7s, 10s, XVs – Get Ready for Rugby 12s: New Global Competition Announced
There’s a new kid on the block, at least on paper. The World 12’s announced themselves this week and they have some heavy backers, such as All Blacks coach Steve Hanson who is a World 12s Ambassador. Here are some news links to get up to speed.
BBC Rugby
Rugby Pass
The Guardian
You can also visit the official website: www.world12s.com
It’s planned as a 3 week tournament with 7 match days, 4 matches per day. Each match is 30 minutes, so it’s a 2 hour spectacle basically, repeated 7 times over a 3 week period.
Compared to XVs, they drop 2 forwards and a back so the scrum is diminished and it appears to be a beefed up variation of 10s.
They plan on having a draft, or auction as they call it, for the top players in the world. Each team is to include, at least, two Tier 2 Nation players so there may be some Canadian content. There will be 24 players per team in the extended roster, 8 teams for the initial season. They anticipate the 2022 tournament will be hosted in England, with plans to add a women’s tournament in 2023. They anticipate an August/September time frame.
Will it work, it remains to be seen.