Rugby is a proud team sport. Its roots are traced back to 1823, to the Rugby School in Warwickshire, England, and to one of the students enrolled there. William Webb Ellis, supposedly the first to pick up the ball and run with it during a football match, is credited by some with inventing the game – singlehandedly. Rugby has since become a truly global sport and is played by millions throughout the world on all continents.

The object of the game is that two teams – usually made up of of fifteen players each – should, by carrying, passing, kicking and grounding the ball, score as many points as possible. Always according to the Laws and a sporting spirit! The team scoring the greater number of points to be the winner of the match. In addition to the fifteen-a-side format which, at the top level, involves fifteen players on the field of play (8 forwards and 7 backs) and seven replacements, there is the seven-a-side game comprising seven players on the field (3 forwards and 4 backs) and three replacements. It is the seven-a-side format, rugby sevens, that features in The World Games, in the Commonwealth Games, in the Asian Games, etc.

The game is played on a grass surface measuring no more than 100 metres by 70 meters. The matches for rugby sevens go over two halves, each seven minutes long, and the final over ten minutes each half. A match is controlled by a single referee aided by three touch judges and, for major matches, by additional electronic means of review where there is doubt as to whether a try has been scored.

In sevens, the principal tournament is the Rugby World Cup Sevens which is held every four years. Since the inaugural tournament in Scotland in 1993, there have been four World Cups: the most recent in Hong Kong in 2005; the next edition takes place in Dubai in March of 2009. The International Rugby Board (IRB) Sevens Series is the main event on the annual calendar. The 2006/07 Series comprised tournaments in Dubai, South Africa, New Zealand, USA, Hong Kong, Australia and Great Britain. It was televised by 30 international broadcasters in 11 different languages and reached 213 million homes in 137 countries, and had a potential global cumulative reach of over 530 million.

Since 1886 the IRB is constantly working to introduce the game to more countries and to improve playing standards through enhanced regional competitions and coaching. IRB membership stands currently at 96 full and 19 associate members.

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