Playing Demands of Sevens Rugby during the 2005 Rugby World Cup Sevens Tournament

Sevens rugby is an expanding sport with over 30 nations participating in the IRB Sevens Series and the 2005 Sevens World Cup. This study aims i) to provide an outline of the playing demands of Sevens rugby and ii) to determine whether there are any tactical differences in the teams that reached the semi-finals vs. the quarterfinalists. Recordings of the matches (n = 47) played during the 2005 World Cup were analysed. Mean playing play time was 7min 18s ± 27s. Mean time accumulated during point scoring movements per match was 97.8 ± 26.1s group, 75.8 ± 10.9s quarterfinalists and 119.8 ± 13.0s semi-finalists; this difference was significant (P=0.05). In summary the ball was in play for 52% of match time and each team had possession for 28% of match time. There was a significant increase in the amount of time required for point scoring movements (20.8 ± 2.3s) compared to turnover movements (12.8 ± 2.3s). For a team to reach the semi-finals or finals of the 2005 Sevens Rugby World Cup Tournament, they had to be able to maintain possession for periods of between 30 and 60 seconds and convert over 30% of those possessions into point scoring movements.