Rugby league sevens
| Highest governing body | Rugby League International Federation |
|---|---|
| Nicknames | Sevens, Football, Footy, League, Rugby |
| First played | 1961, Australia |
| Characteristics | |
| Contact | Full |
| Team members | 12 (7 on field + 5 interchange) |
| Mixed gender | Single |
| Type | Outdoor |
| Equipment | Football |
| Venue | Rugby league playing field |
Rugby league sevens (or simply sevens) is a seven-a-side derivative of rugby league football, which is usually a thirteen-a-side sport. The game is substantially the same as full rugby league, with some rule changes and shorter games. Sevens is usually played in festivals, as its shorter game play allows for a tournament to be completed in a day or over a single weekend.
As well as being played by club sides, rugby league sevens is particularly popular with social teams, formed in the workplace or from the patrons of a public house for example, as it is often difficult in these places to form a full squad of 13 players and four substitutes of regular players. Some tournaments prefer to play rugby league nines (rugby league with nine players on each side) to distinguish it from rugby union sevens.
The game of rugby sevens dates back to its invention by Ned Haig in Melrose in the Scottish Borders in 1883, just over a decade before the schism in rugby football in 1895, which led to the creation of rugby league and rugby union. However, rugby sevens did not spread outside Scotland before the 1920s. That said, the larger part of Scotland's rugby league players have come from Borders backgrounds.
The first rugby league sevens tournament was played in Australia in 1961.
The major tournament was the World Sevens played prior to the beginning of the National Rugby League season in Sydney, Australia. That tournament has been suspended but sevens is played around the world at different levels from junior teams to international ones. Sevens is considered to be a good tool to increase the skills of players and to help emerging rugby league nations.
Sevens is played on a standard rugby league playing field as defined in Section 1 of the International Laws of the Game.
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