A rugby union version of the Hundred aimed at attracting younger fans to the sport will be launched in September. The world’s leading sevens players, possibly bolstered by some exciting up-and-coming 15s talent, have been contracted to play in the Ultimate Sevens Championship that will involve events in Spain, Wales and France followed by a grand final at Brentford’s Gtech Community Stadium in west London on 24 September.
The new tournament will feature six men’s and women’s teams with an initial player salary budget of £2m. The top 75 players on the world sevens circuit have already been recruited to represent one of six squads representing six different global regions with the aim of attracting future individual franchise investment.
“We’ve secured incredible host city locations, committed the sport’s top athletes and signed partners who genuinely understand what we’re building,” said Barney Pascall, the managing director of Ultimate Sevens.
The fast-paced concept, which has received the blessing of World Rugby and all the major unions, has been designed to show sevens in a new light via an abbreviated one-day format incorporating some interesting innovations. All games will be knockout and last just 10 minutes, with each side permitted to call one timeout per game instead of the traditional half-time break.
There will also be the opportunity to earn extra points by kicking conversions from wider out rather than in front of the posts to add further jeopardy, with the former GB Olympic men’s sevens captain Tom Mitchell among those involved. He believes the tweaked format will make the action even more attractive and marketable. “It’s a format which we think fits with the demand that exists today,” he said. “That’s what’ll make this sing. Underpinning it is that these will be the best sevens players in the world. Our ability to get those players in is key.”
The six new team identities are based on England, the Celtic nations, France, Oceania, North America and South America/Spain, with Australia’s Henry Hutchison and England’s Abbie Brown among those already committed. There will also be a player draft in July with Reebok in place as official kit partner.
“We don’t want to be a one-hit wonder, we’re here to stay,” said Pascall. “Ultimate Sevens is about elevating rugby sevens as a sport to give its world-class players a global stage to perform on, as well as providing fans with an experience that is fast, bold and culturally relevant.”
While the official HSBC world sevens circuit has been slimmed down in recent years the shortened form of the game remains a popular Olympic sport, with Antoine Dupont having steered France to gold medal glory in Paris in 2023.
For now the top 15s stars will not be targeted but Pascall believes big-money investors and box-office names will increasingly be tempted. “We’ve built this to allow for that to happen. It’s for sevens players but if some of the 15s guys turn around and say: ‘I like the look of that’ that’s great. It’s good to be able to give people a choice.”