Olympic Sevens can change sport forever
THE ROAD to Rio starts today in Dubai. This is the season when Sevens will surge to wider global prominence and it may alter the landscape of the sport forever.
There is a pot of Olympic gold up for grabs at the end of the 2015-16 campaign and it has galvanised interest far beyond the usual strongholds. Yesterday, there was a significant upset in the Middle East as Russia stunned New Zealand on day one of the women’s event. It was the latest indicator of how more and more countries are joining the chase for medals next summer.
Some of the traditional leading nations are mustering formidable forces in readiness for the tournament in Brazil eight months from now. During this series, spectators will be treated to the sight of Sonny Bill Williams in full flow for New Zealand, while Bryan Habana – at some stage – and Henry Speight will be trying to carve open defences on behalf of South Africa and Australia respectively.
There have always been electric Sevens specialists, but the addition of household names may represent a watershed moment. These recruits will add stardust to the circuit and potentially blaze a trail for others.
The Sevens roadshow will visit Cape Town, Sydney, Vancouver, Singapore and Paris. These are exotic locations to add to the itinerary long dominated by the showpiece event in Hong Kong, and attendances are on the rise. The short form of the game was a sell-out hit at the Commonwealth Games last year in Glasgow.
Amid on-going concerns about player welfare, extreme injuries and burn-out in the longer format, the rising appeal of Sevens is obvious. If the Olympic factor leads to enhanced investment and profile, it will in turn lead to an influx of more top players. The time may come soon enough when stars of the sport consider it as their primary arena, above and beyond the more physically punishing Test game.
Meanwhile, as some countries are preparing meticulously, there is no obvious sense of a Team GB masterplan taking shape. Joe Lydon is heading up the operation and England’s Simon Amor is the head coach, but there is still no clarity in terms of selection policy, despite the likes of Christian Wade and Danny Cipriani expressing an interest in taking part.
That must come soon, or there will be no hope of landing medals in Rio.