5 Things Cricket Can Learn from Sevens Rugby

Here’s a pop quiz for you: Who are the reigning Olympic rugby champions? The answer is the United States of America. It happened over 90 years ago, and only three teams played, but that doesn’t make the answer any more surprising to passive sports fans.

Ask the same sports fans who won the London Sevens title this weekend and the answer, once again: The United States of America and they might be less surprised.  Despite the fact that, until this season, the United States had never finished higher than 10th in the Sevens event, their emphatic 43-12 victory over Australia to take the title in London probably isn't too much of a surprise, and it’s a great thing for the sport.

When it comes to understanding modern sport, Sevens Rugby gets it right, and it’s something cricket could learn from. We’ve picked five things that makes Sevens successful from which cricket could potentially benefit.

1. Understanding Sport’s Global-Market Appeal

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Sevens Rugby plays a “World Series” that truly is a world series. Countries you rarely ever associate with rugby, such as China and Japan, all take part in the tournament, and the tournament travels across the globe, taking the game to the fans.

Cricket, on the other hand, remains an elitist and exclusive format when it claims to be playing a “World Cup.” Countries from outside the Full Members are too easily shut out, most starkly evidenced by the decision to make the 2019 World Cup a 10-team affair.  

Of course the one-day format is much longer than a Sevens match, but the same basic principle applies. Where Sevens seeks to expand as much as possible, cricket insists on shutting up shop.

2. Maintaining a League Interest

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One of the great things about Sevens is that it’s rare that a tournament is irrelevant. Every leg of the traveling tournament allows a team to lift a cup, while there is also a greater points log, which is tallied at the end of the season for an overall winner. Cricket and all its bilateral tours often have zero or no interest to the spectator, especially if it’s a lengthy tour where one team dominates. 

3. Cash Boost for All Teams

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The global approach of Sevens means global-broadcasting deals. Global-broadcasting deals mean more money pooled, and that means more money to grow the sport in different countries.

Even countries such as Fiji that run the sport on a shoestring budget (and incidentally are this season’s champions) benefit from these deals. The traveling approach of the tournament also means an economic boost for host cities. Sevens inclusivity means that everyone benefits and has some access to funds to grow the game.

4. Turning the Series into an Event

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Many people go to a Sevens tournament for the spectacle of it. Cricket purists might turn their noses up at the thought of turning Tests into a spectacle, but marketing is one of the driving forces behind what makes Sevens so successful.

Tickets are affordable with a two-day, all inclusive pass for men's and women’s events in London costing just £30, and people go because it’s a distraction and it's fun.  Cheaper Test tickets and making an event out of T20 matches could have the same appeal as Sevens.  This won’t work for all of cricket’s formats, but T20 is ideal to attempt this sort of thing.  

Imagine a week-long T20 tournament, involving teams from all across the world, with a number of games played every day at an affordable price? Add to that the fact that it all counts towards a league and you have the audience’s attention.

5. Specialised Players

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While it’s becoming more common for players to cross over from Sevens to 15-man rugby and vice versa, Sevens creates its own stars and its own brands through their skills. It’s something that is starting to happen in T20 cricket, but cricket is a long way off on allowing players who aren’t suited to the longer format to hone their T20 skills at the international level.

There is enormous potential for specialised T20 squads, with a blend of “big name” players crossing over, but cricket still hasn’t quite figured out how to take advantage of players who are good at T20.