Sevens rugby is wasted in Adelaide
Roar Guru By Bay35Pablo, 20 Dec 2009 Bay35Pablo is a Roar Guru
- Tagged:
- Adelaide, Olympic Games, Rugby sevens, Rugby Union, Sevens rugby
There have been a number of articles about how Sevens rugby making it into the Olympics could provide a big boost to rugby worldwide, in a number of ways – exposure, recruitment, funding, etc.
Part of these discussions have been how Sevens is different to Fifteens, whether players can easily transfer at the same level, and so forth. However, my thinking turned to what Sevens could be used to do domestically in Australia, given the recent doldrums the game is in here. This is one of two ideas have been mulling over, with the other one for a different article.
Recently, I have been getting emails from the ARU advertising the Adelaide Sevens in March 2010, as part of the IRB World Sevens series. Although I had always been aware it was held there, I suddenly thought (with no disrespect to Adelaide) “Why the hell are we holding this in Adelaide?”
Sevens is in many ways the rugby equivalent of Twenty 20 cricket – fast, energetic, and easy to watch (and not seen as worthwhile as the full game by some). However, it does provide entertaining rugby, even if you cannot remember much of the games later (whether because they weren’t memorable, or because of the tendency to imbibe at Sevens weekend tournaments), and in many ways is a great way to “sell” the game. Further, such a tournament showcases the international scope and talent of the game of rugby.
So why is it in Adelaide? The main reason that I see it, apart from whatever sweeteners the South Australia government throws the ARU and IRB’s way, is that it provides some exposure for rugby in South Australia. Adelaide has no Super rugby team (and with Melbourne in 2011 will be the only mainland state not to have one), and its club competition is relatively small. As such, it is “something” to give to SA, because they are only likely to get international rugby when there is a World Cup on. Domestic Tests will be few and far between, and no Super team is likely to send a precious home game on the road (and even pre-season games will be used to go out to the neglected regions of each state).
By all accounts the Adelaide Sevens gets decent crowds, and the locals and tourists love it. But, all I can think of is how much bigger it could be, and more exposure it could provide, in Sydney, Brisbane or Melbourne. Adelaide’s gain (such as it is, and it’s hardly likely to be something to build a base from to compete with AFL in South Australia) may well be Australian rugby’s greater loss.
I remember attending the then NSWRL’s rugby league sevens at the SFS in the early 1990s. The clubs played against each other and international sides over 2 or 3 days. That competition is long gone, but it did provide a couple of days of enjoyable league games. Of course, league has a healthy club competition in Sydney, so it wasn’t like they needed more exposure in Sydney.
So why isn’t the ARU looking at moving the IRB Sevens to Sydney, Brisbane or Melbourne? The crowds have the potential to be bigger, much bigger, given these are (in the case of Sydney and Brisbane) the heartland of rugby, and (in Melbourne’s case) packed full of sports nuts. Surely that extra revenue would be welcome. Further, the cosmopolitan nature of Sydney and Melbourne mean there are ready made supporter groups (both locals and backpackers) for some of the smaller nations that in Sevens are more competitive.
The attraction of seeing some of the best and most entertaining rugby players around (given that Sevens does tend to have more razzle dazzle than the standard form, especially in its current rules version) is sure to attract both rugby fans as well as general sports fans (and the odd league scout!), and the international aspect will also attract sports fan. With no disrepsect to league internationally, rugby is a truly international game and the IRB World Sevens show cases that fully.
Again, with no disrespect to Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne are both easier to get to by plane, and provide more well known tourist attractions internationally, thus providing an extra excuse for any rugby fan thinking of coming to watch it, or any tourist visiting at that time.
The timing within the Super rugby season might have to be considered, given March is during Super rugby season. However, this would be more to not compete with other rugby, than due to player duties given the Australia Sevens squad is essentially different to the Super rugby squads.
So why are we letting the Sevens tournament essentially prop up an otherwise neglected rugby backwater, when it could be used to showcase the sport in the main battlegrounds of what is one of the most competitive sports markets in the world? I’ll be front and centre if they ever bring it to Sydney, and a weekend trip to Brisbane or Melbourne is unfortunately a lot more attractive than Adelaide (given the air fares on what are more heavily used domestic routes).
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- Explore:
- Adelaide, Olympic Games, Rugby sevens, Rugby Union, Sevens rugby
December 21st 2009 @ 3:31pm
Harry Kimble said | December 21st 2009 @ 3:31pm | Report comment
The Sevens are held in Adelaide because they asked for the tounament to be held there after it was a disaster in Brisbane and Sydney couldn’t care less about holding the leg.
December 23rd 2009 @ 8:25am
Justin said | December 23rd 2009 @ 8:25am | Report comment
Yep, I went to the 7s in Brisbane a couple of times and it was not a packed house at Ballymore, far from it if memory serves. Leave it where it is, it gets a good following and is going down the path of Wellington with dress ups hhe name of the game.
I think a few people are over-estimating it’s importance to be frank.
December 21st 2009 @ 3:40pm
samM said | December 21st 2009 @ 3:40pm | Report comment
another reason why the sevens is played in adelaide might lie in the tendencie for the competitions to be in non heartland areas like how the play in george in south africa which isnt a home of any of the SA’s super 14 teams, so maybe it might be a sort of irb protocol for the areas where the series is played in to be areas looking for development.
December 21st 2009 @ 8:28pm
AndyS said | December 21st 2009 @ 8:28pm | Report comment
Got to say it does sound very condescending – “Give the Sevens to Adelaide as a sop…oh, look, now it is serious so we better take it back and put it somewhere important”.
But I’m surprised that everyone seems to think Sevens will continue to be this big party adjunct to “proper” rugby. Regardless of where the tournaments wind up, I hope the party atmosphere is retained off the field because I doubt there will be much on the field. It is not going to be an after-thought used for training kids any more; before long Olympic selections and coaching careers will be living and dying on those fields and it is going to get real serious. It will be interesting to see whether the 15s players can even get a look in either, once players start really specialising – you don’t see Lance Armstrong ditching the Tour de France every four years for the velodrome. I haven’t even seen anything indicating a competition structure – trivia moment: at how many of the six Olympics in the last 20 years did the UK or Germany field soccer teams? You can probably guess the answer, so how sure should we be that Australia will even be going to the Olympics? Rather a lot could hinge on whether Australia is classified Asia or Oceania (and guess which one we are now)…
December 21st 2009 @ 8:47pm
Shahsan said | December 21st 2009 @ 8:47pm | Report comment
There have usually been parties off teh field but despite that, there isn’t much of a party on the field — it’s usually pretty serious.
No, the best 15s players will always get a look in in 7s — provided they know how to play 7s. The only real 7s specialists I have seen tend to be those in the playmaking roles, the ones who grease teh wheel. Examples include, Waisale Serevi, Ben Gollings, Stephen Brink, etc.
But in every other position, the basic rugby skills are still needed, and the best 15s players will always be superior, period.
As I’ve said before, as an example, I would back this South African seven against the best 7s players South Africa have had running around teh circuit the past few years (including winning teh whole shebang last year): Kankowski, Brussou, Spies; Du Preez; Pienaar, Francois Steyne, Habana.
December 22nd 2009 @ 12:52am
Redb said | December 22nd 2009 @ 12:52am | Report comment
Would get lost in Melbourne as a 2nd tier sporting event (unlike the rugby WC). In Adelaide at least it can gain a spotlight in a lighter calendar of sporting events..
December 22nd 2009 @ 10:46am
Harry Kimble said | December 22nd 2009 @ 10:46am | Report comment
The Sydney sevens were held at the Millner Field in the 60s and 70s and at Warringah in the early 80s. None of them aroused a moment of interest in the public or press and only meant something to the teams participating.
In 1988 and 1989, international sevens were held at Concord Oval. There was some interest in the 88 series but dropped below the radar in 1989 and the series folded.
Only since the introduction of the sevens circuit and now, admission to the Olympic Games has there been a slight revival and following of the truncated game.
The results are a bit like one day and 20/20 cricket. A quick question. Who won the Rugby sevens at George in 2007 and who cares?
December 22nd 2009 @ 2:07pm
Shahsan said | December 22nd 2009 @ 2:07pm | Report comment
Few will remember George, because it is one leg of a circuit with no names on the field and zero coverage in the papers. But those who watched still remember the world cups of 1993, 1997, 2001, 2005 and 2009. And i guarantee we will all take note and remember the winner of Rio 2016.
December 26th 2009 @ 11:15am
ROY said | December 26th 2009 @ 11:15am | Report comment
What about Coffs Harbour?.. hosted the Lions game a couple of years back so has the venue .. the “sawtell 7′s” were probably the most famous in Australia for a time because they lured teams from bris and syd.. so it has familiarity to rugby followers – local support.. plenty of accommodation, an airport, and rewards country rugby too.
January 17th 2010 @ 8:59am
Sth Auckland First XV said | January 17th 2010 @ 8:59am | Report comment
The 7s is definately a wasted opportunity in Adelaide. Rugby needs to concentrate it’s product in QLD & NSW as they are the more lucrative markets and real battlefield between the codes. There’s little rugby union product in Australia as it is and having the 7s in Adelaide is spreading it around too thinly. The 7s in SFS over a weekend in Feb/March would be fantastic and has the potential to become a major sporting fixture on the calendar, as it has done in Hong Kong, Wellington, Duabi etc – it would provide a perfect lead in to the rugby season. Adelaide just doesn’t do it for me.