| 21st | Top types of football |
| Highest governing body | Rugby League International Federation |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Sevens, Football, Footy, League, Rugby |
| First played | 1961, Australia |
| Characteristics | |
| Contact | Full |
| Team members | 12 (7 on field + 5 interchange) |
| Mixed gender | Single |
| Categorization | 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.
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.
Sevens is usually used in festivals, as it allows for a tournament to be completed in a day or over a single weekend.
Contents |
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 came from Borders backgrounds.
In Australia in 1961, the first rugby league sevens tournament was played.[1]
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.[2]
Sevens is played on a standard rugby league playing field as defined in Section 1 of the International Laws of the Game.[3]
Teams are composed of three forwards, one half and three backs.[4]
Sevens follows the rules of 13-a-side rugby league with exceptions. Each rugby league nation is at liberty to adopt a modified version of international rules for their domestic competitions; as a result the rules of sevens can vary too, even before changes implemented by competition organisers.[5]
Matches have two halves of seven minutes.[4] Unlimited substitutions are allowed from a squad totalling 12 players.[4] In sevens, smaller scrums, formed from the three forwards on each team, are formed.[4] All kicks for goal should be drop kicks in sevens.[4] After points have been scored a tap kick restart is taken by the non-scoring side.[4]
The World Sevens, the world's premier sevens event while it operated, had two 7 minute halves up to and including the semi-finals with extra time played in the event of tie at the end normal time.[6] The final was longer with two 10 minute halves. In 2004, the World Sevens tackle limit was reduced from 6 to 4.
|
|
Wikis
Quiz
Map
Search
