Do you ever see 7s overtaking 15s

[RF9]

Do you ever see 7s becoming more popular or just as popular than 15s? I know it is too short but what if it is played instead of two halves played with 4 quarters like american football
7 minute quarters with 3 minute breaks between quarters and 7 minute half times

 

[Sorcerer]

No, I don't think so. Personally I don't really like watching it much.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Nope, no chance. Not in places with strong XVs presence, anyway.

Places like USA i could see it, due to the olympics, though.

 

[ncurd]

It's fun but it's like watching T20 cricket as opposed to Test Match Cricket, except 15's is way more accessible.

So I doubt it, I suspect if the US does start playing it more they'll transition to 15's if the players are any good.

 

[SelimNiai]

Nope, never.

 

[jonny24]

Nvm, then.

 

[Shaggy]

In terms of the number of countries and total viewership of the world circuit games, Sevens probably is more popular than XV's.

The fact that it is an Olympic sport now, has raised the profile (and standard) of Sevens in many countries, and this will hopefully have a flow on effect to XV's.

I do watch both, and find that their are those that insist that more tries = a better game in XV's (I don't agree with this), yet a lot don't watch Sevens, which is naturally geared to the scoring of more tries, due to less players/more space on the field.

I can't see any reason for changing the Seven minute halves (10 minute halves in the finals either), the fast pace of the game, and the number of games played over a two (sometimes three) day period, means it's taxing enough on the players.

The two games are already different from one another in enough ways to see specialist evolve due to the different physical requirements of both versions of the game, and I can't see one supplanting the other, nor World Rugby promoting one more heavily, to the detriment of the other, as they are both great tools for expanding the game globally, and both should also provide good revenue streams at the top level.

 

[Car]

In countries where XV isn't big? Yes, I can. It's certainly a very telegenic sport that also goes well with people's short attention span and seems quite good to share highlights on social media and the like which sports love nowadays.

 

[Shaggy]

In countries where XV isn't big? Yes, I can. It's certainly a very telegenic sport that also goes well with people's short attention span and seems quite good to share highlights on social media and the like which sports love nowadays.

So, most countries then? ... The last leg of the World Sevens was being beamed into about 125 different countries, and I would say about 10% of those would be countries where 15's is big.

I do get your point about 15's remaining the more popular of the two in the countries it's traditionally played in though.

It might only require a short attention span to watch one game of Seven's in isolation, but to follow or be at a tournament for it's duration requires a bit more effort than watching a 15's test match

Anyway, as I've said previously, it is possible to enjoy both, and I can't see one detrimentally harming the other due to it's popularity.

 

[barkinghooker]

Is there a domestic season in national 7's ? I know you got the Aviva sevens but that's just a pre season bit of fun. It's hard to glorify and scrutinise teams and players if there's no day to day news. Ben Gollings was an amazing sevens players but the media just reported stats and a quick news in brief story.
I really enjoy sevens and tens but it doesn't offer much in the media.

Maybe you could have a season running parallel to the fifteen a side version . Just one game per every league game.
The best sevens teams of Europe can all meet up at the end of the season and have it out for a two days.
The quality may not be as good as the international circuit because it's a different training schedule but still entertaining .

But I think having a day to day or week to week catch up will draw in the various fans. You know, statisticians, die hard fans, merchandise , news updates etc.

 

[William18]

I think people from more countries may watch 7's but I don't think it will ever overtake 15's. Look here - this is "TheRugbyForum" and we are lucky to get two posts about any sevens tournament for the World Series. People may watch 7's but they aren't very passionate about it. I think 7's is really going to take off in the women's game. It will be difficult for women's 15's to survive.

 

[Jaguares]

Nope, no chance. Not in places with strong XVs presence, anyway.

Places like USA i could see it, due to the olympics, though.

I agree

 

[Peat]

Not sure.

Ultimately, it comes down to whether the Olympics drives sufficient interest in 7s to create a lucrative domestic competition.

I think that would be difficult, simply because you're not going to get big crowds going to see one single 7s game. As RF9 says, it's too short. They'll go to see a big day of it, but that means the pot has to be broken up lots of different ways. I think you'd have to change the sport quite a bit for it to work.

If you could create a lucrative domestic competition, it could very easily overtake 15s in non traditional countries and from there it could spread. But offering an everyday living for players equal to 15s would have to be the first step and I'm not sure that's doable.

The only way it might be doable is if you had 2-3 events a team a week, sorta like Hockey.

Anyway, I sincerely hope not, the overlap between the two feels smaller and smaller, and I don't really care for 7s.

 

[Car]

Anyway, as I've said previously, it is possible to enjoy both, and I can't see one detrimentally harming the other due to it's popularity.

I agree. I've actually read posts from German rugby fans how 7s could hurt 15s here, but 15s is so marginal here that I don't see any problem there. We could be lucky if any code developed at all, having 7s develop would be huge.

15s' rules are seen as complicated and sports generally are trying to reduce the number of time "lost" during games and 15s has more of that. 7s is perfect for watching at the Olympics at least.

 

[Coastie]

Do you ever see 7s becoming more popular or just as popular than 15s? I know it is too short but what if it is played instead of two halves played with 4 quarters like american football
7 minute quarters with 3 minute breaks between quarters and 7 minute half times

In Australia at least 7s barely rates a mention, however may change with the Aussie leg moving to Sydney - huge crowd = news.

 

[Duck a l'Orange]

Due to the nature of both positions, it would be very rare to find an openside flanker with the pace to overtake a fullback, though it's not totally unheard of to find forwards with some serious pace. I've personally never seen a 7 overtaking a 15 anyway. That is all.

 

[AmericanRugby]

Here in the United States it's an interesting question, mainly because the sport is really just now taking off. However, we can clearly see a lot of the attention is being put on the 7's... I think this is because we like paying attention to characters, and Carlin Isles has been getting a lot of attention as the fastest man in rugby. All of his videos are going viral, while the Men's 15s are lacking in the press.

The big question that is left is how well is the public going to respond to the new Pro league that was formed this year. I think a lot of attention is being given to the Rough Riders, especially with our captain being an All-Black (every American knows who the All-Blacks are). So to sum up, in the US, it just depends which we are better at... We won't watch a sport we get beat in (however bad that sounds it's the truth).

 

[Muzzy]

I guess the main thing is it's only played a few times a year with long intervals between tournaments. So I guess that means there's less money in it which holds it back. I do prefer watching sevens though and I hope it takes off esp in other countries. Getting the club tournaments bigger could help. Seeing the rising sevens tournament they have in fiji would be cool

 

[MLB3BB2]

I think if XVs is going to get a professional foothold in the USA/Canada, it would benefit from having a 7s component. But not just a one-off tournament like the Aviva Premiership, but a series with each of the XVs teams hosting a 7s tournament during the season. Use the same squads as the XVs, just give most of the forwards a rest when they play 7s. But I'd be surprised if professional rugby makes any real headway in North America in the next 5 years or so.

 

[goodNumber10]

I think if XVs is going to get a professional foothold in the USA/Canada, it would benefit from having a 7s component. But not just a one-off tournament like the Aviva Premiership, but a series with each of the XVs teams hosting a 7s tournament during the season. Use the same squads as the XVs, just give most of the forwards a rest when they play 7s. But I'd be surprised if professional rugby makes any real headway in North America in the next 5 years or so.

the aviva premiership kind of does that, except in the off season - they run three/four events and then the winners go to the finals. it's normlly over aweek or so:

details here: http://www.premiershiprugby.com/news/premiershiprugbysevens/index.php#ZmyRir6Lm67ithqY.97