China and USA to lead rugby sevens global explosion after Olympics: women to drive growth

The popularity of rugby sevens is set explode after the Rio Olympics, with growth centres such as China and United States poised to take the game to a whole new generation of fans.

In addition, women are set to become the primary growth driver for the sport, which is forecast to be played by 15 million people by 2026.

These predictions are provided by Hong Kong Sevens co-sponsor and World Sevens Series sponsor HSBC, which teamed up with strategic planning consultancy The Futures Company to produce a report “The Future of Rugby” that aims to outline the game’s future over the next 10 years and beyond.

“China and USA will take the sport to a new orbit,” said Giles Morgan, global head of sponsorship and events at HSBC. “The Olympic opportunity is part of an exciting growth trajectory for the sport. Its future is about new countries, new players and new audiences,”

Potentially a billion people could be watching rugby sevens at the Olympics, which is the first event of the Rio programme. And if the tournament is anywhere near as successful as that of the Hong Kong Sevens, which Morgan described as “the grandfather” of world sevens, the sport’s allure is expected to reach people who may have never seen a game of rugby in their lives.

“The Olympic Games is really the launchpad and with the HSBC report expecting women to make up 40 per cent of global participation, the future of the game is very exciting,” said Brian O’Driscoll, the former Ireland and Lions captain.

By researching data and conducting interviews with industry experts including Sir Clive Woodward and sporting greats such as Olympic legend Michael Johnson, it has examined rugby’s journey to becoming a global game and paints a picture of how rugby will evolve and grow over the next decade.