World Rugby bosses say they still regard sevens as a vehicle to grow the sport despite shrinking the world series.
Only eight sides will play on each of the men’s and women’s series for the majority of this season as part of a revamped format for the abridged game.
That is half the number of men’s sides who competed in the main event at Dubai Sevens a decade ago, for example.
Rugby was gearing up for its return to the Olympics then. The debut of sevens at Rio 2016 was widely regarded as a success, which it was hoped would increase the sport’s appeal in new territories, including Olympic powerhouses like the United States and Russia.
Within two Olympic cycles, it had become one of the most popular events in the Games. At Paris in 2024, sevens – fuelled by the success of Antoine Dupont’s France side – was reportedly the most watched sport after track and field.
And yet just over a season later, the Men’s HSBC SVNS has contracted to eight sides: Argentina, South Africa, France, Fiji, Spain, New Zealand, Australia and Great Britain.
It means many of the countries that have given Dubai Sevens in particular so much of its colour in the past are now absent.
Four-time champions England are a distant memory. They were initially integrated into the new Great Britain side, but have since cut support to that. The GB men’s side is now run by Scotland.
Ireland’s men reached the final in Dubai three years ago, but have now disbanded. Two-time Dubai finalists USA are not one of the core teams. And Kenya, who have always been among the best supported sides in Dubai, are also absent.
Sides from a new second-tier series do have a chance to join the final three legs of the season. Four teams will join the eight core sides for the series finale, at the end of which a world champion will be decided.
As part of the changes, there are second and third-tier series that play their own tournaments around the world as part of the competition structure.
Critics argue that the changes to the series will make it harder for sides beyond the core eight to develop in the sport, or compete at the top level of sevens.
But Brett Robinson, the chair of World Rugby, said the changes will help ensure sevens remains “the path to grow the game”.
“The challenge always is [about] creating compelling competitive context as well as pathway,” Robinson told The National. “In World Rugby, the push and the shove of that is to ensure our investment in sevens is delivering on the first but also on the second.
“Our ambition is to grow and build this game globally. And sevens is a platform to do that into new markets; into Asia, into South America, and into North America.”
Robinson said the changes will help ensure the “Olympic programme is well supported”.
“What we've decided to do is sharpen the focus of the top tier of the sevens programme, so bring more high-quality competition together and then separated out over three series,” Robinson said.
“So there's three layers of the sevens model that ultimately leads to the top teams playing in a final series at the end of three tournaments.
“From our perspective, you can qualify through this system to play in the top series if you're good enough, and there's that pathway that's always there.
“And if you're not good enough at the top, you can also be relegated. So I think the principle of jeopardy is strong.
“I think it also supports our ambition of trying to make sure that the Olympic programme is well supported through the system of competition.”
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Emirates Dubai Sevens Champions Australia after beating New Zealand in the final on December 1, 2024. Victor Besa / The National. -
Dubai Sevens champions Australia and Fiji celebrate victory. Victor Besa / The National -
Australia score a try against New Zealand. Victor Besa / The National -
Action from the final between New Zealand and Australia. Victor Besa / The National -
New Zealand score a try against Australia. Victor Besa / The National -
Australia players celebrate their fifth successive Dubai title. Victor Besa / The National -
Action from the final between New Zealand and Australia. Victor Besa / The National -
Australia players after the match. Victor Besa / The National -
Australia and Fiji celebrate after winning their finals. Victor Besa / The National -
Australia celebrate their victory. Victor Besa / The National
Robinson understands the evolution of the format. The former Australia Test player was part of a Queensland side that won the main event at Dubai Sevens in 1991.
Back then, at the old Dubai Exiles ground in Al Awir, the tournament was played on sand among invitational teams. The concept of a world series, as well as the installation of grass in Dubai, was still some years away.
Thirty-four years later, his daughter is playing in the International Social tournament this weekend, just as his son did last year. His children will have enjoyed a vastly different experience on the carefully tended fields of The Sevens, which has been home to rugby in the Middle East since 2008, to what he did back in 1991.
“We used to strap our knees and our elbows up, and that'd all get ripped off in the first tackle,” Robinson said of the experience of playing matches on sand. “It wasn't as bad as it sounds because it was soft. [Like] on the beaches in Australia where you’d play touch, it was firm, but it wasn't rock hard. But you could take a bit of bark off in a tackle, that's for sure.”
