7-a-side

Rugby sevens

Kenya scores a try against Tonga during the 2006 Commonwealth Games
Highest governing body	World Rugby
Nicknames	Sevens, 7s, VIIs, Seven-a-side
First played	1883
Characteristics
Contact	Full Contact
Team members	7
Mixed gender	Separate competitions
Type	Outdoor team sport, variant of rugby union
Equipment	Rugby ball
Presence
Olympic	2016 onwards

Rugby sevens 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. Rugby sevens is commonly referred to by rugby union media and fans as simply "sevens".

Rugby sevens originated in Melrose, Scotland in the 1880s; 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 the World Rugby Sevens Series in 1999—a series of seven to twelve tournaments played each year from approximately November to May. Since 2016, rugby sevens has been contested in the Summer Olympics, and it has also been played in regional events such as the Commonwealth Games and Pan American Games.

Rugby sevens is sanctioned by World Rugby, and is played under similar laws (with exceptions noted below) and on a field of the same dimensions as the 15 player game. While 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. The final of a competition can be played over two halves of ten minutes each. (In the World Rugby Sevens Series, only the Cup final, which determines the overall winner of an event, is played with 10 minute halves; all finals for lower-level trophies are played with 7 minute halves). 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 drop goal (whether from penalty or open play) and two points for a post-try conversion.