Definition

7-a-side Rugby is a version of rugby created around 1883 in Melrose (Scotland). The teams comprise 7 players and 5 replacements but only 3 replacements are authorised to be used during the course of a game. A match is played over 2 periods of 7 minutes. The final of a tournament can however be over 2 period of 10 minutes. The set scrum is reduced to 3 players per team. The team that has scored kicks-off to restart. Otherwise, the rules of 15-a-side rugby apply, i.e. in particular the size of the pitch, passing backwards, offside and the awarding of points.

The duration of the game allows a major tournament to be organised over a small number of days, normally between 1 and 3 days. The reduction in the more "arcane " phases of the games (scrums, mauls) tends to draw a larger crowd. Finally, the combat phases are reduced in favour of the open game which makes the physical component less important. Because of this, smaller rugby-playing nations are able to make more progress in 7-a-side rugby such as Kenya, Portugal and Spain. For the same reasons women's teams also tend to like 7-a-side rugby.

World Cup

The first World Cup took place in Scotland in 1993 and a victory for England. The triphy is called the Melrose Cup from the place where the game was created. The list of winners is::

• 1993 (Scotland) : England
• 1997 (Hong-Kong) : Fidji
• 2001 (Argentina) : New Zealand
• 2005 (Hong-Kong) : Fidji
• 2009 (Dubaï) : Wales

The World Cup took place in Dubai (UAE) from 5th to 7th March 2009 and drew some 35,000 spectators over the 3 days. Wales beat Argentina in the final. The Women's World Cup was also held for the first time and it saw the victory of Australia over New Zealand.

The IRB Rugby Sevens World Series" also takes place every year and this sees the best countries competing in 8 tournaments

Olympic Sport

The IOC decided in 2009 to introduce 7-a-side rugby into the Olympoic Games of 2016 (Rio) and in 2020. The fomula proposed by the IRB will run over four days of competition. The teams will be dicided into two groups of six with a total of 12 men;s teams and 12 womens;s teams. The two best teams form each group will qualify for the semi-finals.