Time for a pre-season rugby sevens competition

Dont expect ARU etc to run with this.The concept needs a Packer/Palmer/Singleton type to see the value.I see the establishment putting it in the "too hard" basket.The whole thing could take on a rebel flavour.

I think Argentina used to organise a 7s tournament strictly for players over 100kg. That enabled tight five-forwards with good skills and decent workrates to have a go at 7s too. i think they should run such an event concurrently with any 7s tournament, just for its inclusion factor, though the qualifying weight probably should be 110kg now. You might unearth some Jonah Lomus.

I would love a summer seven's comp. As you said, a good way to get some exposure of the sport, with it's carnival atmosphere, even an event that just went around for say 2 months, and was moved around each week so it is played in all capital cities would be a winner. I'm sure that many players would put there hands up to play, and if the teams were given a regional identity, it could turn out to be a good cash cow for the ARU.

It's a no brainer really. A summer series of domestic events provides the perfect opportunity to increase brand awareness of teams and sponsors during a relative off-season for the oval ball codes. The tournaments offer a festival atmosphere and plent of action, which is perfect for summer fans, and can be staged across a couple of days in any of the numerous stadiums across the country. It can also provide the perfect pre-season fitness program to get the players lean in a fun competitive way. Cross-code players or clubs will just add to the media hype and so long as you have a couple of genuine stars per team then you have something for fans to get excited about. It happens at ameteur levels and has done for as long as I know. Teams use the open spaces of Sevens to get match fit for the season proper. The biggest aspect and barrier is attracting the attention of the clubs, players and media. A cash prize is a very old fashioned, but proven, way to create hype and desire. AUD$500,000 has a nice ring to it. Half goes to the winning sides charity of choice, a quarter goes to the club (to cover coach/physio bills and travel) and a quarter goes to the stars on the pitch (meaning a little over $10K per player). Another option is a for a smaller prize, but have money donated to charity for every try scored (as in T20). I think really it's just a matter of time before this happens anyway. The brand awareness of Seven's is growing so quickly and with the Olympics approaching it'll only accelerate further. This coupled with the gap in the market for summer rugby is too much of an opportunity for business people to pass up.

There's multiple tiers to this great idea. For instance, at Brisbane club level, we could have a pre-season or post-season sevens tournament with the 10 Premier Rugby teams and the 10 Queensland Cup teams from SEQ. It would help identify Sevens talent from both codes and keep fans from both codes entertained.

This sevens comps will be a lot of fun in wonder if it will be on tv in OZ.

I grew up playing rugby in qld and never played a minute of sevens in that time - didn't interest me too much, and the opportunity to try it never really came up. Played some seasons in London in the UK, and sevens tournaments were all the rage in pre-season and offseason, seemed like everyone outside the tight five was into it, plenty of little tourneys (I'm talkin non-pro grassroots stuff), and each one I played in was such a blast, the carnival party attitude seems to reach all the way down to these clublevel comps. Was a great experience and always thought we are missing out a bit in Aus,

It would be good for Australia sevens if these happens. Definitely big plus if NRL clubs are invited, say the best 3 clubs from NRL, all Aussie super rugby teams, top 3 sevens clubs from NZ and top 3 sevens clubs from Fiji with one each from South Africa and Samoa plus Samurai as a mercenary international club. That tournament should be enough to showcase sevens talents potentials for Australia especially with the league boys who bring a breathe of fresh air to the Aussie sevens scene. In Fiji chances are given to everybody including the league boys and it would be a tragedy if the Aussie sevens administrators don't give the league boys a chance. The likes of Uate, Haynes, slater and the playmaker fella would be great additions to the Aussie sevens team.

What a great oportunity for our Rugby leaders to get Rugby into public schools. Why not have a schools comp?

Didn't we have one just Last Weekend?

Great article !! Fantastic idea ! A summer sevens comp in Australia, and maybe NZ or even SA is an absolute no-brainer. Between 16-24 teams in total, including the super 15 teams, some pacific islands and asian invitational teams and maybe even 3-4 NRL teams (if they're allowed) to play 4-5 sevens comps from early November to a final comp on Boxing day. Play in good 15-20,000 seat grounds like Bluetongue stadium, Yarrow stadium (in Taranaki) and NIB stadium (in Perth). The saffas are on the right track with the NBM sevens tournament in George. An Aussie/NZ sevens competition would be absolutely fantastic ! Sevens is rugby's answer to 20/20 cricket and will continue to boom with the Olympics in Rio approaching. Much rather watch sevens than test cricket, tennis or soccer.

biltongbek I also heard Ajax Cape Town is also looking at doing something outing a rugby team together. This is good stuff this with the chiefs, it shows rugby is branching out more in Sth Africa. Rugby in S/Africa is not even close to market saturation, despite having 4 tiers now or pro rugby.

I found this on a South African website today. ....................................... Yes folks, you heard right, football giant Kaizer Chiefs has registered a rugby team to participate in a tournament in George over December. Both mainstream sporting codes in South Africa will be on show together for the first time, when a rugby team wearing the kit of South African soccer giants Kaizer Chiefs participates in a tournament based on a T20 Cricket format. The occasion is the inaugural NBM 7’s Premier League tournament, taking place in George, on 14-15 December. The tournament features the South African Super Rugby franchises and six corporate teams from all over the country.   Numerous celebrities, famous South African brands and sporting icons will participate in two days of action-packed sports at the picturesque Outeniqua Park Stadium. The Kaizer Chiefs 7s rugby team will be coached by former Springbok, Gcobani Bobo, and captained by former record try-scoring Springbok ace, Breyton Paulse. According to tournament promoter Willem Strauss “Witnessing the social cohesion and interaction between different cultures when the Bulls played their Super Rugby matches in Orlando in 2010, was the inspiration for inviting the soccer giants, Kaizer Chiefs to participate in the NMB 7s Premier League.”  Strauss also added that this is a major coup for rugby. Tournament promoter Willem Strauss describes this as a major coup for rugby. “With sevens now an Olympic sport and South Africa realistic medal contenders for the 2016 Games in Rio, this is fantastic news. Kaizer Chiefs is one of the biggest brands in South Africa and to expose their fans to rugby opens up a whole new audience for the game. I am very grateful for the support from Chiefs and I am sure they will benefit greatly from this venture.” Marketing Manager of Kaizer Chiefs, Jessica Motaung, explained why they have decided to field a team in this unique tournament. “This is the coming together of two big brands, a cross cover of two sporting worlds and we at Kaizer Chiefs are very excited about it.  We like to be part of sports history as a brand and we felt the association with the Rugby 7s is a historical milestone in football, rugby and sports as a whole.  Our Sponsor and Financial Insurance Business partner, Hollard brought the opportunity to us and we agreed so we could take our place in this exciting sports event.  Kaizer Chiefs and Hollard have a special association and we are thrilled that they thought of the Gold and Black to be a part of the tournament. Amakhosi will have the might of our supporters behind us and I am confident that Gcobani and Breyton will do a great job.  We are about Love & Peace, but we mean business on the field of play.” Michelle Davadoss, Marketing Director of Hollard Insurance said “We’re excited about this unique initiative which promotes collaboration across sports, which celebrates excellence and which promotes healthy activity in a family-friendly environment. This is a great example of the different thinking we bring to our partnerships – our great relationship with Kaizer Chiefs has enabled this initiative. We’re especially thrilled about the fact that the Kaizer Chiefs 7s team will run rugby clinics in the local neighbourhoods as part of community development and promoting rugby among the youth.” Both Bobo and Paulse played for the Springboks in fifteens and sevens, two of only a handful of players ever to achieve this. The decision by the iconic Chiefs brand to venture into rugby was embraced by a very excited Bobo. “In my early days in sport, I wanted nothing more than to play for Kaizer Chiefs, become a legend and then move to Real Madrid. It did not work out quite that way as I became a rugby player, but this opportunity to be associated with Kaizer Chiefs is one I cannot miss again. It will be a massive honour and privilege to coach their team. Breyton has vast experience as a player and to tap into that knowledge will be a massive boost to the rest of the team,” said Bobo. Paulse and Bobo will be joined by a number of sevens icons, with the likes of Fabian Juries, Stefan Basson, Mzwandile Stick and Brent Russell playing alongside and against international stars like Zar Lawrence (New Zealand), Ben Gollings (England), Shane Williams (Wales)and possibly Quade Cooper (Australia) amongst others. The six Super Rugby franchises will also field numerous of their star players as the R1 million rand in prize money provide massive incentives to all to field their best teams. Tickets are for sale at Computicket branches nationwide already. ............................ Perhaps if the ARU get in bed with rugby league in Australia they might be able to firstly get more exposure to rugby union and cross polinate with potential converts from league. Yu never know maybe a few want an olympic medal.