Otago halfback Jonathan Ruru is one of those who has made some quick advances in the shortened version of the game.
He could have been part of the Highlanders pre-season training squad but decided to throw his lot in with sevens.
It has worked out. He has gone to the exotic places of Dubai and Cape Town with the New Zealand national side while those back home with the Highlanders have been put through the wringer on the training paddock.
Ruru has made a quick rise to the national side and said it all started at the national tournament in Rotorua at the start of this year, when he turned out for Hawke’s Bay.
"That was my first time playing any sevens at all, really. Just playing a bit in the summer. Then I got told I was being watched," he said.
"But nothing came of it and I just kept playing. Then at the end of the Mitre 10 Cup I got contacted and asked to come to a camp and there could be a position for me.
"So I went along and it was all new to me. I didn’t know anything, really. But I just wanted to learn and try and contribute as much as I could."
Sevens training camps are known as being hard on the body, especially under the tutelage of Sir Gordon Tietjens.
Tietjens, though, has left and it is a new regime under interim coaches Scott Waldrom and Tomasi Cama. Ruru said he had no knowledge of how Tietjens operated but believed the new regime was a combination of old and new ideas.
But it was still far from a walk in the park.
"It was tough on the lungs, but then, sevens training is going to be like that. You get pushed and they make it hard."
Ruru (23) was then invited back to a second camp and knew he was getting closer to a national team call-up.
"I went into that second camp and had some ambitions. It was not just about turning up but I was still learning. But I had a bit more confidence and it was about putting my best foot forward."
Ruru was the only new cap for the Dubai tournament and went to Cape Town a week later.
New Zealand finished out of the reckoning at Dubai, losing in the quarterfinals, but did better in Cape Town, where it finished third. Ruru got minutes in every game New Zealand played and was pleased with his efforts.
"Dubai was not what we were after but Cape Town was a lot better. We are a new team. We’ve only been together for two camps, while some of these teams are coming straight off Rio and have been around for years.
"The emphasis at that level is time in the saddle. You watch as you go and the game is about possession. There are so many experienced guys out there and you see how much control they have over the game.
"But you just have to watch and learn. And you get more confidence as you go on."
Ruru played halfback or one further out. He would line up for Otago at next month’s national tournament in Rotorua.
The former Napier Boys’ High School First XV captain only arrived in Dunedin this season from Hawke’s Bay.
"I had a taste last year [for Hawke’s Bay] but I was stuck behind quite a few people. I was actually looking to go to North Otago and play Heartland and then I saw online that Josh Renton had picked up an injury.
"So I got in touch and Cory [Otago coach Cory Brown] said you can come down and play, but no promises."
He moved south, played club rugby for Pirates and became the first-choice halfback for Otago.
"I had the opportunity to do a bit of pre-season with the Highlanders but I decided to make sevens a bit of a priority. It’s not the worst. You are out there playing rugby. It’s better than sitting and watching."
