The Seven World Championship lands in San Francisco, the international capital of technology

SAN FRANCISCO, USA. In 451 Fahrenheit, Ray Bradbury anticipates a future in which people interact with television and become participants in the band. Sixty-five years after the publication of this masterpiece, this augury is beginning to come true. in this


Seven world
The experience of the viewer acquires a relevance that will live up to what will happen on the ground.

Since the reduction of gambling discipline has gained worldwide significance in the eighties with the Hong Kong Seven, public participation is a central component. The stands live the games like a party, and World Rugby has been able to transfer this mystique to other parts of the planet by privileging this happy environment in the election of the places of the ten stages of the World Tour, which takes place every year.

Seventh World, the organization goes further by giving the public, mainly face-to-face but also television and virtual, a degree of participation in what is happening on the ground, with the social networks, artificial intelligence, virtual reality and big data as tools.

What better place for this than the United States, a vanguard country in technological innovation and sporting events? The World Cup will be held in California, in the state where Bradbury was born, and in San Francisco Bay, where Silicon Valley is located, the global technology hub where Google, NetFlix, Yahoo !, Facebook and Apple have been installed.

In addition, the seven lends itself to popular participation. The matches are short (twice 7 minutes) and there are intervals to exploit. The action takes place over three days, one more than the women's competition, interspersed with the men's competition. The days begin in the morning and end in the afternoon, so the degree of attention to what is happening on the ground varies. Something that fits perfectly with the American model. And AT & T Park (42,000 spectators), located just steps from the dockside of the bay, lends itself to the occasion thanks to its technological capability exhibited in the San Francisco Giants baseball games. Ideal to maximize the viewer experience.

Among the novelties that will be between today and the day after tomorrow stand out: an application for smartphones with exclusive notifications for those who are in the stadium; access to all areas through virtual reality; an artificial intelligence bot against which you can compete by predicting the results; real-time statistics; super slow television cameras and others on corner poles; interaction in the stadium via social networks. They deliver 8,700,000 subscribers to World Rugby, which will lead the World Cup in 200 countries across 18 television networks.

"Off the field, fans can follow the action in real time through the official application of the World Cup, Thanks to our new virtual reality experience, viewers will have the chance to live Experience like never before, "said Brett Gosper, CEO of World Rugby, who expects 95,000 attendees – three days." On the court, with the format of the knockout, every game counts, since the teams have to win everything to be champion, the new format will generate a unique and vibrant atmosphere for the spectators of the stadium and those of the houses ", he adds

The favorites and the chances of the Pumas 7s

Regarding this second statement, there is some resistance from the players and the public. Traditionally, the seven, whether in the World Cup, the Olympic Games or the World Tour, are taking place with a qualifying round and quarter-finals. On this occasion you will have all the knockout matches, with two cups "consolation" for those who remain on the road. The clbadic format not only gives an extra chance after losing a match, but also a less demanding pbadage in the rewarding quarterbacks to have won the zone. Here everything is set by a ranking that does not reflect reality.

The Argentinian national team, for example, will begin its participation in the round of 16 against the winner of the Canada vs. USA title. Papua New Guinea, today at 11:25 pm Buenos Aires (ESPN television). To advance, will play in the quarterfinals with Fiji, if that will beat the winner of Japan vs. Uruguay.

The island team is one of the best candidates for the title. The world champion (Hong Kong 1997 and 2005) and current Olympic champion, is historically the strongest selected in seven and his innate ability adds a physical power very difficult to contain. It comes reinforced XV rugby stars, such as Josua Tuisova (Toulon) and Leone Nakarawa (Racing 92). The other favorite is South Africa, which dominates today after winning the last two annual tours and getting engaged for its first title, claimed in an experienced group of seven specialists .

One step back is New Zealand, the current champion (Moscow 2013, in addition to Mar del Plata 2001), leading a large group of selected who arrive with well-founded aspirations: United, with the two fastest rugby players in the world (Perry Baker and Carlin Isles); England, Olympic vice champion at Rio de Janeiro 2016 and winner of the first World Cup (Edinburgh 1993), and Argentina, runner-up at Dubai in 2009 and occupying three podiums this season. Kenya, Australia, Wales, France and Scotland keep a little hope in a modality that, because of its ephemeral nature, usually brings surprises.

Historically proud of XV rugby figures like Jonas Lomu, David Campese, Lawrence Dallaglio and Agustín. Pichot, the seven has acquired autonomy and own identity. In San Francisco, try to break the mold in the field of sports spectacle.