Rugby sevens is a scaled down, faster version of the original game

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Tonight, Brittany Gogo continues her series exploring some of the lesser known events that are being played at the Pan Am Games. While most of us are familiar with rugby, today Brittany is tackling a scaled down version of the sport: rugby sevens.

It’s a sport that’s fairly new to the country. This is the first year that the women’s rugby sevens team is participating in the Pan Am Games.

Its fierce, fast and physical. Each team has only 7 players, instead of 15. And the halves are only 7 minutes. “You are basically running, or sprinting for 7 minutes straight with a two minute break in the middle. It’s pretty exhausting no matter your fitness level” says team member Ghislaine Landry.

Fewer players and less time on the clock means a faster game. As players try to score points by driving the ball forward and passing it backwards. To stop a player, you have to tackle them.

The women’s rugby 7’s is making it’s debut at the Pan Am Games, and next year will finally by part of the Olympic program. They women’s and mens rugby sevens teams will compete this weekend at BMO Field in Toronto. The first time the men’s team competed in the Pan Am Games they won gold, so the women say they feel a bit of pressure to do the same.