It used to be the game that you'd play after the real toil was done.
After six months of slogging it out in the 15-man code, you'd have your end-of-season club dinner and then field a groggy-headed motley crew for a weekend of Sevens.
But as Matt Cleary writes in this excellent piece in The Guardian, Sevens is now an altogether more serious business. And with the Rio Olympics just around the corner, the game is set to go up a further notch or too - both in terms of its general popularity and the regard in which it's held within rugby circles.
Even if this chap doesn't make an appearance:
As Cleary's article makes clear, Sevens isn't a game that a rock star of the 15-man code can now simply drop into, no matter how stratospheric his play-making skills may be. It is a craft in and of itself, demanding a particular skillset.
To see those skills on show in Rio will not only take rugby to new audiences but also further inflate Sevens' credibility as a serious sport. And that will be to the benefit of all fans of the oval ball.
Showing posts with label Rugby Sevens. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rugby Sevens. Show all posts
Tuesday, 19 July 2016
Wednesday, 30 July 2014
Why Rugby Sevens at the Rio Olympics won't need George North and Co. in order to be special
So, International Rugby Board boss Brett Gosper is turning up the heat to make sure Unions release their big-name players for the Sevens at the Rio Olympic Games.
He has a point - but only up to a point. While it would, arguably, make box office and PR sense to have rugby's biggest names representing their countries at Sevens at the Olympics, let's remember these guys are specialists of the 15-a-side game - a very different kettle of fish to the seven-minute halves of Sevens.
There are centrally-contracted players who tour the globe playing Sevens for their countries for a living. They have a specific skill-set and a specific training regime.
To parachute in big names at their expense would be an insult - to Sevens players, to spectators, and to the game itself.
And given the compelling drama and top-notch skills on display at the Commonwealth Games Sevens at the weekend, do we really need to have the big-name 'star dust' sprinkled on the Olympics?
No, we don't. Sevens is an attractive enough proposition without the need for Chris Ashton, Sonny Bill Williams or George North to temporarily take up the game.
Let's make sure the stars of Sevens shine for themselves - and aren't artificially eclipsed by their better-known 15-a-side peers.
He has a point - but only up to a point. While it would, arguably, make box office and PR sense to have rugby's biggest names representing their countries at Sevens at the Olympics, let's remember these guys are specialists of the 15-a-side game - a very different kettle of fish to the seven-minute halves of Sevens.
There are centrally-contracted players who tour the globe playing Sevens for their countries for a living. They have a specific skill-set and a specific training regime.
To parachute in big names at their expense would be an insult - to Sevens players, to spectators, and to the game itself.
And given the compelling drama and top-notch skills on display at the Commonwealth Games Sevens at the weekend, do we really need to have the big-name 'star dust' sprinkled on the Olympics?
No, we don't. Sevens is an attractive enough proposition without the need for Chris Ashton, Sonny Bill Williams or George North to temporarily take up the game.
Let's make sure the stars of Sevens shine for themselves - and aren't artificially eclipsed by their better-known 15-a-side peers.
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