Sport: Rugby In Rio

Article published on Inquirelive.co.uk on 13th August 2012.
Rugby in Rio: Team GB to prepare a 'sevens' squad

On October 9th, 2009 the International Olympic Committee approved Rugby sevens and Golf for inclusion in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

It is not the first time that Rugby has been included in the Olympic programme. Rugby made its debut in the second Olympic Games of the modern era in 1900, and would be contested again in 1908, 1920 and 1924. No more than three teams ever competed in each year, and gold medals were won by France, Australasia and twice by the United States.

Olympic Rugby then took a hiatus of almost a century, and is returning in four year’s time due to the recent successes of the sevens game. After several failed bids for Rugby’s inclusion in past Olympics, the abandonment of traditional fifteen-a-side rugby union in favour of the “short game” looks to have been the deciding factor in its recent inclusion.

The widespread accessibility of sevens, the IRB Rugby World Cup Sevens’ easily-adaptable format, and the IRB’s offer to drop the World Cup all worked favourably in the Olympic bid.

England, current world champions Wales and Scotland have all been a key part of these tournaments since their inception, and will no doubt unify as part of Team GB in Rio.

So what can we expect from Team GB rugby in four years time?

Scottish legend Gavin Hastings recently stated, in an interview with the Daily Record, that he expects Team GB to be a miniature version of the Lions squad. Of course, it will be a Lions void of any Irish influence. While the respective British and Irish Rugby Football Union’s may co-operate every four years in order to assemble the British and Irish Lions, Olympic ruling dictates that this will not be possible in Rio.

There exist potential complications regarding the status of Northern Irish players, who would be eligible to play for Team GB under Olympic ruling but otherwise represent Ireland as part of a unified Irish RFU. It is entirely possible that a player’s commitment to Ireland may cause a conflict of interest to emerge.

Team GB will face still competition from the dominant forces in international rugby – New Zealand, Australia and South Africa – but still have a realistic shot based on the strength of their respective component nations on the sevens circuit.

It is hard to predict what area players will be selected from. There are a crop of current internationals, many of whom have a past in sevens, and all possess the attributes necessary for success in the short code despite their experience playing fifteen-a-side. Sevens is built around pace, quickness, vision, handling, passing and defence, and players such as England’s Ben Youngs and Manu Tuilagi, Wales’ Leigh Halfpenny and George North, and Scotland’s Tim Visser all have these skills in abundance.

Tuilagi offers the team a level of physicality not often seen on the IRB sevens circuit, and he is not alone. A combination with Wales’ Jamie Roberts could prove particularly potent, and both men offer selectors the size needed to be dangerous in the loose and effective in set-pieces. England flanker Tom Croft has experience in the England sevens set up and has displayed an affinity for scoring throughout his career for England and the Lions.

There is much to be said for chemistry, too. North, Halfpenny and Roberts are likely to be standouts for Wales for the next four years, and Youngs and Tuilagi figure to be the same for England.

It is entirely possible that selectors will go for current sevens players due to the possibility of an imposed age restriction, as is the case with Olympic football. There are current sevens stars such as England’s Jamie Gibson and Scotland’s Colin Gregor who may feature in 2016.

But assuming there is not an age cap, it is my opinion that these seven men should be on the flight to Rio in four years time to represent Team GB:

Manu Tuilagi – England
Jamie Roberts – Wales
Tom Croft - England
Ben Youngs – England
Leigh Halfpenny - Wales
Tim Visser – Scotland
George North - Wales.