Scarratt’s girls need some of that Vancouver magic
GREAT BRITAIN, with eleven England players in their squad of 12, have hardly taken the Womens Sevens scene by storm – but judging from one performance in particular from England on the World Series this season they can still legitimately aim for gold in Rio.
It was at the Canadian leg of the World Series back in April that England – aka Great Britain – showed their true potential. On that occasion, in Victoria on Vancouver Island, they beat USA, Australia and New Zealand in quick succession in the knock-out stages putting the Kiwis away 31-14 in the final, a high octane performance that finally made the rest of the world sit up and take note.
Unfortunately the impact was deadened a little next time out, in the French leg of the series in Clermont, when they got thumped 31-10 by Canada in the semi-finals and 22-5 by New Zealand in the 3rd-4th play-off. It was a reality check but hopes are still running high.
Since then Great Britain have been training hard with a high altitude fitness camp at Tignes in France taking them to a new level physically. With six of the squad World Cup winners in fifteens from RWC2014 they should be able to handle the extra big match nerves of an Olympic occasion but GB clearly need to somehow build on that performance in Canada back in the spring.
Inconsistency has definitely been the biggest issue and perhaps that comes from England’s decision a couple of years ago to form a professional Sevens squad based on established fifteens players rather than starting afresh and talent spotting Sevens specific talent. There has been much learning along the way and that process can involve steps backwards as well as forward.
“We know what we can do when we perform at our best and we couldn’t be better prepared,” says skipper Emily Scarratt whose 16 points, including the match-clinching try, were so important when England won RWC2014. “We are nervous and excited but that’s exactly how you want it.
“My first Olympic memory, as a very young girl, is watching Cathy Freeman winning the 400m in her catsuit in Sydney with all the camera flashes.
“Until the last couple of years I never ever believed I could be part of the Games let alone captain the Great Britain team. But now it’s happening.”
Scarratt is exactly the kind of hybrid athlete who is becoming attracted to womens rugby generally and Sevens in particular. At school she excelled at basketball, netball, and athletics – in fact every sport she turned her hand to – but eventually she turned her back on a basketball scholarship in the USA and concentrated on rugby.
“Rugby played well brings together all the skills and talents of those other sports so that ultimately it is the sport that ticks all the boxes,” continues Scarratt.
“It’s an amalgamation of everything really. And rugby Sevens emphasises that you need to bring everything to the party. The physicality might be slightly down on fifteens but everything else is as challenging as you can get and played at a much quicker tempo.”
Scarrett – with her power, pace and rugby nous – is a big threat for England as are speedsters like Danielle Waterman, Claire Allen and the solitary Welsh representative Jasmine Joyce, a 20-yearold former 200m runner from Pembrokeshire. Livewire scrum-half Natasha Hunt and vastly experienced World Cup winning fly-half Katy McLean are other key players as England go in search of gold.