A short magazine about the London Rugby Sevens 2010

1. Kick & Chase Text & Images: Joseph Hoye
The London Sevens is a celebration of
all that is good about rugby. Fast
running, Hail Mary passes, tackles of
Twin Tower destruction: all these
combine to make a weekend of
thrilling sports action for fans of the
oval ball game.
London is the second-to-last leg
of an eight tournament series, spread
across the globe. By the time the
series came to London in May, only
two teams were in with a chance of
clinching the 2010 title: Samoa and
New Zealand.
Both teams were troubled in
pool play, with Kenya pushing NZ to
a draw and Argentina handing Samoa
a 10-14 loss on the first day. The two
teams met each other on day two in
the cup quarter-final where Samoa
were the eventual winners.
NZ took some consolation in
later stealing last gasp wins against
England and old foes Fiji in the
consolation plate competition while
Samoa were ousted by finalist South
Africa. Australia were the tournament
winners, which meant that both NZ
and Samoa were still competing for
the series title in Edinburgh the
following week.
Copyright Joseph Hoye 2010 1

2. Kick & Chase Text & Images: Joseph Hoye
Rugby Sevens is an extremely
fast and shortened version of the
fifteen player game of Rugby Union.
Like its bigger sibling, it is a full-
contact sport combining pace and
handling skills with crunching
tackles. Unlike the fifteen a-side
game, the wide spaces created by
fewer players on field allows players
more freedom to run, so each game is
only fourteen minutes long. That is
more than enough to test any
player’s fitness.
This is one sport that keeps its
audience in mind. The short span of
each game allows spectators to keep
their attention firmly on the action.
The speed and elusiveness of the
players is always on display, while
the sight of ball-carriers being driven
five metres backwards and
pummelled into the earth is always
accompanied by a contrasting sound-
track of wild cheers and groans of
sympathy.
Sevens was created to delight
and entertain, as well as pit great
athletes against each other. The IRB
World Sevens Series is the top
championship globally and
Twickenham, considered by some to
be the home of rugby, is one of the
best places in the world to watch
rugby.
Copyright Joseph Hoye 2010 2

3. Kick & Chase Text & Images: Joseph Hoye
But sevens is not just about the
rugby. It is also about the spectators
having a great time. Hong Kong
started the idea of creating a party
atmosphere and now most of the
tournaments have followed suit.
Spectator competitions run
throughout the day, cheerleaders
dance and pose between games, bands
play during the round breaks and this
year London decided to attempt
breaking into the Guinness Book of
Records by gathering the largest
number of superheroes in one place.
1091 people donned a costume and
earned themselves a place in the
record books – but just for a few
days. The record was broken in
Australia a week later.
Rugby Sevens has a family
atmosphere. Alcohol is usually
available for consumption in the
stadiums, yet there is not the
hooliganism associated with other
codes of football. The quick-fire
fourteen minute games keep attentions
on the game while the entertainment
and catering between games break up
any monotony that can affect some
stadium spectators.
The London Sevens 2010 was a
fantastic event enjoyed by over 40,000
people – a few of whom were there
just for the rugby. And for the record,
Samoa were crowned 2010 champions
at Edinburgh the following week.
Copyright Joseph Hoye 2010 3