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An eight-team summer sevens tournament in Australia could help broaden rugby’s support base and give the ARU another product to sell to broadcasters.
It would help develop Australia’s best sevens players and provide 15-a-side stars with Olympic ambitions a platform to gain sevens experience in their off-season.
The ARU has yet to capitalise on the inclusion of sevens as an Olympic sport. The Australian leg of the Sevens World Series hasn’t come close to attracting the kind of support seen every year in the likes of Hong Kong, Wellington, London and Dubai.
Outside of that event there are no tournaments in Australia with any significant profile. In the meantime, the NRL have got the jump on rugby with the huge success of the inaugural Auckland Nines event.
While I would like to see the World Series leg moved to either Sydney, Brisbane or Melbourne, I believe the biggest opportunity the ARU have with sevens is to set up a domestic summer series.
My proposal
And eight-team competition played over eight evenings. Each session of games would last three hours and would be spread over two or four weeks.
Teams
Queensland Reds
NSW Waratahs
Melbourne Rebels
Western Force
ACT Brumbies
Fiji
Tonga
Samoa
This competition’s best chance of success would be to use the Australian rugby brands that people already know and support, while the three Pacific Island nations would bring additional flair and fans.
The five Super Rugby franchises would recruit specialist 7’s players to complement those drawn from their existing squads. In addition to specialist Australian players a limited number of import players would be allowed per Australian squad.
Format
Each team would play every opponent twice before a finals round. This would be done over seven game days, with each consisting of eight matches played over a period of just under three hours. Every team would play twice in a game day.
A league table would be used, with two points awarded for a win and one for a draw.
The eighth game day would be for finals. The top four teams on the table would play for a Cup title while the bottom four would compete for the Plate. For both trophies there would be semi-finals, third place playoffs and a final.
The schedule could look something like this:
Game Day 1 and 2 – NIB Stadium, Perth
Game Day 3 and 4 – AAMI Stadium, Melbourne
Game Day 5 and 6 – Parramatta Stadium, Sydney
Game Day 7 – Ballymore, Brisbane
Game Day 8 (Finals) – Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
The series could be played over four weekends or a more condensed two weeks, with game days on Wednesday and Thursday as well as Saturday and Sunday.
With each session of play lasting around three hours, all games would be in prime time and the viewing fatigue that can occur with the World Series events would be largely avoided. At the same time it would still be long enough to create a party atmosphere in the ground for each evening of play.
Over time the concept could expand to include more teams or rounds and a women’s series.
Women’s sevens is another great opportunity for the ARU. The Australian women’s team are a stronger medal chance than the men for 2016.
If the ARU can build their profile it would be a great point of difference from the other codes and an excellent way to increase the female player and supporter base.
A women’s world series leg in Australia would be a good start.
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.