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By Gordon Hanlon
I have never been a proponent of 7s. It was always a summer sport and I didn't see the point of training hard for the two weeks that summer lasted back in Ireland. Here in Texas, the summer lasts a little longer though so I found myself at a second sevens tournament in seven days. Not since 2013 has that happened, and much like then, it was hot in Austin yesterday as well. I was incredibly impressed by the effort and commitment by those who showed up to play. The humidity made the day miserable and yet on the hour, every hour the players would willingly get on the struggle bus for another 14 minute trip to nowhere. Shoulders popping out and being put back in, bruised sternums, collarbones “gone to the spirit world and chest scratches that made it look like a fight with Wolverine. This was all in a day’s work. The desire and endeavor to live that never say never “outlaw” mentality was outstanding. I would take my hat off to y’all, but the sun would melt me, so it stays on.
The top end of each bracket was all very serious, probably too serious, it’s still short shorts and chasing a ball around a field at the end of the day. Teams are investing a lot of resources into the game and it shows as the standard of play is increasing every year. The more the teams from Detroit, Kansas City and elsewhere come to compete, the higher the standard will become. To be truly competitive though, you need a big budget for that, and a lot, neither want to nor have the resources to dedicate towards it, but that doesn't mean it isn't worth attending.
I finally realized why people love the game so much, it’s not because of the play or tactics but because of what it represents to the masses. The festival-like atmosphere, the willingness of players from all sorts of teams to jump in and help shorthanded sides simply because it is what is done. Because they just want to play rugby.
Players from 4 different teams combining to help out those who only had 5 or 6. One solid sized 15s prop played 14 minutes on the turf with the sun beating down at 2 in the afternoon, finished the game, went to his chair, took a swig of water and ran to the other side of the facility to make the second half for a team he had been helping out. He said he got back to his chair and saw his neighbors were not in their tent so he looked around and ran over as fast as he could. This is a guy who had just met the team earlier that morning, running to play in his 7th game for the day.
The shared suffering and acceptance of the ridiculous meant that people were laughing and joking, the spirit of rugby was in existence in those moments. This is why we love this sport, and why we play the game.
To quote Shakespeare and Henry V
“From this day to the ending of the world, But we in it shall be remembered-
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother”
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