What does the scoreline 43-31 mean to you?

If you are a rugby fan, particularly a French one, it will conjure up memories of the 1999 rugby World Cup semi-final in which France came from behind to upset Jonah Lomu and the New Zealand All Blacks in quite the most astonishing rugby match ever played.

We will no doubt be hearing about this rather a lot this week, with the two teams set to clash again, this time in the 2011 rugby World Cup final.

But I have yet to hear anyone predict a classic on anything like the level of the one those of us at Twickenham were lucky enough to witness 12 years ago.

Which is a pity, because this year's tournament in New Zealand could do with finishing on a high note.

The less than enthralling nature – so far - of the current World Cup, plus the news that the next one, according to The Guardian, "had been under threat because the three major southern-hemisphere unions all said they would not be able to afford to take part under the current financial formula", has set me wondering whether a cricket-type scenario might not be poised to unfold in rugby.

By this I mean a situation in which a foreshortened version of the game acquires so much momentum that it threatens to become the sport's dominant format.

It is, after all, now less than five years before rugby – or to be precise, rugby sevens – returns to the Olympic Games.

So we can expect lots of development funding to be channelled into this version of the game, particularly outside the half-dozen or so nations which constitute the traditional rugby powers.

When I interviewed him 18 or so months ago, Bernard Lapasset, the International Rugby Board's President, acknowledged that the Olympics "offer the possibility of making rugby known all over the world".

He went on: "There are countries who will prefer in the short term to invest in sevens to get a competitive team quickly.

"I think Kenya will put a little more money into sevens because they know that their team will perhaps be more competitive in the short term and could get an Olympic medal.

"The same with Fiji.

"There are countries who may make that choice."


He was, nonetheless, not of the opinion that sevens might overtake the 15-a-side game.

"The systems of competition are extremely different," he said.

"Also 15-a-side remains the technical and tactical reference-point.

"What is important for us is to know how financially we are going to turn rugby sevens professional...

"For the moment, it's a sport that is 95 percent amateur.

So there isn't that professional dimension that could enable sevens to rival 15-a-side in terms of players deciding whether to play seven or 15-a-side.

"At the moment they don't have the choice.

"A player who wants a career in rugby has to play 15-a-side because it's regular, structured, there are competitions.

"That will take time."

Yes, it will take time.

And there are other relevant differences between rugby's situation and cricket's: Twenty20 cricket involves the same number of players as the Test match format; you can play rugby in the rain; long-form rugby matches do not last five days.

Nonetheless, if I were a super-rich investor itching to be the Roman Abramovich of rugby, I fancy I might be considering ways of getting in early and supercharging the seven-a-side format, rather than simply investing in one of the top traditional rugby clubs.


The Hong Kong Sevens, which I have not attended but which I have heard nothing but good things about, shows what is already possible.

Attach the five Olympic rings – with their guarantee of substantial international media exposure once every four years - to the sport's calling card and growth could be a lot more rapid than people might think.

And, once interest has been aroused, other potential plus-points of the format – it is more school-friendly, more accessible to the casual viewer, less likely to face problems arising from serious scrum-related injuries – may more readily come into their own.

Plus, of course, if we are thinking about a future involving professional sevens teams, they are potentially cheaper, since you have half as many players to pay as a 15-a-side rugby team.

Rugby sevens is set for a period of growth, of that there can be little doubt.

The interesting question is whether that will fuel interest in the 15-a-side game, or replace it.

David Owen worked for 20 years for the Financial Times in the United States, Canada, France and the UK. He ended his FT career as sports editor after the 2006 World Cup and is now freelancing, including covering the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2010 World Cup. Owen's Twitter feed can be accessed here