Premier Rugby Sevens (PR7s) is the top annual North American men's and women's rugby sevens competition. The competition follows a touring model and involves 16 teams (8 men's and 8 women's teams) competing against each other across the country. The league was founded in 2021[2] and is officially sanctioned by USA Rugby as the highest level of rugby sevens in the United States.[3]
The League is the first professional rugby union competition in North America to offer contracts to women.[4]
The league's Inaugural Championship took place at AutoZone Park in Memphis, Tennessee, on October 9, 2021.[10][11] The League initially began with 10 teams with 6 men's and 4 women's teams.[5] The Experts, Loggerheads, Loonies and Headliners would have a men's team and women's team competing in the two separate tournaments while the Locals and Team would play with only a men's team entered into the competition.
The women's Loonies coached by Olympian Kelly Griffin won the women's tournament, with standout play from Alev Kelter and tournament MVP and Canadian international Delaney Aikens.[12] The men's Experts won the Inaugural Championships behind performances from Perry Baker and tournament MVP Logan Tago.[12] Tago would go on to receive his first USA cap shortly after.[13] The men's final was notably in that it was decided by a drop goal contest with a similar format to association football.[12]
2022
The competition scaled to a three stop circuit in 2022, with tournaments held in San Jose, California, at PayPal Park, Washington, D.C., at Audi Field, and the 2022 Championship at Q2 Stadium.[14] The League scaled back to include only the men's and women's teams, with the Team and Locals removed from competition.[15] The parity between men's and women's teams led to the adoption of nomenclature of "franchises" with each franchise having a men's and women's team. The franchises would then compete for a United Championship which combined the results of the two competitions.
The League announced in December 2022 that in 2023 it would expand into a conference structure and play a five-tournament circuit. Franchises would be split between the Eastern and Western Conferences, with tournaments alternating play each week between the two conferences.[18] Each conference plays two weekends, with the top two men's and women's teams from each conference qualifying for the Championship weekend. Additionally, the 2023 expansion added regional names to the teams for the first time in league history.[19] The rebranded Texas Team and New York Locals would rejoin the men's competition, and add women's teams for the first time. Additionally, the league announced that the Golden State Retrievers[20] and the Pittsburgh Steeltoes[21] would join the league as expansion franchises.
The Northern Loonies would win the women's championship while the Rhinos x SoCal Loggerheads would win the men's. The Rocky Mountain Experts would win the United Championship by virtue of being the only franchise to have both the men's and women's teams qualify for the Championship tournament.[29]
The league has played single day tournaments since inception, with men's and women's matches interchanging throughout the day. In the 2021 and 2022 seasons, all teams in the league would be onsite and play group stage matches with results determining participants in the final. The 2022 season had the first two tournaments determine the seeding for the knockout round championship.[35]
In 2023, franchises were split between the Eastern and Western Conferences, with tournaments alternating play each week between the two conferences. Each conference plays two weekends, with the top two men's and women's teams from each conference qualifying for the Championship weekend. The league eliminated group stage play and instead moved to a knockout only format with semifinal matches leading into consolation and finals.[36] Points are allocated based on finish, with the two conference kickoff weekends would award 13, 6, 3, 1 points for 1st through 4th place, respectively while the conference finals would award 19, 11, 5, 2.[37] Teams would also be awarded points for finish in the Championship weekend for purposes of determining the United Championship winner.
Current MembersFormer Only Men's TeamFormer Team Names[38]
Broadcast
United States and Canada
The 2021 championship matches of the tournaments were aired live on FS2[39] in the United States, and TSN in Canada.[40] Preliminary matches were aired on FoxSports.com and TSN.ca.
DAZN would acquire the broadcast rights for Europe in 2023.[43]
Sponsors
Samurai Sportswear has been the official kit and ball supplier since the league began in 2021.[44][45] Samurai has provided the match kits for all teams and referees.
The Loggerheads franchise has been licensed by Rhinos Rugby Academy since 2022.[47] In 2023, the Loggerheads were referred to as the Rhinos x Loggerheads as a part of the licensing agreement.
On the league announced GoodSport as the official hydration partner.[48]