Rugby 7s

Rugby sevens is a stripped-down version of rugby union with just seven players on each team playing on a full sized pitch. There are four backs, three forwards and each team can have up to five replacements. With fewer bodies and extra space on the pitch, games are fast-paced, full of breakaway sprints and exciting tries.

There are two nail biting seven-minute halves and a quick one minute half-time break for players to catch their breath. Scoring is the same as the 15-man game: five points for a try, two for a conversion and three for a penalty kick or drop goal. All conversions must be taken within 40 seconds and must be taken as a drop goal rather than a place kick. The scoring team kicks off to the opposition.

If a game finishes in a draw at full time in a pool game, the draw counts. However, once the knockout stages of a tournament begins, a five minute extra time period is played with the team scoring first advancing.

Normally, there are fewer rucks, scrums and lineouts in the sevens game, resulting in a faster pace, skillful displays of agility and electrifying entertainment for fans.

Rugby sevens has taken the global stage by storm, becoming a fixture at every major international multi-sport competition. Making its Olympic debut in 2016 in Rio, Canada’s women’s team proudly captured the bronze medal. Since then, rugby sevens has returned to the Olympic spotlight, with Canada continuing to compete against the world’s best on sport’s biggest stage and bringing home the silver medal in Paris in 2024.

Beyond the Olympics, the pinnacle of annual competition is the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series for men and women. The men’s series features 12 core teams competing in tournaments worldwide, including the electrifying HSBC Canada Sevens at BC Place in Vancouver. The women’s series brings the same world-class action to multiple global stops, with Canada hosting a leg on Vancouver Island.

Rugby sevens also shines at the Pan American Games — where Canada’s men are two-time champions and the women claimed gold at the sport’s debut in 2015 — and the Commonwealth Games. Every four years, the world’s best gather for the Rugby World Cup Sevens, another stage where Canadian athletes proudly wear the Maple Leaf.