Introduction
The first Rugby 7’s was created in Scotland in 1823 but was played in 1883. It was founded by a local butcher and Rugby Union player, Ned Haig and David Sanderson proposed a short version of the full game as a fundraising idea for their local club “Melrose RFC”. The first tournament took place on April 28, 1883 at Greenyards, Melrose. Eight teams competed with Melrose beating Gala in the final. The teams must consist of two halves over ten minutes.
Rules
A rugby 7s consist of two halves of seven minutes with a 2 minute half-time break. The final competition can be played over two halves of ten minutes and the teams must include 7 players. A few rules are no forward passes which is when a person with the ball passes it to a person in front of them, if a player loses possession of the ball and it go forward that's called a knock-on. Every time someone scores they must drop-kick. All in all the rugby 7s are a fast, great game that is similar to Rugby Union but has slight changes to the rules.
Equipment
In rugby 7s thew equipment needed is a rugby ball which shaped like an oval & a kick off tee to kick the ball. For the uniform you will need a jersey, shorts, headgear for protection on the player’s head. A mouthguard to protect the player’s teeth, a pair of boots with studs or cleats which s the points at the bottom of the boots, a base layer to help with compression, rugby socks & shoulder and shin pads to protect their shoulders and shins. You need all this equipment for minor injuries such as bruises and scrapes etc.
Positions
In 7s rugby there are 7 positions available to teams. There is the ‘Props’- they are involved in the scrum and help lift the person jumping in a line out with their upper body strength. The hooker is the person that throws the ball into the line out and tries win possession of the ball in a scrum. There is a scrum half who is the link between forwards and backs. They are also the decision makers on whether to pass the ball quickly to the backs or keep it close to forwards. The fly half can kick the ball but also helps manage the team’s performance. There is two more positions which are centre & wing, centre is the key player in both attack and defence. In defence they will attempt to tackle the attacking players and in attack they will use their power,speed and fancy skills to run the ball. The wing is the runner of the team and always set up to score a try. These 7 positions are very helpful to use in rugby 7s.
The Helpers
The Rugby 7s consist of many helper for example a performance coach , a head coach , an assistant coach, a head athletic trainer and performance analyst. They also consist of a Massage therapist, a team manager and an academic advisor. A rugby 7s team needs these staff members to help hold the a team together and keep it strong. These people try there best to help the team win the games that they participate in.
Conclusion
Therefore the rugby 7s are a considerable, athletic game for many people to watch, participate and support the game. A lot of people are proud to have the rugby 7s and are haunted by this game when they watch it. Good luck to all the teams this year.
