Why the Biarritz Ultimate Sevens will be a ‘fascinating’ must-watch event

This weekend is set to be a busy one in the world of global rugby, with the WXV Global Series taking centre stage in Europe, and domestic men’s competitions wrapping up or continuing in the southern hemisphere ahead of larger test matches.

However, one place that should get a lot of attention before the action kicks off on the weekend is Friday evening in Biarritz, when the second round of the Ultimate Sevens gets underway.

Conditions are set to be perfect for evening rugby, with action set to be played out across three rounds and four hours of knockout sevens rugby – but Biarritz is set to be a fascinating weekend of rugby for more than just the novelty of a new competition.

One of the biggest talking points heading into the opening round in Cardiff was the many rule changes to the style of sevens, with nearly everything, from competition layout to specific rules and the points system tinkered with.

Instead of the pool stages of SVNS, the action takes the form of a three game, first round knockout, with the three winning sides and ‘best loser’ side advancing to the semi finals.

The competition is played out across two regular weekends of action, with a new winner-takes-all format for the grand final next week in London.

The matches are ten minutes long with no halftime break, the only opportunities for breaks coming in the form of a one 90-second timeout available per team.

Sides have options for unlimited substitutions, and if sides are tied at fulltime, go into a sudden-death-style golden-try score time, with the first team to score declared the winner.

Lastly, even the points system is different, an automatic seven points awarded for tries under the sticks, while conversions see an increase in points based on how difficult the kick they choose to take is.

Conversions range from one point from the centre of the pitch in front of the goalposts to four points from the touchline, further adding to the multiple ways teams can find a way to win.

The changes led to fascinating results in Cardiff; the focus on creating jeopardy by the event organisers reflected in the close nature of the games – with six of the 12 matches played decided by a converted try or less.

The format changes was especially noted by Ultimate Sevens Managing Director Barney Pascall, who gave credit to World Rugby for letting the competition experiment with the rulebook.

Of note though was the feedback from the teams, coaches and management, which was encouraging – especially when considering the sides had to navigate dealing with wet weather later in the day in Cardiff.

“We felt strongly that what we didn’t want to do is for people who love rugby, who come from the religiously rugby ecosystem to go, what on earth is happening in front of me?,” Pascall said to RugbyPass.

“[You don’t want fans to think] you’ve almost gone too far, try and maybe make it simple or you’ve bastardised the game. We thought that was really important.

“When the gameplay is happening, it’s rugby sevens.

“It’s going to be fascinating [this weekend], the tactics moved even over the course of Cardiff.

“I think the kicking and the dynamic kick options are going to come down to who’s got a bit more bottle this weekend, who’s going to prefer to step up. We suffered a little bit from classic Cardiff weather, but maybe that plays its role in what happens in terms of the kicking.

“The big one for me is going to be the timeouts.

“It felt like they were happening later in the game and then they started happening a bit earlier [during the finals]. I wonder if what will happen is coaches will maybe try and put in a natural half-time.

“Or, are they going to go earlier and go, actually, we’ve come out of the blocks terribly, let’s do a reset early on and let’s go after it. It is going to be interesting to see how that unfolds.

“They’re [the coaches] so into it. There is a lot of dedicated thought going into how we optimise it. From a player perspective, really positive feedback. The intensity was key to their feedback.

“Our whole creative proposition was sevens is a breathless sport in every way, both in terms of how you feel viscerally and also how the crowd experiences it.

“I think we’ve created a bit of a beast when it comes to the breathless nature of it because these guys are almost like, are they going to call a timeout? Are they not going to call a timeout?

“They’re putting everything on the line still for every single minute without the prospect or understanding of looking at the clock, knowing when a timeout is going to come, which has created a really interesting dynamic in terms of how players are trying to break the game, break the deadlock, reorganise themselves in a very short period of time.

“So, there’s challenges with all that.”

As Biarritz gets underway with conditions set to be ideal for evening rugby, the question will not only be how these new rules will work in ideal conditions, but critically, what will teams do now they are familiar with the format?

The successful teams of Cardiff are those that leant into the open, free flowing nature of the format, with the likes of Nia Toliver and Selyn Davids, players who thrive in broken, open play, excelling for their respective sides.

How will teams respond to that? Will they look to constrict and resort to pressure, or try to play an even more open style?

Biarritz will see teams take the field that now have time under their belt with this new format, and with that, will likely approach matchday with a framework of how to best use the new format to their advantage.

It sets the stage for a unique evening of rugby that stands out from the usual format – and with the likes of World Rugby giving permission to the competition to experiment in this way, the governing body will likely be watching with an eager eye from the sidelines.

Could the changes in the format prove fruitful for sevens, opening up the door to even see rule changes considered for the SVNS Series and the shorter format at large?

It’s too early to say, but come the end of Friday night’s action in Biarritz, fans may see a glimpse of a potential new look to the shorter format of rugby – one that could have the potential to shape future directions in how it is played.