7s

7s rugby is an important part of the rugby portfolio in Iowa. With the boy’s high school 7s league and collegiate 7s running in spring, senior side 7s through the summer, and the girl’s high school 7s league in the autumn, we need to be well versed in 7s refereeing. It has different demands on us and the expectations are different from players, coaches, and even fans (particularly with the up-tick in rugby IQ from high school parents).

15s to 7s

Have a look at a presentation on going from 15s to 7s. It’s with MLR and HSBC 7s referee Paulo Durante, among others.

Game Management Guidelines - 7s

Start with chapter 10, which devoted to 7s refereeing, in the current Game Management Guidelines. It provides solid law application that should be followed within the USA.

Pay particular attention to the sections on THROWING THE BALL AWAY and INTENTIONAL KNOCK ON as those are more 7s specific applications.

Importance of time

The Wellington Rugby Referee Association sums the idea up nicely.

7’s all about speed, entertainment, throwing the ball around, tries, very quick ball and is a game where seconds are important. The concept is to speed up the game and to indicate that the referee is there to get things done.

Refereers will ensure any delays in play are not caused by the referee.

There are little things you can do in 7s to help this.

1. If you are not the mark, point to it versus running (or worse…walking!) to it. Your sequence is Whistle, Primary Signal, Point to the Mark, Start to Move.
2. Give about a 1 meter semi-circle around the mark for a quick tap. Do not allow quick taps to be taken in front of the mark as this is unfair to the defense who is retreating.
3. Learn to write scores on the run. Do not hold up a team trying to kick-off quick because you were planted writing down a score. A good guidepost is to run back with the conversion kicker so you don’t hold up the kick-off.
4. Need a good reason to go between the touch line and the 15 m line. Don’t make things harder on yourself by setting up on the short side. If you feel in the way, take a look at standing flatter and either turning or pivoting to open yourself up ball-in-line.

LQB

The breakdown is paramount in 7s. With the increase in space from the decrease of bodies, possession is key and any contest needs to be clean. The breakdown in 7s should produce Lightning Quick Ball (LQB). If the ball is not immediately available to be played, you need to decide why that’s the case and act accordingly.

If you see an infraction at the breakdown, do not play advantage for it. If it was clear and obvious enough to be called, and impacted ball availability/delivery, then the PK is the advantage in 7s.

Advantage

The GMG has a good, concise section on application of advantage. But taking it further, seconds are precious in this code. Do not waste the player’s time with a speculative advantage that will cause you to run back across the field and set a mark for a PK no one can clearly recall. If it’s not worth blowing at that moment, swallow it and reflect later on why it wasn’t.

7s pictures

In 2020, World Rugby put together some clips to illustrate how they want HSBC 7s Series referees to call the game. This video is a fantastic resource and worth revisiting. Some of the content has changed with regards to foul play, but overall it’s still worth the watch.