Rugby sevens is a short, fast version of rugby union, played with seven players per team instead of fifteen. It has been part of the Olympic Games since Rio 2016, and it is growing in India too. Here is a simple guide.
The basics
- Each team has seven players on the field.
- A match has two halves of seven minutes each, with a short half time break. Finals in some tournaments are longer.
- The field is the same size as in fifteen a side rugby, so there is a lot of open space, which makes the game very fast.
- The ball can be passed only sideways or backwards with the hands, but can be kicked forward.
The sport is governed globally by World Rugby. In India, the Rugby India federation, formerly the Indian Rugby Football Union, runs the game.
Scoring
- **Try (5 points):** grounding the ball in the opponent’s in goal area
- **Conversion (2 points):** a kick at goal after a try, taken as a drop kick in sevens
- **Penalty goal (3 points):** a kick at goal after a penalty
- **Drop goal (3 points):** a drop kick over the bar in open play
Tackles and rucks
A player carrying the ball can be tackled, but only below the shoulders. After a tackle, the tackled player must release the ball, and players from both sides compete for it in a ruck. Dangerous tackles can lead to a yellow card, which in sevens means two minutes off the field.
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Scrums and lineouts
- **Scrum:** used to restart play after minor offences such as a forward pass. In sevens, a scrum has three players from each side.
- **Lineout:** used when the ball goes out of play over the sideline. Players lift a teammate to catch the ball thrown in.
Restarts
After a score, the team that scored kicks off to restart play. This is different from fifteen a side rugby.
Olympic format
Twelve men’s teams and twelve women’s teams take part in the Olympic tournament, first in pools and then knockout rounds. Fiji won the first two men’s Olympic gold medals in 2016 and 2020, and repeated in 2024 to make it three in a row.
Rugby in India
Rugby is played in states such as Odisha, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Bihar, and India’s women’s team has shown progress in Asian competitions.
Bottom line
Rugby sevens is quick, open and easy to follow once you know how a try, a tackle and a scrum work.
Source / स्रोत: World Rugby, Olympics.com
