Sevens variations
World Rugby · 2026Shorter matches, smaller teams and special restart and kicking rules.
Players, time and scoring
Sevens has at most 7 players per team on the field and up to 5 nominated and used replacements. A match lasts 14 minutes in halves of up to 7 minutes, plus time lost; a competition final may last up to 20 minutes in halves of up to 10. Half-time is at most 2 minutes. If extra-time is needed, a 1-minute break precedes periods of up to 5 minutes; teams change ends without a break and the first score wins. Conversions and penalty goals must be drop-kicks within 30 seconds. A yellow-card suspension lasts 2 minutes.
Restarts and set pieces
The scoring team restarts with a drop-kick within 30 seconds after the conversion is taken or declined, or a penalty goal or dropped goal is scored. Players must be behind the ball; short, directly-to-touch or specified dead-in-goal kick-offs produce free-kicks. Lineouts and scrums must form within 15 seconds of their specified mark. Scrums have 3 players per side, all bound until the scrum ends; the scrum-half plays the ball to end it. An attacker held up in-goal leads to an attacking 5-metre scrum. Apart from kick-offs and restart kicks, an attacking ball made dead by a defender produces a 22-metre drop-out.
Sources & approach ↗