What is the Future for the National Schools Sevens?

Next week, thousands of children will again compete in the National Schools Sevens, the largest competition of its type in the world.  For most it is still known as the Rosslyn Park Sevens, though very few of the participants will visit the RPFC ground: the few children who give it thought presumably believe that the Club's ground is on Wimbledon Common, and its clubhouse a tent.

This competition, first held in 1939, has had many changes and developments over the years.  Amendments to the format, new competitions added at regular intervals, girls' contests and a change of venue.  In fact, change - maybe evolution - has been a constant feature of the event.  This has reflected the changing environment of sport in the schools that the competition serves.  Maybe the time is right for further such development.

It is widely recognised that the distinction between the Open (the original competition which evolved into the main event for the strongest Rugby playing schools - then distinguished by playing over two terms) and the Festival (a competition added in 1970 for schools only playing until Christmas), has become redundant.  Many of the strongest schools have come to be in the Festival, a factor illustrated in 2012, when the London Sevens featured an invitation contest between that year's Festival winners, Wellington College, against the Open winners, Sedbergh.  It was won by the former.  It could no longer be pretended that the Open was the higher standard competition, and change was inevitable.

Recent changes have been half hearted.  The current regulations suggest that the 2015 Open is for schools who "want to be seen as the best rugby sevens (playing schools) in the country": the Festival, meanwhile, is intended for "emerging sides looking to develop". A quick look at the programme reveals that many of the Festival entrants have been "emerging" since the competition began.  Many have a rugby history dating back to the nineteenth century, consistently strong teams and simply choose that event because they always have, because the dates suit, or because they want to avoid the AASE colleges and the strongest teams.  This distinction clearly isn't working.

So, what is the future?  Coaches with long memories will recall (fondly, though often for the wrong reasons) the Oxford competition, historically on the Saturday before the Rosslyn Park event.  Its format ran three competitions side by side, in which schools categorised themselves as A, B or C based on their perceived strength for that year.  Each category had its own competition, with its own trophy and final.  This might now be the most suitable format for the National competition. 

There would be a National champion school, plus other winners of the other categories.  Schools could enter whichever event they chose, and could vary year by year, according to strength and ambition.  The playing fields would be more level, and the relative achievements clear.  The smaller, weaker and emerging schools would gravitate to the C competition.  And one of them would win it.  This would give a realistic ambition for these schools, who currently dutifully turn up for the group games every year accepting that they have no chance of qualifying for the second day.  There would be far fewer one sided games.

The biggest entry would not be the A event.  Elite events are never the biggest: it is the curve of normal distribution.  But it would have the status of producing an undisputed national champion school.  The clue is in the language.  It would be an event for schools (as the title currently claims), not for colleges.  There might be a separate competition on one day for the AASE institutions to satisfy the requirements of those organisations to produce their own champion.

Since the abandonment of the weight limit which was the distinguishing feature of the Prep Schools contest, perhaps the time has also come to remove the distinction between the prep and Under 13 events.   This was a decision founded on equality legislation, rather than rugby rationale, and is causing legitimate concern on safety grounds.  It is certain to change the style of the dominant teams and increase the role of power relative to speed and teamwork.

Maybe the answer is for two or three competitions at Under 13 level, distinguished not by the artificiality of school type, but by perceived playing strength.  Again, an A, B and C contest (possibly with a maximum school size on the last category) would potentially make the competition accessible to schools of all types, sizes and playing ambitions.  It wouldn't be difficult to imagine the strongest 11-18 schools competing with the bigger prep schools (as they already do in their regular fixture list and local sevens competitions), with the smaller prep schools and truly "emerging" schools spread across the other sections.  It would also remove the slightly uncomfortable distinction of treating IAPS schools differently on an entirely historical basis. It appears that equality legislation that can no longer confine a competition to players below 9 1/2 stones does not extend to social class.  There can still be a competition confined to a particular group of independent schools: surely this is an anachronism.

This year's competition structures are illogical.  They reflect history rather than the landscape of 2015.  Change is inevitable.  Schools need a competition for the future, not one of the past. This would be a truly National competition - with a valid place for schools of all types.