Rugby’s entertaining little brother was the unexpected star of the Rio Olympics but sevens remains the poor relation of the British game
So where does the sport of rugby sevens go next? The easy answer is Wellington next week for the men, and Sydney the following weekend for the women: the HSBC Sevens World Series is truly a global merry-go-round. Las Vegas, Vancouver, Hong Kong, Singapore, Paris, London: all are keenly awaiting the chance to host the unexpected star of the show at the Rio Olympics last year.
Online research conducted last year by Nielsen Sports in the key markets of Australia, France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States suggested nearly 17 million new fans worldwide, particularly among women and the 18-24 age group, were attracted by what they saw at the Games. Within five years China hope to have a million rugby players enjoying a sport which, in Mandarin, apparently translates as “English-style olive ball”. Australia’s exciting gold medal-winning women’s sevens team are even gracing the pages of this month’s Australian Vogue.
Related: The Olympic Games and rugby sevens: a match made in heaven | Matt Cleary
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