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I was recently flicking though station after station on my friend’s Austar, wanting to find something interesting to watch. When I got to the sports section I found the Rugby Sevens World Series was on.
I had always enjoyed watching rugby union and had heard of rugby sevens before, but had never seen it being played.
I instantly fell in love with this game. The idea of games lasting 15 minutes and three-on-three scrums really appealed to me.
I ended up watching the sevens all day and didn’t want it to end. Well I was in luck, because the tournament had another day to go.
Watching the semi-final between Australia and South Africa, I don’t think I have ever yelled at a television more in my life.
And things didn’t get any better when a young substitute by the name of Laloifi Junior Laloifi came on in extra time for Australia.
Australia were making great progress. They stretched the South African defence. When the ball was given to Laloifi, he had an extra man out to his left to pass to and only had one to beat.
Now any other person would have just passed to their teammate, who would get the try and win the game. Well, not Laloifi.
He decided to make a run for the try line that was only five metres away. He tried to get past the South African defender but was unable to, which ended up resulting in a turnover in possession and South Africa kicking it into touch.
The cries of ‘you selfish pr*ck!’ could be heard from over a mile away.
Australia ended up winning the game with a try a few minutes later.
Although we got smashed in the final against a strong All Black sevens line-up, it was still a very enjoyable, if at times painful, tournament.
Overall though, I am now a huge rugby sevens fan and would love to see it on free-to-air television. Maybe it could be on Gem or one of those channels that play nothing but home shopping channel ads?
Regardless, I will be keeping track of the Wallabies sevens team when they head to Dubai for the next installment of the Rugby Sevens World Series.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.