Hayne struggles in sevens debut
Jarryd Hayne may have played a very small part in helping Fiji become the first team to claim back-to-back sevens world series titles, but whether he will get a shot at Olympic glory is another question.
After stunning the sporting world last week by walking out on the San Francisco 49ers to join the Fijian sevens team in a bid to compete at the Rio Games, Hayne was less than impressive in his 10 minutes of game time across three matches on day one of the London Sevens.
Fortunately for Fiji, they didn’t need the former NRL star to contribute much as they recovered from a 31-10 loss to England to beat Wales 42-5 and Australia 26-0 to move onto the quarter-finals. That was enough to lock up the 2015-16 title, becoming the first country to win in consecutive years and also ensuring the Fijians would be seeded No.1 in Rio.
Having bulked up during his time with the 49ers, Hayne admitted he struggled with the pace of sevens.
“It’s so much faster, it’s a lot quicker ... (I’m) still getting used to it,” he said after the game against Australia.
Fiji coach Ben Ryan said it was too early to say whether Hayne would make the final 12-man squad for Rio, which will be named in seven weeks.
“His fitness is way down – to get into our side you’ve got to be absolutely blitzing it,” Ryan said. “If he gets into our side because of form in seven weeks time then he’s done remarkably well, and if he doesn’t it just shows the quality we’ve got.”
While Australia beat Wales 22-10, the losses to England and Fiji consigned it to the Bowl section of the draw, coach Andy Friend saying the disappointing performances had put question marks over the selection prospects of several players.