Club Rugby Tournament Operations: 7s and 15s Formats
Club rugby tournaments come in 7s and 15s flavors. Here's the operations playbook for both in 2026.
Rugby 7s are fast and punchy - short matches, full pitch, 14-minute games. 15s are the traditional format with longer halves. Your scheduler should handle both.
7s tournaments
12-16 teams on 2 pitches. 14-minute matches (7 each half). 5-minute halftime. Full tournament wraps in a single day.
15s tournaments
8-12 teams over 2 days. 80-minute matches. Pool play Saturday, brackets Sunday.
Rucks and mauls don't care about your schedule
Injuries and stoppages are real. Build 10-minute buffers between games and let the scheduler slide the day automatically.