Mitchell on his mark and set to go in Olympic extravaganza

Team GB captain Tom Mitchell talks to NICK VERDIER before Rio take off

Tom Mitchell is used to travelling the world as part of his day job playing rugby on the World Series – but as he was packing his bags for the Rio Olympics on Wednesday he knew he was embarking on the biggest journey of his life.

Since making his debut in Wellington in 2012, rugby has taken Mitchell, below, to exotic locations around the globe including Hong Kong, Dubai, Australia’s Gold Coast, Cape Town and Las Vegas.

The next fortnight will be the first time he’ll play in South America – and with a lot more riding on it.Talking exclusively to The Rugby Paper, Mitchell says the magnitude of this next trip is impossible to escape.

“It feels a lot bigger than the World Series, there’s such hype and excitement around the Olympics,” he said.“You’re constantly getting a taste of the scale of the event whether it’s from the media or emails talking about the logistics.

“Seeing adverts on TV and realising that’s something we’re going to be a part of is pretty special. It’s the biggest thing I’ve ever been involved in.

“Going to the fitting day the other week and picking up our kit made us realise we were part of a bigger Team GB with a lot of amazing athletes from different sports.

“Everything around us in Rio will be very different to what we’re used to on the World Series but rugby will always be the same and no matter where we are it will still be seven players going against each other for 14 minutes.

“We have a tough pool with Kenya, Japan and New Zealand but the squad has come together nicely over the past few weeks and we’re confident we’ll have a good tournament.”

Already being the England captain and regarded as one of the best Sevens players in the world, Mitchell had been tipped to lead Team GB as soon as England ensured their qualification at the end of the 2015 season.

But the 27-year old, who led the Great Britain Students Sevens side to World glory in 2012, still needed to hear head coach Simon Amor confirming his selection.

He added:“We got told who made the squad a week before the official announcement and it was quite tough not telling anyone for that week apart from family and close friends.

“Regardless of what was being said about me I never took anything for granted in training and I still worked really hard.

“I had conversations with Simon regarding his expectations of me and the squad, but it was still a shock to hear I was in and I’d captain the squad too. To hear it out loud was very special.”

While Mitchell’s inclusion was no surprise, the same can’t be said about Alex Davis who was unknown at the start of the season.

The former Filton College star has been brilliant in filling the void left by Marcus Watson in England’s midfield and Mitchell couldn’t be happier to see him finish his breakthrough season in Rio.

He said:“Everyone was so happy for Alex. He’s a great person and a top guy to have around the squad but most of all he’s been delivering on the World Series.

“He only joined last season but he’s made the centre position his own.We knew he was going to be a good player but the way he’s taken the reins in midfield and in such a short space of time is amazing. “To have someone like Ollie Lindsay-Hague in the squad is great too. He’s been taking people apart in training with his hot-stepping so I’m looking forward to see him do it in Rio.”