Association football, tackle football, lacrosse … sports designed for outdoor play on large fields can be and have been adapted to smaller, indoor venues.
The Major Arena Soccer League, the soon-to-be revived Arena Football League, and the National Lacrosse League maintain the spirit of their original sports while adding unique elements to make things faster and – arguably – more fun for fans.
And this made me wonder if it had ever been done for one of my new favorite sports, rugby.
Turns out it has.
And I think it’s terrific.
It’s called Rugby X, and it’s the invention of Ben Ryan, the director of elite performance for Brentford FC who gained famed as a rugby sevens coach. (Rugby sevens features seven players playing seven-minute halves, instead of 15 players playing 40-minute halves, which is the set-up in rugby union. If you’re lost at this point, go to the Google Machine, learn about traditional rugby, and then come back here later).
Rugby X entered an experimental stage in 2017 when the England Sevens team took part in a closed-door Rugby X trial, and two years later the following rules were approved:
* The pitch is half the size of that used in rugby sevens, with 55 by 32 dimensions in meters (60 by 35 in yards) plus five-meter run-offs.
* There are five players per side plus seven rolling substitutes that are allowed to come in at breaks in play following tries.
* Scoring consists of five points per try with no conversions, drop goals or penalties.
* Kickoffs are replaced by tap starts on the five-meter line, with the opposing team standing 10 meters back.
* Chip kicks allowed but not box kicks, up and unders (kicks designed for height and not distance) or any kick over 10 meters in height.
* Line outs are replaced by quick throws made by a substitute.
* There are only three persons per scrums with no pushing and hooking is allowed.
*Drawn matches are settled by a “one on one” competition involving one defender on the five-meter line and one attacker 30 meters from the goal. The attacker has 10 seconds to score. It’s conducted like a sudden death penalty shootout.
* Game length is 10 minutes with no break.
“It’s a really interesting attempt to make the game more accessible,” former England captain Lawrence Dallaglio told the Evening Standard in a September 29, 2019, story. “I know that rugby can be complicated and this should be easily digestible with hopefully try after try after try.
“There’s no doubt that 15 a side is not for everyone. This is easy to understand … it’s just full-on and there’s not the complexities of law after law. It’s just fast and furious. You still have full contact but it’s an accelerated version of the game, a sort of rock ‘n roll rugby.”
In October, 2019, the inaugural event took place at London’s O2 Arena, with Argentina winning the men’s title and England taking top honors among women’s teams.
“We have no intention of this game ever trying to compete with sevens or 15s, it’s a really good entry-level to the sport,” Ryan told Sports Gazette in November, 2019. “I don’t see it ever competing with the World Sevens circuit, but I think as a one-off, two-and-a-half-hour indoor venue at international level I think it works, the signs are pretty good. I have been really pleased with the sessions and the player’s feedback has been excellent.”
I have no complaints with traditional rugby; I’ve become a huge fan of Major League Rugby, Premier Rugby Sevens, and enjoy the sport in all its forms. Today, the third round of the Rugby Championship is taking place in Melbourne and Johannesburg. But Rugby X, I think, could become really popular if given the chance.
But will it be given a chance?
The Rugby X website hasn’t been updated since 2020, its last tweet (a retweet, actually) came on July 3, 2020, and my request for more info via the Rugby X press contact has gone unanswered.
But I remain hopeful we haven’t heard the last of it.
Who knows? Maybe MLR can set up an offseason Rugby X tournament, similar to what the Premier Lacrosse League did with its recent championship series.
Until then, go to rugbyx.com and check out highlights from the 2019 event.
It’s worth a look … and something I hope to see again soon.