Rugby Sevens Shines At Paris Olympics. What Next For The Sport?

Rugby sevens is having a moment. Despite the torrential rain, the suffocating heat, and the sheer number of other sports and superstars that graced the Paris Olympics, rugby sevens successfully took center stage during the opening week — thanks in large part to superstars Ilona Maher and Antoine Dupont and plenty of exhilarating moments.

This was the moment rugby fans around the world had been awaiting. For one week, rugby sevens was the center of the sports universe, and it did not disappoint. In the men’s sevens, France, led by 15s crossover superstar Antoine Dupont, upset two-time defending gold medalists Fiji to win gold on home soil. In the women’s bracket, the Black Ferns Sevens (New Zealand) retained their gold medal, overcoming surprise package Canada.

The lung-busting action drew millions of viewers and some of the best atmospheres at the Summer Olympics. The Stade de France was packed for each day of games and the women’s final even set a new attendance record for a women’s rugby event with 66,000 fans.

Unquestionably, however, the highlight of the Olympic rugby tournament came during the women’s bronze medal match. In a moment that American fans will never forget, with just seconds to go Alex Sedrick broke multiple tackles and ran 90 m to score the game-tying try. She then kicked the conversion herself to secure the bronze medal, the U.S.’s first medal in rugby in exactly a century.

The excitement of this tournament was no one-off. Rugby sevens — as opposed to 15s, which is slower and has more stoppages — is known for producing scintillating moments in just fourteen minutes. It is a sport built for the modern age, of limited attention spans and bite-sized highlight clips. Despite its modern format, the visibility of its stars, and the jeopardy of every second in each game, sevens is often seen as the little brother to 15s, and like 15s struggles to expand its foothold beyond traditional rugby nations

However, thanks to the Olympic focus, for the first time rugby sevens pushed beyond diehard rugby fans and engaged casual viewers, who rugby executives, players, and enthusiasts hope will continue watching the sport. The question is what will rugby sevens do to build on this momentum and how can the sport grow so that it does not need to rely on Olympic coverage every four years to generate a global audience?

According to Owen Scannell, CEO of Premier Rugby Sevens (PR7s), rugby sevens needs “more regular competition, prioritization and more opportunities for fans to watch.” Which is why he and his colleagues founded PR7s back in 2021.

A former collegiate rugby player, Scannell spotted a gap in the market for the sport he loved and set about building a league from scratch in the most competitive sports market in the world. He saw an opportunity for rugby sevens, which he thought could “connect with U.S. audiences,” and “be an impactful and valuable entertainment product.”

PR7s was established with gender equity front of mind. It provides equal pay, equal access to high-performance facilities, and equal promotion and media access for all its athletes, men and women. Men’s and women’s games are even integrated into the same matchday, something that sounds incredibly appealing given the talent displayed in both divisions at the Olympics.

Since 2021, the league has grown to 8 franchises, with a men’s and women’s team for each franchise. Like international rugby sevens, PR7s is a circuit sport, meaning it travels around the country hosting events in different cities like Formula 1. It has successfully brought sevens to new markets across the U.S. and is broadcast on FS1 and CBS Sports Network. It is also a partner of USA Rugby and one of the only professional sevens competitions in the world.

In fact, twenty-one PR7s women won medals at the Paris Olympics, including five golds (NZ), 4 silvers (Canada), and 12 bronze (U.S.). American superstar Ilona Maher, bronze medal match game-winner Alex Sedrick, Fiji star Waisea Nacuqu, and two-time gold medalist Stacey Waaka all play in PR7s. In total forty-three of the rugby sevens players at these Olympics were contracted PR7s players.

According to Scannell, PR7s “provides a touchpoint for American fans to see players on a regular basis.” It provides access to rugby sevens in the same time zone and a pathway for the next generation of players to learn the sport and play professionally.

With Paris 2024 in the rearview mirror and LA28 now firmly in the line of sight, Scannell and co. are committed to making PR7s the premier club competition for rugby sevens, while enhancing the visibility of the sport. The latter will have been made slightly easier thanks to Michele Kang’s $4 million donation to the USA Women’s Rugby Sevens Team.

Kang is a billionaire businesswoman and investor in women’s sports. She owns three women’s soccer teams: the Washington Spirit, Olympique Lyonnais Feminin, and London City Lionesses. In late July, she founded Kynisca Sports International, Ltd. to help bring “unprecedented investment” to women’s soccer, professionalize women’s sport with research specific to female athletes, and “drive lasting change.” Just hours after the USA Women’s bronze medal victory against Australia, Kang announced that via Kynisca Sports International, she would donate $4 million, to be rolled out over four years, to provide players and coaches with the resources needed to train and win at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

The magnitude of her donation cannot be overstated. It shows the impact one good tournament can have on potential investors and is a testament to the fact that fans, even high-earning ones, are tuning into the sport and enjoying it. In his official statement after the announcement, USA Rugby CEO Bill Goren, said, “We are stunned and beyond grateful for this transformative gift from Michele to advance USA Women’s Rugby.”

Growing the sport cannot only be done at the elite level. While Kang’s donation is meaningful for elite women’s rugby in the U.S., more still needs to be done to drive participation in rugby sevens. PR7s has a next generation talent initiative and runs “learn to play rugby” clinics in the communities where its matches are hosted. Scannell also says they have been running talent ID camps and tryouts for two years now. The idea is to get kids to take up the sport before college where participation naturally takes off.

In his mind, rugby sevens is the perfect way to get kids playing rugby. The barrier to entry is lower because unlike in 15s there are far fewer complicated laws, there is less risk of high-impact injury and players touch the ball more. Moreover, the sport can now sell the Olympic dream, and as Ilona Maher has shown, is capable of platforming athletes in a way that drives viewership and brand awareness.

With the perfect packaging for modern sports viewing — exciting, digestible, with incredible athletes of all shapes and sizes, and made for TV moments — rugby sevens has all the ingredients to build on its Olympic exposure and grow into a household sport globally. With four years until a U.S.-held Olympics, the U.S. is emphasizing the growth of the sport. But will that be enough to help the sport take off?

Scannell says the true competition is with free time. Is rugby sevens exciting enough to attract potential fans who have so many other opportunities in their free time? He believes it is, but for now it needs stronger player development pathways, as well as increased airtime, distribution and investment.”