“Will Sevens Make or Break Rugby in the USA?” – A Response

Recently, rugby apparel company American Sin Bin posed a question on their blog to the rugby community: Will Sevens Make or Break Rugby in the USA? I sat and thought about it, and here’s what I came up with:

I can fully understand the concern about people in the United States possibly shying away from 15s rugby in favor of 7s. I think rugby 7s is a good introduction to rugby for people of the U.S. who still see American football as king and rugby as obscure and something they saw on an episode of Friends once. Sevens is faster paced, requires less attention span to watch (which sadly, our current culture is all about these days), and is easier to pick up on rules-wise for rugby novices than the 15s version. In addition, American audiences are not used to the body-on-body contact (without pads and helmets) and the on-screen blood that is nothing but normal to any other rugby fan. I’ve watched people not acquainted with rugby physically recoil from the sight of a bloody nose when viewing a rugby match in the same way I recoil at helmet-to-helmet contact when watching an American football game. I believe American networks like NBC (who broadcast the Las Vegas 7s tournament and are the broadcasters of the Olympics in the U.S.) are also aware of the recoil that could come along with 80 minutes of potential blood and immediately apparent injury versus 14 minutes and see 7s as a favorable option to a nation that’s getting its feet wet again in big-time rugby after a long hiatus, especially considering the ad revenue that the breaks in 7s brings compared to the inability to break for commercials in 15s matches.

However, I’ve also seen rugby novices get incredibly excited while sitting with me and watching a live or DVR’d 15s match. They may not understand it (“Where are the special teams?” – “When are the downs?” – “80 minutes??” – “What happens if…?”), but they like it. And they like it a lot. I believe a part of the reason is the sheer physicality and power that comes with having a pack of forwards in addition to the speed and versatility that the backs bring. Let’s be honest: Americans like violence and they also like speed. If we didn’t, MMA fighting and NASCAR wouldn’t be as big as they are. Fifteens brings a level of both that is not completely present in 7s. I don’t doubt the physical abilities of 7s players. They hit hard and ruck over with the same physical prowess as they would in a 15s match and should never be underestimated, but people like the big lineouts and they like the full scrum.

From a rugby player standpoint, 7s takes a little bit of the beauty of 15s away from the game in terms of who is likely to play it. A small bit of exclusivity, if you will (especially at the international level). The fact is that you’re less likely to see many of your tight five playing 7s. Impossible? Absolutely not – some will still get out there and play 7s even if they’re not winger fast. But the beauty of 15s is that whether you’re rugby strong at front row or you’re rugby strong at fullback, there will be a place for you in this game. This point is especially poignant in a nation where the vast majority of its population is overweight and thinks you must be a certain type of person, at least physically, to play a sport. As a kid who spent all of her time in the Fine Arts wing of my high school and never on a field except to play an instrument, I am firsthand proof that that notion can – and should be – challenged.

Overall, I believe there’s something about the 15s game that rugby fans, both current and future, love. And I don’t think it’s an either/or situation, but more of an exposure situation. If NBC or some other major broadcaster (that didn’t require a ridiculously expensive cable package) offered 15s rugby for consumption by the general American public, I truly believe they’d eat it up and they’d put themselves, and their kids, on the field to play it. The challenge on a national level is to get broadcasters to put 15s in front of people and locally for clubs to make sure people see and know about them. Rugby is a fast-growing sport in the U.S. and I believe there’s room (and dollars) for all of it.