Over the past decade, rugby sevens has grown from a game used to keep players fit over summer to a sport played right around the world and contested at the highest level, the Olympic games. Both men and women are flocking to the short version of the 15-man game and the wider sporting community has taken noticed. This weekend, Sydney will host a leg of the World Series for the second straight year, with Australia’s gold medal winning women’s side set to play on home soil for the first time since their Rio success. It’s hard to argue that sevens has been the shining light for Australian rugby in recent years, but where does that leave the rest of the sport? With participation rates in the traditional XVs format in decline, is it time to jump ship and join Cricket’s Big Bash bandwagon? Or will Sevens continue to draw new fans and participants to our sport and revitalise the code as a whole? Last year, HSBC, the major sponsor of the Sevens World Series and a long-term supporter