Rio Olympics

[Strewthcobber]

I hope you guys are right, I really do. It just seems such a long bow to draw at the moment.....

We haven't been able to find a place to host a tournament that is even close to being a success.

Sevens is even less accessible on TV than XV and when it is shown, at a great time spot up against almost literally no other sport, like GC this year it doesn't even crack the top 20 pay TV programs.

It appears more likely that we'll miss out on qualification all together than make the gold medal match.

As far as I am aware there is no regular domestic 7s tournaments or below elite level comps.

Even on here, 7s tournaments barely get any comments with the same few posters providing all of the updates.

Even on here, most posters couldn't name one Aussie player.

Our representative team is made up of players who would accept a super rugby contract in a heartbeat and leave 7s if given any opportunity.

I can't think of any Olympic team sport that has developed a successful sustainable future away from the Olympics.

That's just my concerns on a short train ride home. Again, I really hope I'm wrong.

 

[Godfrey]

And at the professional level rugby isn't really a game for all shapes and sizes anymore.

It is more than many other sports, they just have to be fit. Short, tall, big, round, small, strong/heavy, fast/light. I wasn't really referring to the "any kid can play" stuff more so the need for different types of players rather than the 7s players who need much broader skillsets and thus less room for difference body types.

I take your points, I don't think anything bad about 7s it's just much further away from being the same sport to me than it appears on face value. Definitely still a huge opportunity for the code of course and I didn't mean to imply it's a bad thing - more that it's not the absolute idea. But what is.

 

[Quick Hands]

^^^I agree with much of what you say Strewthcobber, but I can't see how using Olympic 7s as a vehicle to promote and expand rugby can be a negative for the 15 a side game. At worst it will have no impact and things will continue as they are. It's certainly no magic wand, but it's an opportunity.

The Australian leg of the 7s moves to Sydney next year and has the support of NSW Major Events - the ball is in our court to make this a success. Adelaide and Gold Coast were never going to be winners.

Unfortunately a lot of rugby followers just ignore 7s because it's not 15s - I was one of these until recently. The World 7s that I've watched in the past couple of years is quite good - which I admit surprised me at first.

The fact that no-one can name many/any Aussie players is a concern and one of the reasons that many of us think it's essential to have some of the big names going to the Olympics (provided they are good enough of course)

You're right, the guys on the world circuit are journeymen who can't crack it in 15s - but that doesn't mean that the game is bad, it just means that the best players will play 15s most of the time.

 

[Omar Comin']

We haven't been able to find a place to host a tournament that is even close to being a success.

It went okay in Adelaide, which is the city in Australia with the smallest rugby presence. With decent promotion the event in Sydney should be great. Biggest population, most rugby fans, a significant number of expats from most participating nations. And the first year is the Olympic year.

I've been to sevens in Vegas and London and those events are very well supported, especially the Twickenham one. What I think is most significant is that the Sevens attracts a different crowd than any other rugby event at Twickenham. In particular, a younger crowd. No reason why the same can't happen here. But the promotion has to be good.

It appears more likely that we'll miss out on qualification all together than make the gold medal match.

In the mens this is possible which is definitely concerning. But if we miss out on automatic qualification then I'm sure our team will be strengthened for the pacific qualifying tournament. And if we qualify we'll be a medal chance.

In the women's we're a very strong chance at a medal. Growing the female participation and supporter base is a huge opportunity. Imagine if we win the Gold Medal in the women's event. All of a sudden the likes of Tiana Penitani, Emilee Cherry and Sharni Williams would be all over the media and young girls would have superstars to look up to.

As far as I am aware there is no regular domestic 7s tournaments or below elite level comps.

There are a few like the Darwin and Noosa 7's and there was recently the first ever national sevens championship at Narrabeen. So the pathway is improving. I'm not sure if domestic 7's will ever be more than an amateur participation sport but who knows, maybe there will be a popular big bash style series one day to complement our world series leg.

I can't think of any Olympic team sport that has developed a successful sustainable future away from the Olympics.

Soccer goes okay

But I know what you mean. I think the difference with something like hockey is that rugby is already a professional sport and the world sevens series is already reasonably popular in several places. The Olympics will boost that, and Sevens will act as a gateway to 15's for many people.

 

[Omar Comin']

You're right, the guys on the world circuit are journeymen who can't crack it in 15s - but that doesn't mean that the game is bad, it just means that the best players will play 15s most of the time.

Some of them are journeymen, some are guys that suit 7's better than they do 15's (usually because they're a bit small for 15's) and others are young guys who will go on to play super rugby as others have in the past.

 

[Quick Hands]

Some of them are journeymen, some are guys that suit 7's better than they do 15's (usually because they're a bit small for 15's) and others are young guys who will go on to play super rugby as others have in the past.

True to an extent, although I couldn't help but notice that the Australian 7s team are physically much bigger and bulkier than one would expect.

 

[Scrubber2050]

Olympics coverage is huge. It'll introduce people who never watch rugby to the sport.

To me it is not real rugby,

I hope we flog em all and win gold but ATM will probably miss a fucking medal

 

[Quick Hands]

To me it is not real rugby,

I hope we flog em all and win gold but ATM will probably miss a fucking medal

It's certainly not 15 a side rugby, and it's so different, it will never replace it. 15 a side rugby will rise or fall on it's own merits. 7s appeals to some followers of 15 a side and also introduces rugby to new people and places.

You only have to look at some of the nations in the World Rugby Circuit who do quite well: Portugal and Kenya for example.

 

[qwerty51]

To me it is not real rugby,

I hope we flog em all and win gold but ATM will probably miss a fucking medal

Well you're not the target audience. You're already a big fan of Australian rugby, you're posting on a forum about it.

 

[Melbourne Terrace]

Although it would appear that 55% of Scots are quite happy being part of GB.

And it would appear that the Welsh are even less enthusiastic to leave mother England.
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/sep/24/3-per-cent-back-welsh-independence

http://www.bbc.com/news/events/scotland-decides/results

Just because 55% of scots chose to stay in the Union (a number which is going to decline as more of the old blokes die each year), does not mean they want to support a GB team.

 

[Quick Hands]

Just because 55% of scots chose to stay in the Union (a number which is going to decline as more of the old blokes die each year), does not mean they want to support a GB team.

No, it means that they want to stay a part of GB and GB is the team which goes to the Olympics. There's no Scotland at the Olympics games because they're not an independent country.

 

[SevensPhD]

AUS Women are falling off as the season moves. At first they looked like a lock to finish in final 4 with 2 2nd place finishes, now that is not a lock after losing to Russia and the USA, badly, in Canada this weekend to finish 7th. This is after a 5th place finish at the USA.

Current standings:
1. NZ 80pts
2. Canada 58
3. Australia 56
4. France 52
5. USA and England 48
7. Russia 46

Fiji and the rest are a distance from these 7.

Interestingly, if both USA and Canada finish in top 4, then Mexico is the top team in North America to qualify for the Olympics, pushing out likely a Euro team like GB, France, Russia, Ireland, or Netherlands.

 

[D-Box]

Woman's Running Qualification after Round 2 (Canada)

Host - Brazil

1st WS - New Zealand (80)
2nd WS - Candada (58)
3rd WS - Australia (56)
4th WS - France (52)

Next three teams are USA (48), England (48) and Russia (2)

Regional Qualifiers (Tournaments to be held 2nd half of 2015 but I will assume the they will go the way of the World Rugby Series rankings)

Africa - South Africa
Asia - China
Europe - Great Britain (Russia only 2 points behind)
North America - USA
Oceania - Fiji
South America ???????? (only South American team to have played Brazil who are already qualified)

Final Qualification tournament (assume the next best team gets this)

Lucky Bastards - Russia

Tournament Points

20 - Cup Champs
18 - Runners Up
16 - Third Place
14 - Fourth Place
12 - Plate Champs
10 - Plate Runners Up
8 - 7th
6 - 6th
4 - Bowl Champs
3 - Bowl Runners Up
2 - 11th
1 - 12th

Max point remaining 40

Considering New Zealand are 32 points clear of 5th place they will almost certainly be confirmed as qualifies in the next tournament.

 

[D-Box]

Interestingly, if both USA and Canada finish in top 4, then Mexico is the top team in North America to qualify for the Olympics, pushing out likely a Euro team like GB, France, Russia, Ireland, or Netherlands.

I think the real interesting thing would be for all of GB, France and Russia to miss the top 4. From there only two of them can make it. With Europe providing 4 (1/3) of the teams to the world series, only getting 2, or potentially 1 into the Olympics would be big news.

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

Well this one appears to have through to the keeper without anyone noticing:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/...er-dashes-bernard-foleys-olympic-sevens-dream

I'm somewhat confused as the last sentence seems to contradict not only the headline but the rest of the article as well?

 

[qwerty51]

He'll change his mind.

 

[D-Box]

Men's Running Qualification (Round 8 - Scotland)​

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Host - Brazil​

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1st WS Fiji (147 points) - Qualified​

2nd WS South Africa (142 points) - Qualified​

3rd WS New Zealand (139 points) - Qualified​

4th WS England (GB) (117 points)​

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(Next three teams are Australia (101 points) and the USA (86))​

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Regional Qualifiers (Tournaments to be held 2nd half 2015 but I will assume the they will go the way of the World Rugby Series rankings)​

Africa Kenya​

Asia Japan​

Europe France​

North America USA​

Oceania Australia​

South America Argentina​

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Final Qualification tournament (assume the next best team gets this)​

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Lucky bastards Samoa (Final v Canada/Portugal)​

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Regular Tournament Series Points are​

22 Cup champs​

19 2nd​

17 3rd​

15 4th​

13 Plate Champs​

12 Plate RU​

10 7th & 8th​

8 Bowl Champs​

7 Bowl RU​

5 11th & 12th​

3 13th​

2 14th​

1 15th &16th​

​

Max Points Available 22​

Looks like Australia's qualification will come down to which Samoa turns up for the regional qualification tournament. It could be a depressing November for Australian Rugby ​

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Worse case we still do have the Final Qualification Tournament which will come down to which Canada turns up ​

 

[Omar Comin']

Worse case we still do have the Final Qualification Tournament which will come down to which Canada turns up.

It could easily be the USA at the final tournament. Canada beat them 40-0 in Glasgow.

I think we're about a 65% chance of winning the Oceania qualifier, and if we lose that then not much more than 50% to win the final one. Losing to Samoa and Canada or USA wouldn't be that big a shock.

 

[qwerty51]

What's the date of the qualifying stuff? ARU has no choice but to pick Super Rugby players.

 

[formerflanker]

I watched a lot of the Glasgow 7s last night, my first extended viewing of 7s, and my biggest impressions were:

• the breakdown is a dogfight and good luck to a ref who is looking to interpret tackler release, obstruction by players on the ground, hands in the ruck, playing the ball on the ground, tackling the half back:
• drop kicks for conversions are far less successful the further out the kick is taken:
• the size of most players' thighs seems greater than the majority of 15 a side players
• the importance of making first-up tackles.

Very enjoyable!