-sevens-2012.html Dubai Rugby Sevens – Dubai Calendar – Dubai Events Official Listings] (archived)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130903235346/http://www.rugbysevensgold2016.com/ The Road to Rio] (archived)

===Tournament sites===
{{Col-begin}}
{{Col-break}}
''World Rugby Sevens Series''
* [http://www.singapore7s.sg/ Singapore Sevens]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060305092015/http://www.hksevens.com/general-info/fact.htm Hong Kong Sevens]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100208082344/http://www.nzisevens.co.nz/ NZ Sevens]
* [http://www.dubairugby7s.com/ Dubai Sevens]
* [http://www.usasevens.com/ USA Sevens]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20111128014357/http://www.edinburgh7s.com/ Edinburgh Sevens]

{{Col-break}}

''Other Sevens tournaments''
* {{in lang|es}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20091221071435/http://www.7punta.com/ Punta del Este Sevens]
* [http://www.istanbulsevens.com Istanbul Rugby Sevens]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120326162034/http://www.rhinomendipsevens.co.uk/ Rhino Mendip Sevens]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100223081423/http://www.braidholm7s.co.uk/ Braidholm 7s], [[Glasgow]], [[Scotland]]
* [http://www.noosainternationalsevens.com.au Noosa, Queensland, Australia]
* [https://cheltenham7sfestival.co.uk/ Cheltenham 7s, Gloucestershire, UK]{{col-end}}

{{National rugby union teams (sevens)}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rugby sevens}}
[[Category:Rugby sevens| ]]
[[Category:History of rugby union in Scotland|sevens]]
[[Category:Sports originating in Scotland]]
[[Category:Summer Olympic sports]]
[[Category:Variations of rugby union|Sevens]]