Sevens is set to become rugby union's global game now that it is in the Olympics, says All Blacks legend John Kirwan, who warned this should not be viewed by the establishment as a threat to the traditional 15-a-side game.
'I believe sevens will overtake 15s in the near future. It will win the numbers game with more countries taking it up and some devoting all their resources only to it. But we should view it as a positive problem,' said Kirwan, speaking at a round table discussion on the importance of the abbreviated version of rugby on the eve of the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens.
A panel of experts and ex-players, among them former Japan coach Kirwan and Johnny Zhang Zhiqiang, ex-captain of China, all expounded on the subject 'Sevens: A serious Player?' at the HSBC organised forum. After a 15-year break, the bank is returning as co-title sponsors of the Hong Kong Sevens.
Kirwan said the rising influence of sevens would throw up obstacles which the International Rugby Board should handle with foresight by encompassing it into the larger picture.
'An issue the IRB needs to address is how we strategically marry the two - sevens and 15s,' Kirwan said. 'But I wouldn't worry about countries only looking at sevens now. The importance is the growth of rugby, in whatever form. We all want to see rugby develop and it doesn't matter how it is developed as long as we know sevens is heading towards 15s.'
He added: 'There is room for both, like in cricket there is room for tests as well as the Twenty20 version.'
A glowing example of the importance of sevens worldwide is China where the 15-a-side programme has all but been ignored in recent years, as the country tries to build its sevens agenda with an eye on taking part in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.