The ‘Pendulum’ defence is the standard in sevens rugby — but the world’s elite teams seem to have found its kryptonite: the surgical grubber kick is back.

Two specific plays in Vancouver stayed with me long after the final whistle. 

The first was from the men’s final, where player of the final Tristan Leyds received the ball in midfield. He remained motionless for a split second, drawing two eager Spanish defenders towards him. 

In the blink of an eye, Leyds calmly threaded a perfectly weighted grubber through the Spaniards’ defence for a chasing Shilton van Wyk, who gathered and scored in the corner. 

The second was from the Black Ferns’ superstar Jorja Miller – also the player of the final – during their clash with Japan. Miller was gliding across the pitch in her trademark fashion, asking questions of the Japanese defence. 

Then, in one smooth motion, she dropped the ball onto her foot, threaded it through the defence and into the arms of the waiting Stacey Waaka. 

Both plays looked effortless as the defence had no chance to attempt a tackle, but they both required high-level skills and an understanding of modern sevens defensive structure.

Traditionally, sevens’ defence relied on a dedicated ‘sweeper’ — a player tasked with staying 10-15 metres behind the main defensive line to plug holes, cover kicks, and chase down line breaks. 

It was an insurance policy, and it was effective for many years, but it effectively meant defending with only six players in the front line, leaving space for the top playmakers to exploit.

Enter the ‘pendulum’ strategy, intended to combat the modern game’s speed and physicality. 

Teams developed the structure of having all seven players in the front line to allow maximum aggression through line speed. 

To ensure they aren’t vulnerable to kicks into the free space behind the defensive line, the two edge players — often a wing and a fast forward — run a ‘pendulum’. 

As play moves to the left, the right-edge player drops back slightly to have a head start in covering the deep space if a kick is put through. The left edge player stays high to pressure the attack. If play then switches to the right, the roles are reversed and the right-edge player comes up, and the left-edge player drops back. 

This creates a suffocating defensive curtain. For a few seasons, it looked almost impossible to break down. That was until players realised that it leaves a “grey area” in the centre of the pitch — a vacuum of space where no one is home. 

There is always a risk in rugby sevens when you kick the ball, that you are easily turning over possession to the other team. Coaches live by the mantra that if you kick the ball in sevens, you either need to score, or get it back as a bare minimum.

There are a few key elements needed to complete this highly technical type of kick.

The first is the disguise. The ability for the playmaker to attract a few defenders by holding onto the ball in two hands, which poses the triple threat of a pass, run or kick. They need to keep their eyes up on the defenders approaching at speed, as well as identifying the hole that they want to aim for. 

The centre field is often the most congested, so they have to be pinpoint with their placement. And they have to be brave to hold on to the ball for long enough, knowing they will likely take a hard tackle as they kick the ball. 

The second is skill execution under pressure. Being able to hold the ball horizontally and kick the tip so that it will spin end over end in the direction you want while giving it the best chance of bouncing up cleanly for the oncoming chaser. 

The third is the weight of the kick. The goal isn’t distance but rather timing. There is a small window that the ball needs to land in before it becomes a 50:50 battle with one of the edge defenders. 

The difference in kicking on artificial surfaces versus real grass pitches makes this even more difficult. 

And finally, as the old saying goes, a kick is only as good as its chase. The chaser needs to time their run perfectly so they don’t get called offside, and once that ball is rolling along the ground, they need to be hunting to regather it. 

Both Van Wyk and Waaka were in full sprints before Leyds and Miller released their kicks. 

As the series arrives at Sports Illustrated Stadium this weekend for the final event on the HSBC SVNS before the three-tournament World Championship series, the pitch will be fast and the stakes at an all-time high. With the regular season title on the line, expect teams to bring more line speed than ever before. 

But as the pendulum swings faster, keep your eyes on the playmakers.

The grubber kick is no longer a last resort; it’s a tactical dagger designed to puncture the hearts of the modern defence.