A day out at the Sydney Sevens

I don't understand why Aussie/NZ Stadiums hate the paying punter as It wasn't like that 20 years ago ?????

Thats why I don't go to watch most sport life these days as you feel like a criminal for spending money....when did these nanny state crap start happening at non Soccer sport events.

too bad the OLYMPICS may be a non-even with the ZIKA virus being the main deterrent to visitors. there have been many issues with RIO , its polluted air, the polluted water, the crime in the city and the nearby shanties, and now theis epidemic. People associate RIO with the carnival and near naked Brazilian women BUT with many countries issuing travel warnings it will be a problem. Unless the government can do something to stem the spread of virus and also convince WHO that its safe.

Except as far as I'm aware (only going on the Gabba for the Black Caps Test), they didn't introduce new restrictions (no pay pass and half the limit per head) halfway through the day.

A night in the nick isn't recommended in Dubai either and it's long hike back to the city centre when you're under the weather. Being a carnival event with tents outside the main pitch it's easy to get lured in to it.

'See these stories of beer restrictions makes me not want to bother going to sydney for this. It’s a long day, i want to drink beer whilst I watch and stadium mid strength might as well be water.' No different to the expensive watered down piss that Cricket fans drink copious amounts of.

I think sticking with the same service conditions and rules all day would work just fine. Actually, a few of those 5 cup at a time beer pourers they just slide trays through would help speed the process up a little.

I often wonder why they don't do the walking vendor set up at large events.

I am glad you found your comfort zone in Paddo. My drinking days are well behind me so I thoroughly enjoyed the event right to the end on both nights free of excessive alcohol. The fact is that the drinking restrictions kept the crowd at constant high level of pleasure and absolute fun. If the restrictions had been lowered to the level you may prefer it could have become the drunken spectacles of old. My memories of those days are probably a bit blurred by the same level and number of beers you consumed at Paddo. The big difference on the weekend was I was able to take my wife of 39 years and sit in a crowd of kids as young 7or 8 years right up to Seniors with many more years than my wife and me, and have an experience which was never conceivable in the past. It was only the second live rugby my wife has experienced and she is already keen to be part of next years. 10 out of 10 for the organisers. If you wish to repeat your plan next year I would happily share tickets with you and we could swap tickets at Paddo Pub. I think there could be a silent majority out there who would willing do the same.

Yep. All my disappointment lies with the SFS and their management. I expect to line up. I expect to pay overs. I expect to only get limited mid strength. I expect to be limited to 4 drinks at a time. I don't expect eftpos facilities to be no longer used halfway through the day. I don't expect to wait 45 minutes for a round. I don't expect to then only be able to get 2 beers after waiting twice as long. I spent the last few hours at the London Tavern because of my disappointment with the SFS's management of it. The other huge disappointment was the lack of sunscreen available at an all day event.

Gents I have been to Hong Kong it is a tremendous party atmosphere. Of course responsible Service of alcohol is a question of whether you can stand. But overall the balance is right the main stands are no alcohol in seating areas but you can drink on the concourse the Southern Stand is mayhem but within boundaries and if you misbehave you just get carted off, I would also suggest that a night in the Watchouse in HK would not be a pleasant experience. The food is actually edible I always eat the curry. Australian stadiums and it would seem NZ Stadiums are not a pleasant experience it appears that Security feels that their job would be far easier if a crowd did not attend and the pricing is ridiculous for food and alcohol.

What I'd like to see is a 6 team circuit with both men's and women's competitions. 5 rounds plus a championship round. Played over six weeks with each team playing each other once. With 6 teams but 12 squads you can package 6 games in a 3 hour window. Not too short but not too long. Perfect for TV. If you want to get really ambitious I'd actually like to see a 10s competition instead of 7s if you want a proper league structure. On top of that instead of two 10min halves you go to four 10 min quarters. I actually think it would have greater appeal as a league in the 10s format.

Nice piece, from an outside view Jarrod, but in reality, Seven's does now have a world wide audience, & has actually got even bigger once the announcement came, that it was going to be an Olympic sport.

See these stories of beer restrictions makes me not want to bother going to sydney for this. It's a long day, i want to drink beer whilst I watch and stadium mid strength might as well be water. Will save my money and go to Hong Kong or Singapore instead.

In Darwin they have always played an off season "Corporate 7s" tournament. Teams are labelled by sponsor such as Coca Cola Dragons or Myer Goannas, you get the drift but these companies get up front exposure, in doing so they should in more sponsorship. It could be tweaked to identify geographic cities. Its a round robin weekly tournament with finals.

I was at the 7s on Saturday and it was quite enjoyable as an event. One thing that turned people away was a 2 beer limit per person which was mid-strength and 45 minute waiting queue. By 5:00 a lot of group headed back to the pubs around Paddo to watch the games in comfort and have the ability to buy full strength beer. The women's game was awesome. The Australian team were very skilful with much of the murmur around us stating that they were actually better players than the Australian men's team A 7s circuit in the late summer would be a good idea. With 7s now in the Olympics as well with the 7's World Series there needs to be a tier that needs into the national team. The 8 NRC teams could all have teams, split them into two groups of four. Have a round robin group matches with would take 4.5 hours if there was no gaps between games if set out like the Sydney 7s was. Semi finals plus final and it all could be done in one day, even if you add in a few exhibition matches.

Thanks for the review Jarrod. Interesting to see your thoughts as a relative outsider.

If you want something that resembles the BBL that only runs over the holidays, there's no way in hell you'll attract anyone outside the ARU. I can't see anyone involved in RL or AFL allowing their players to risk injury for the exposure and benefit of another code.

I don't understand why the ARU doesn't attempt a summer severs competition within Australia aimed at TV over the Christmas period. The National team seems to have no feed-in competition for players, just a random selection of people that have played something else. They could have a national competition open to anyone including RL and AFL players that meet and play in a different capital city once a week. 10 teams provides 5 games of 20 minutes is 2 hours of entertainment. A diverse eligibility of players could make it more interesting and provide new potential players to the national team and Olympics, as well as earning money for the ARU. Maybe start with the NRC teams for the initial organisation, but I would not want it to only attract RU players. It should also be similar to the BBL in that it is only semi-serious.