World Series relegation scheme could touch 7s Eagles

The Sevens World Series plans to implement a promotion-relegation system after the end of next season, having first added three more teams as regular competitors.

The intent is to solidify the principle that season-long performance is the basis of so-called core membership, the International Rugby Board said last week.

While details of relegation have not been announced, the impetus is clear enough. With 7s to debut in the 2016 Olympics and only 11 countries (plus host Brazil) expected to qualify, countries that aren't able to compete in all of the circuit's 9 stages are clamoring for coveted automatic berths, in order to improve their chances of reaching Rio de Janeiro.

The changed policy directly impacts the United States, presently one of the dozen core members, because it stands in jeopardy of being dropped.

Up to now, the IRB has designated the top 12 teams for core status. While the US has cleared the bar each of the past three seasons, it has also enjoyed a safety net in that the USA 7s holds a tournament license that guarantees the 7s Eagles automatic berths regardless of performance. The license is valid through 2015, but after the 2012-13 season the provision no longer holds.

Following the past weekend's USA 7s tournament, the fifth of the 2011-12 series, the Eagles lie in 13th position, the lowest of any core member and 3 places behind Canada, which is not a series regular. Under Al Caravelli, the US finished 12th in 2010-11, 10th in 2009-10, and 11th in 2008-09.

The three teams to gain core status for the 2012-13 season will be determined at the next month's Hong Kong 7s. Ironically, enlarging core membership to 15 teams means there will be only 1 invitational place available at most tournaments.

Underlining the desirability of tournament berths, seven national teams played at the Las Vegas Invitational, held alongside the USA 7s, including past World Series participants Chile, Spain, and Romania.

Comments

[Clay]

Does anyone know how the Olympics will structure their tournament with 12 teams?

[Just guessing]

It appears that most sports (volleyball, basketball, handball, water polo, field hockey) that have twelve teams have two pools of 6 with a single round-robin. How many teams advance and whether they play off every spot varies.

Ice hockey is, I think, the only 12 team sport that follows a different format.

I would imagine that rugby will follow the same format, and with the short game there is no reason not to play out every spot. With the relative parity in sevens, I think they'd have to let 8 teams advance to medal contention.

[college]

Personally, I think it would be cool if, after pool play, teams played each other in 2 out of 3 series, with each series taking place on a single day. Crazy and never going to happen. But I think that would be an interesting way to run some league some where. So instead of a tournament setting, teams would travel to their opponent and play them in a 3 game series. Or maybe just a 2 game series with accumulated points. Too much recovery time needed though and nothing for potential fans to do in the interim.

[Sergeant Hulka]

College: That set could be similar to tennis or volleyball. That would be fun if some teams took up that format. Maybe that's a good way for high school sevens to go?
Speaking to the article, The Eagles should be very worried about losing their core status after relegation begins. Right now they are the worst team of the core and seem to be regressing. Canada is making all the right moves. Can anyone see a Sevens World Series stop in Vancover or Toronto?

[sevens]

Buenos Aires and Vancover would make sense for the Series. The 2013 Rugby Sevens World Cup is to be held in Moscow.

[Canuck]

The way things look now, Argentina and Canada will have the 2016 Olympic spots. The IRB would be wise to have the Americas stop of the series in Canada for 2014 and Argentina for 2015.

[Curious]

I thought USA Rugby was going to announce the new coach yesterday?

[Brain Freeze]

After 60,000 plus in Las Vegas there is zero chance the IRB will take a tournament spot from the USA. Canada & Argentina may perform better on the field but the USA 7's is a big winner. The USA could lose every game for the rest of the season and it wouldn't matter. Las Vegas is becoming one of the big destination stops on the series.

Going back to one of the earlier posts... I think running best 2 out of 3 series would be a great alternative to the tournament format. It could work very well for HS 7's. I don't think the tournament format is sustainable at the HS level.

[sevens]

For HS, a four team pool format might work. Four teams play six games over 2 hours. Format is used for Premiership Sevens.

[Leviathan]

Agree with Brain Freeze, Vegas has very quickly become a big draw as a location, and this should not be a shock to anyone.

[JS]

Vegas is here to stay - it might be the only tournament that the USA Sevens team play in each year, but Vegas and USA Sevens have everything the IRB wanted.

[MattD]

Sevens - We ran a high school sevens series in Columbus OH last summer. We had 6 core teams and 2 random teams that joined us every week from different places. They traveled to 4 sites across Columbus. We split them into two groups of 4 like you thought, played 3 round-robin games and then broke into playoff format after that. So every team played at least 4 to 5 games per day. And they accumulating points throughout leading up to the championship tournament at Ohio State. If I remember correctly we did this on Thursday nights, which was wildly successful, so much so that we are predicting this tournament to double in the number of teams.

[Anon]

Two quick points:

1.) Hong Kong Sevens seems to exist just fine without Hong Kong being a core team. While I don't see the USA losing its hosting status, that doesn't mean it can't lose it's core status.

2.) For sevens growth, 3 teams traveling to 1 site (with a 4th as host) may work for densely populated areas, but less-dense areas may want to consider a 6-game evening with boys'/men's & girls'/women's teams alternating as part of 3-game sets per gender. Then, you only have 2 teams traveling (as opposed to 3), you'd get every other game at home (as opposed to every 4th game), and travel logistics can probably be worked out fairly easily among two connected clubs (boys/girls of the same school). Of course, this assumes that we can get enough girls to play... which for sevens, there's really no excuse not to find enough if it's timed away from volleyball and basketball.

[Sergeant Hulka]

I would think Canada could gain a new stop on the World Series, not replace the USA Sevens spot. With the Olympics coming, either Buenos Aires or Rio would be logical if the IRB were to add additional tournaments. The IRB won't want to lose the US market. Does any other Sevens World Series event have an amateur tournament like the LVI?

MattD: Nice job!

[MattD]

Just to give credit where its due, Ron Bowers (OSU Sevens HC), Chris Hopps and Mike Coughlin were the brains behind it.

I was just in charge of their PR and marketing. But every week we had it, we had local TV cameras and papers there reporting on it, so I guess I did something on it. In the summer there is really no other high school sports for them to cover, so they ate it up.

This year we have a local mag who said they'd like to write a weekly column on it if we get it to that 16 team format I was talking about. Its really starting to take off. Hell, the Columbus City Schools have have even approached Bow about starting a middle school league as well.

So the interest for Sevens around here is HUGE! Only problem we will run into is lack of coaches.

[rugbyfan1]

james patterson and nic johnson relocate to glendale . . . .

one has to ask, can the barbo's survive glendales emergence as the dominat club in colorado.

[sevens]

MattD: PR is huge especially TV coverage. Nice work. Hopefully RSL and the college conferences can do the same wo increae exposure for the game. On the coaching front, USAR and Serevi are working together to develop sevens coaches. Might be worth reaching out to them. Also PlayRugby has done lots of coaching development.

[Mons Venus]

@MattD

What are you doing for the women's game? Nothing! Shameful.

[MattD]

We had 3 womens teams last year. We're thinking that will expand this year as well. But again, we need more coaches.

[Outsider]

Tolkin just announced as the USMNT coach. The xenophobes on this site must be in Heaven right now.

[Tony Stark]

Tolkein as coach, good an American, but how much is he being paid? We need to know this so that the whining on here can be directed effectively.

Will he bring Bruce along with him? If so USA Rugby will need to install a spitoon.

[Right Wing Rugby]

Hope Tolkin doesn't bring his hard core right wing ideology to the Eagles program. This guy makes Santorum look moderate.

[Clay]

I don’t care what political association he has. He could be a damn communist for all I care. Just win! Good luck to you Mike!

[Canuck]

No details from USA Rugby.

Contact terms
Staff allotment / limitations
Location to be based

Just a release saying we hired a guy after months of doing nothing knowing EOS was gone after RWC.

What a bunch of amateurs.

[Tony Stark]

Excellent, good to see that the spite is flowing freely.

[Outsider]

US hires coach immediately after EOS dismissal... "How dare they not do their due diligence! What a bunch of amateurs."

[Concerned Rugby Fan]

MattD

Looking forward to Ohio sending representatives to the Midwest Youth Sevens Championships in St. Charles Illinois again this year on Saturday July 14, 2012

[Concerned Rugby Fan]

Also we a will have a Girls Championship at the Midwest Youth Rugby Sevens Championship. Also a Middle School Championship if we get entries. Remember the date July 14, 2012