With 48 matches played on firm grounds inside largely sun-lit stadia, collectively filled to within 98% of their capacity, conditions at Rugby World Cup 2015 were perfectly suited to the type of ball-handling skills and aerobic ability traditionally associated with rugby sevens – a game many of those involved have played to a high level.
World Rugby can reveal that just over a fifth of all the players named in their respective country’s original 31-man Rugby World Cup squads (135 of 620) came into the tournament boasting top level international rugby sevens experience including RWC 2015 top try scorer Julian Savea and Aussie points-machine Bernard Foley.
Taking the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series and Rugby World Cup Sevens into consideration, Canada had the highest representation of the lot with 16. Their play at pace philosophy – typified by livewire substitute and sevens legend Phil Mack – was plain for all to see in their Pool D clash at Elland Road against the older, bigger Italians, whose only sevens graduate of note, Andrea Masi, was sadly missing.

 

The Americas as a whole was well represented at RWC 2015 from a sevens perspective with Argentina (13), border rivals USA (12) and Uruguay (11) not far behind Canada. Los Pumas’ exciting back three of Joaquin Tuculet, Juan Imhoff and Santiago Cordero (pictured right), sevens series graduates one and all, made an indelible mark on RWC 2015, as did strong-running centre Matias Moroni, who, like Tuculet and Imhoff, scored a try in Argentina’s unforgettable quarter-final triumph against Ireland. Cordero sparkled on the sevens series as recently as February 2015.
WITHOUT A CARE IN THE WORLD
Clearly sevens plays an important part in the pathway to these countries’ national 15s set up, as it does in New Zealand and Australia, for example, but for countries like England the two appear almost mutually exclusive. It is seven years since a member of England’s RWC squad last donned a white jersey in sevens. James Haskell, hookers Rob Webber and Tom Youngs, who played flanker and centre at the time, Danny Care and Ben Youngs form the quintet of players who played international sevens between 2005-08.

 

You can also count the number of sevens players from the ranks of South Africa and France on the fingers of one hand, and in the cases of Bryan Habana, Jean de Villiers and Thierry Dusatoir it is over a decade since they last appeared on the series. However, Habana is set to return to the stage he last graced in 2003/04 having been named as one of several 15s players in the Blitzbokke's squad for the forthcoming series.
The RWC 2015 final, and the pace it was played at, was an advertisement for how well New Zealand and Australia have both used sevens to squeeze every ounce of talent and self-discipline out of their players while young. Fifteen former sevens players took to the field when the world’s top two ranked sides met in the thrilling denouement to the tournament. Savea was one and it will be fascinating to see if he chooses a different route to late try scorer Beauden Barrett, who has pledged his future to 15s, by throwing his hat into the ring for next year’s Olympics.
The thought of the World Rugby Try of the Year winner rekindling memories of his appearance on the series in 2008/09 in time to join the Rio 2016 party is a salivating one for rugby fans the world over. His pace and power makes him the perfect fit, and potential box-office hit, for the rugby sevens event.
IZZY IN OR OUT?
The Australian team that New Zealand defeated 34-17 also had sevens rugby running through its DNA. Of the Wallabies’ starting back line at Twickenham five had past experience in international sevens. Israel Folau, touted by many as an Olympic star in the making should Australia qualify, was not one of them.
As another former league player, Sonny Bill Williams is in the same boat. For a sportsman who seems able to make good whatever he turns his hand to, sevens is something that has so far alluded his Midas touch … but not for much longer. Sonny Bill, like All Blacks team-mate and former sevens captain Liam Messam, has put his hand up for selection after being named in Gordon Tietjens’ wider 16-man squad for the 2015/16 season.
And for Waisake Nadolo, the only All Black to possesses a World Cup winner’s medal in both formats of the game - having been part of the triumphant New Zealand Sevens side in 2013 - the thought of a third gong might prove too hard to resist. Watch this space!
Crunching the numbers from 7s to 15s – players at RWC 2015* who have played sevens at the highest level
16 Canada
13 Argentina
12 USA
11 Scotland, Uruguay
10 Georgia, Samoa
9 Australia
8 Fiji, New Zealand
6 Wales, Tonga
5 England, Japan
2 South Africa
1 France, Italy, Namibia
0 Ireland, Romania
*Figures taken from the original 31-man squads announced by the teams on the eve of RWC 2015.