Premier Rugby Sevens Returns to Austin

Premier Rugby Sevens (PR7s) returned to Austin, this time to start their 2023 season with the Eastern Conference Kickoff.  Last year the league closed out the season with their Championship. 

PR7s is reportedly the first major standalone club rugby sevens circuit in the world. The league tries to stimulate the growth of rugby in North America by creating a professional-caliber competition and festival experience to excite long-time rugby fans and newcomers to the sport.

Rugby Sevens, or Sevens, is a faster, high-scoring version of traditional rugby.  It is played with seven players on each side of the ball who compete for 14-minutes (two seven-minute halves)

As in traditional rugby, participants may only pass the ball backwards or sideways with no blocking allowed; using techniques such as lineouts, mauls, rucks, and scrums to retain possession during play. Kicking is the only method by which both teams may move the ball forward. 

Tries are worth 5 points and are followed with an opportunity to kick the ball through the posts for an additional 2 points (conversion). Penalty goals are rarely seen in Sevens. At the end of regulation, the team with the most points wins. If both teams are tied in a knockout round, a 5-minute overtime period will be played, where the first team to score wins. 

The event saw four men’s and women’s team compete in the semi-finals. 

In the women’s semi-finals, the Locals advanced, defeated the Steeltoes, 21-to-19, and the Headliners topped the Team, 31-to-17. 

In the men’s semi-finals, the Headliners defeated the Steeltoes, 26-to-14, and the Team advanced, taking down the Locals, 19-to-10. 

The Locals took top honors in the Women’s finals, besting the Headliners 21-to-12.  And the Team took the men’s tournament, topping the Headliners 22-to-19.