60
DECEMBER 2012
•
HEMISPHERESMAGAZINE.COM
them huge, playing on a pitch
roughly the size of a football field. Because
30
massive bodies take up a lot of space,
you tend to seemore grappling andpostur-
ing than open play. Put half the number
of players on the same field, however,
and suddenly you have space—tons of
it. This fact, combined with an almost
complete lack of stoppages, lends Sevens
the freneticism that has proved such a hit
with fans. Beth Coalter, Sevens manager
for the International Rugby Board, rightly
describes the game as “fast, exciting and
totally entertaining.”
American sports fans tend to be taken
aback by the pace and unpredictability of
Sevens. In many ways, it resembles a non-
stopNFLkickoff return, inwhichanything
canhappenandusuallydoes,withfumbles,
bone-crunching tackles, interceptions and
high-speedbreakaways. Teamsmovedown
the field in a line, passing backward and
looking for defensive holes, but players
canalsokick theball forward to teammates
sprinting for the goal line. Another appeal-
ing factor is the game’s simplicity: Unlike
with football, the rules do not require a
lifetime of study. “You can start watching
yesterday,” saysNigelMelville, CEOof USA
Rugby, “and understand it today.”
Conceived in Scotland in the late 1800s,
Rugby Sevens didn’t enjoy widespread
popularity until more than a century
later, following its inaugural World Cup
in Edinburgh in 1993. In a remarkable
triumph for the sport’s boosters, Sevens
has been put on the roster for the 2016
SummerOlympics inRio, marking thefirst
culture
||
THE FAN
At the highest level Rugby
Sevens is played between national
teams, culminating in the World
Cup every four years; this year it’s
in Moscow, June 28–30.
(
rwcsevens.com)
The easiest tournaments
to attend are those in
the annual HSBC Sevens
World Series: Las Vegas;
Hong Kong; Tokyo;
Wellington, New Zealand;
Gold Coast, Australia; Dubai;
Port Elizabeth, South Africa;
London; and Glasgow.
A 10th meet will
be added in
Argentina for the
2013–14
season.
(
irbsevens.com)
Hong Kong’s tournament is far and
away the most festive—it’s the city’s
version of the Super Bowl—followed
by Las Vegas and Wellington for sheer
celebratory glee.
A women’s World Series
launched in 2012, with
tournaments in Houston;
Dubai; Guangzhou,
China; and Amsterdam.
(
wsws.irb.com)
The USA Sevens
Collegiate Rugby
Championship will be
held this year June 1–2
in Philadelphia, with
20
teams competing;
NBC will broadcast.
(
usasevenscrc.com)
AGROWINGFIELD
PAUL RUDMAN
Eagles speedster Carlin Isles
phdexec.okstate.edu
Application deadline for 2014 is September 1.
Impacting organizations through evidence-based management.
Inquiries
405.744.9000
|
Dessie B. Nash
,
Vice President,
Market Investment Director,
U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private
Wealth Management, DeSoto, Texas
W A T S O N G R A D U A T E S C H O O L O F M A N A G E M E N T
“
The open discussions
and idea exchanges in
the program have allowed
me to implement several
immediate changes in
my organization.”
