Rugby sevens profiting from day in the sun
Sport expected to boom after joining Olympics GB women open with victory double
In so many ways, when the winners of the inaugural women’s Olympic rugby sevens tournament stand atop the Deodoro Stadium podium with gold medals around their necks tomorrow, it will not matter one bit who they are.
The final will, in all likelihood, be an all-Antipodean affair, with Australia and New Zealand sharing every edition of the World Series and crushing their opening opponents by half-century point margins yesterday.
But when Bill Beaumont, the England great and World Rugby chairman, described these few days in Rio as a “game-changer”, he was not referring to those already established as heavyweights of the global game.
On a mission to expand the sport globally, victory has in one sense been secured since the decision was made in Copenhagen seven years ago to include rugby sevens in the Olympic movement.
That single vote will unquestionably outweigh any outcome when the top two teams meet in the final tomorrow evening, for this tournament is all part of a wider picture.
“I am hoping and pretty confident that clubs will be inundated at the start of next season in Europe with girls wanting to play rugby,” said Beaumont. “It will be the biggest kick-start that the game has had, especially for the women and girls.”
The stage was set for women’s rugby sevens to have its moment of glory and British coach Simon Middleton was determined his team would play a starring role. No country has ploughed more money into its women’s game or focused for so long on one competition as Britain, with the overwhelming majority of the squad – which is composed almost exclusively of England players with one Welsh addition – training together since 2014.
Their Olympic bow was expected to be little more than a training exercise against a Brazilian side who failed even to qualify for the most recent World Series, but the reality was anything but a formality.
Booed and jeered by a vocal home contingent whenever in possession of the ball, Middleton’s side were outplayed for almost the entirety of an Today, women’s pool round 3pm-6pm: Spain v Kenya, New Zealand v France, Brazil v Japan, Canada v Great Britain, Fiji v Colombia, Australia v USA 8pm-11pm: Placing 9th-12th; quarter-finals Deodoro Stadium
opening half that saw them venture just once into opposition territory – a lone Joanne Watmore foray that yielded an opening try and a 7-3 lead at the break.
The enormous gulf in finance, facilities and ability was always likely to tell, and so it proved as Britain went on to secure a 29-3 win before making light work of Japan with a 40-0 thrashing.
Qualification for the quarter-finals assured, Natasha Hunt, who scored twice in the victory over Brazil, reflected on a momentous day for the women’s game.
“It’s a really special moment,” she said. “It’s incredible. The fact that this is going out to so many countries and that it’s on accessible TV, not just live stream where people don’t necessarily know about it, will do wonders for the sport.
“Being part of this Olympics has all been like nothing else we’ve ever experienced.”
Hunt is adamant that the sport will thrive in its moment in the spotlight. “It’s all the best bits of XVs piled into one really quick game where anything can happen,” she said. This is one occasion where there can be no real losers.