This was published 7 years ago
Sydney Sevens 2017: What makes a perfect rugby sevens player?
By Cameron Mee
While the popularity of sevens rugby may be booming on the back of its fast paced, exciting nature, the sport is certainly no walk in the park for the athletes who take to the field.
Sevens players must be multi-talented, all-round athletes who possess a wide range of skills. They must have the speed of Wallaby wingers and the fitness of AFL players. Their ball skills must be as good as even the most skilful five-eighths and their effectiveness at the breakdown must be as good as the best flankers in the world.
Fittest man in sevens: Ed Jenkins leads the way.Credit: Getty Images
According to former Australian coach Michael O'Connor, the best sevens teams possess seven players who are proficient at the major aspects of rugby, including tackling, attacking and decision-making.
The perfect sevens player is "just an all round footballer, which means, some players generally excel in certain aspects of the game, whether it be passing, attack, decision-making, defence, physicality, conditioning, so you've really got to have a combination of all those things," he said.
"If you come up short in one area, it's very hard to compensate as a team. You've only got seven players on the field, if you send out a team with six defenders, with one bloke who's not defending, it makes it very difficult. So you've got to have strength in all those areas across the paddock."
The perfect sevens player
Speed
With just seven players on the field, there is plenty of open space for players to beat defenders in one-on-one situations. Speed is incredibly important as it enables players to break games open with the ball in hand. According to O'Connor, speed is something that you can't train and some players, including Australia's Ellia Green are naturally blessed to possess it.
"Speed is an important attribute. It's something that's difficult to train for. At that level you've either got speed or you haven't, you can only make marginal differences," he said.
Best exponent: Carlin Isles (USA)
Ball skills
The exciting nature of sevens means that the ball is thrown around frequently and players need to be able to make long passes in both directions.
"[It's] just critical, you've got to be able to catch a pass on your left and right and you've got to be able to pass the ball like a halfback. So you need to have the ability to be able to pass long and short under pressure and fatigue." O'Connor said.
Best exponent Tom Mitchell (England)
Physicality
No longer is Sevens simply a game of glorified touch football, it is now as physical as the 15-player game and players must now be as strong as those playing the full version of the game.
"[Physicality] is very important and I think sevens has become far more physical than it used to be. It's followed 15s from that respect and some sides play a very physical game. A good side are South Africa, they're very aggressive, they're very good in contact, they're strong, physically strong, and they're very aggressive at the breakdown."
Best exponent Jasa Veremalua (Fiji)
Jasa Veremalua of Fiji is tops in the fitness stakes.Credit: Getty Images
Fitness
Rugby sevens players can run up to 10 kilometres across a weekend, with a large portion of it at high intensity. With so much open space, sevens players must cover huge portions of space to make tackles, get to breakdowns and run support lines.
"In sevens you can't be stationary, you can't walk anywhere. Ideally you cannot be walking anywhere, you've got to be off the ground, you've got to be running into your position, whether it be to tackle in defence or to try and beat the opposition, so fitness is just huge." O'Connor said.
Best exponent Ed Jenkins (Aus)
Decision-making
With only seven players on the field, the magnitude of every decision made by a player is greater. According to O'Connor, decision-making is the most important skill for a sevens player to possess.
"That's the one thing that sets teams apart. It's collective decision-making really, being able to understand the players around you and their strengths and weaknesses, building combinations and knowing what decision they're going to make."
Best exponent Branco du Preez (SA)
Speed demon: Ellia Green is a natural.Credit: Getty Imagesq
Defence
With the likely result of a missed tackle being a line break and possibly a try, the ability to make one on one tackles in sevens is key.
"It's important, it's game over if you miss your one on one tackles." O'Connor said. "You've got to be able to tackle in sevens and you've got to be able to use your shoulder and tackle low."
Best exponent Seabelo Senatla (SA)
Body shape
Sevens players have grown bigger and stronger in recent years, with many players now as big as those playing in the 15-man version. However, they remain very lean to ensure that they can get around the field.
"Teams are getting bigger. I'm not saying you can't be small, but when you play the big sides like Fiji and New Zealand, invariably if you don't have a big physical side, they'll manhandle you, they'll pick you up and rag doll you in tackles and out-muscle you, so size is important. But you've got to have that ability to get around the ground as well."
Best Exponent Pio Tuwai (Fiji)