Can top Sevens players earn a decent living from it?

Sevens Rugby is now more mainstream than ever, with large TV audiences, massive tournament attendances, and fitter, faster players than ever before. It's a serious business, but is there money to be made for the players themselves?

In October of last year, for the first time, the IRB Sevens World Series took on a major sponsor in the form of HSBC. From now until the 2016 Olympic Games, they will strive to grow the sport at both grassroots and the highest level, reaching new fans while promoting the series.

Players are of course contracted by their countries though, so do they make decent money, comparable to normal rugby at least? The answer is both yes and no.

As you'd expect, in some of the bigger rugby countries players have contracts that allow them to train and focus on the sport full time. In fact some even have provincial or club contracts too, bringing in dual salaries. Each country differs though, and in some, as you see in the video, playing the game is still simply for the love of it, as rugby was before professionalism.

It would be interesting to learn about each country's set up individually, so if anyone knows any more about it, please feel free to share with everyone in the comments.


Time: 05:56
Note: Thanks to Total Rugby for another great feature

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