Why Cardiff is the perfect place to kick off Ultimate Sevens

Even within the long list of internationally renowned rugby cauldrons, the Cardiff Arms Park precinct in Wales’ capital holds a unique place.

As it prepares to re-enter the world of sevens rugby for the first time in over a decade with the launch of the Ultimate Sevens, the new competition is set to tread on hallowed ground, and it could not have picked a more appropriate place to acknowledge rugby’s past.

Sport in many forms has been played in the precinct along the River Taff for nearly 200 years, the original field starting out as a site for cricket matches in the 1850s.

By the 1880s, rugby had arrived, the area converted into a cricket ground to the north (the site of today’s ground where the Ultimate Sevens will be played) and a rugby union ground to the south, the current home of Millennium Stadium.

The southern stadium became the home of the newly formed Cardiff Rugby Football Club, with 1884 marking the first international rugby game played there between Wales and Ireland, the home side emerging the victors in front of 5,000 fans.

The precinct rapidly became a hub for Welsh sport, with greyhound tracks being introduced in the 1920s, as well as established tennis courts, bowling clubs, football, athletics, rugby league, boxing and even baseball being hosted.

However, upon the redevelopment of the precinct in the 1960s, rugby and rectangular field sports began to take precedence, with the northern ground converted into the famous field that United Rugby Championship side Cardiff still play at to this day.

The southern ground would become the premier home of sporting events in Wales, with ownership transferred to the Welsh Rugby Union in 1968, leading to the construction of the mammoth National Stadium in 1970.

This stadium would go on to host the national rugby union side, the national football side, two Heineken Cup Finals and several matches from the 1991 Rugby World Cup.

The venue also hosted some of the biggest names in music, with Michael Jackson, U2, David Bowie, The Rolling Stones, Bon Jovi, Dire Straits and Tina Turner, among others, playing multiple times at the venue.

In rugby circles, however, the National Stadium is perhaps best known for the famous 1973 clash between the Barbarians and the All Blacks, the 23-11 victory marking the first time ever the invitational side beat New Zealand, the match containing what has been regarded as “the greatest try ever scored” – by Welsh scrumhalf, Gareth Edwards.

While the National Stadium would go on to be replaced by the Millennium Stadium at the turn of the century, the northern ground, which has adopted the official name of the precinct, has remained the home of Cardiff rugby and has had no less a distinguished history.

The site for Wales’ hosting of the Commonwealth Games in 1958, the 2008 Junior World Rugby Championship semi final and the 1996 and 1997 European Challenge Cup finals, the site has seen huge success for the original Cardiff Rugby Football Club, affectionately nicknamed the Rags.

The side now serves as Cardiff’s second-tier rugby team, and has won titles in seven different leagues, both within the XVs format and the sevens format, having claimed titles in the Gala Sevens, the Snelling Sevens, and as recently as 2006, the Selkirk Sevens, which is still played as part of Scotland’s King of the Sevens circuit.

The Cardiff Blues meanwhile have also enjoyed success there, finishing as runners up twice in the URC and becoming the first Welsh side to win a European Challenge Cup title in 2010, repeating that in 2018.

Heading into this weekend’s event, Cardiff Arms Park has a distinguished history in sevens rugby, having been the home of the Wales Sevens when it featured on the HSBC SVNS Series circuit from 2001 to 2003, with South Africa and New Zealand claiming titles across the three years.

The Ultimate Sevens this weekend will mark the first time in 11 years sevens rugby has returned to the Welsh capital, having also hosted the domestic Premiership Rugby 7s competition featuring sides from Wales’ and England’s provincial outfits in 2015.

When the biggest names of sevens rugby take the field, they will play where many thousands of rugby players have played before them, at a venue world-renowned for its many historical moments.

It’s a history, notably, that the organisers are well aware of, with a focus on rugby heartlands and building fan support at the heart of it’s long term strategy.

“The venues have been chosen carefully for their connection to the local communities and their ambition to deliver a first-class experience for fans,” Ultimate Sevens Managing Director Barney Pascall confirmed.

With Ultimate Sevens serving as an exciting look into the potential future of the shorter format, where better to kick-off such an inaugural chapter of a new competition than one of the great stadiums of world rugby.