RUGBY MATTERS

Cancellation of schools XVs would make Sevens even more compelling

AND it was all going so smoothly! The reintroduction of rugby, in the form of Sevens, to the Olympic movement has been an unsullied positive for the game worldwide but this cursed, random, Covid-19 is really playing havoc with best-laid plans. The Tokyo Games have, of course, been put back a year but in the build-up to that the World Series has been decimated. The Dubai and Cape Town legs were the first to be scrapped and this week it was confirmed that Hamilton and Sydney have gone the same way. The current fervent hope is that Sevens can return with a bang in April in Hong Kong and Singapore but frankly who knows? At some stage World Rugby, with one place up for grabs, have also got to try and fit in the final Olympic qualifying tournament which will consist of Brazil, Chile, Jamaica, Mexico, France, Ireland, Samoa, Tonga, Uganda, Zimbabwe, China and Hong Kong. Getting those 12 teams to jet in from distant parts to a neutral venue is going to be a challenge. Then there is the financial plight of the unions themselves. The RFU and WRU have already pulled the rug on their Sevens programmes and if two of the wealthiest unions in world rugby are struggling one would assume many others are in the same boat. To that end World Rugby this week announced a war chest of US$2.5m to optimise teams’ Olympic preparations which is a timely boost. The main issue though continues to be the actual staging of tournaments for all concerned to play in and prepare.