The way forward for sevens rugby seemed bleak a decade in the past because the main nations struggled to discover a place for the abbreviated recreation in future methods and, crucially, funding priorities.
This weekend, England, Scotland and Wales will battle as one – Nice Britain – for the final remaining spot in an Olympic Video games sevens match the place sevens will sit alongside soccer because the opening day’s occasions in Paris, rugby taking delight of place within the reconfigured Stade de France.
The GB ladies are already there, as are Eire’s ladies and men, however the GB males have discovered the going robust this 12 months and the South African ‘Blitzboks’, Tonga, Canada and others lie in wait within the repechage match in Monaco beginning on Friday, all vying for that final qualifying place.
For former Scotland sevens cap Ciaran Beattie, the pinnacle of the GB Sevens programme, it’s a nervy however thrilling time.
“For somebody like me, who hails from Selkirk within the Borders, and grew up with sevens from an early age, it’s big that we nonetheless have illustration on the world stage,” he says, “and that we’ve got this big store window this summer season.
“After I say ‘we’, I additionally imply Scotland, England and Wales. Sure, there was some controversy when the nations determined that we might not compete as particular person nations, and we’d come collectively as Nice Britain to tackle the Olympics problem, however really it’s come collectively fairly nicely.
There’s no quotas, no political choices on together with gamers from every nation… Everybody right here has earned their jerseys. And now it’s about getting the boys over that closing hurdle and into the most important present on earth.
“In case you come into our dressing rooms, whether or not it’s the boys or ladies, you’ll see Welsh flags, English flags and the Saltire up there, as a result of for us it’s essential that we nonetheless recognise our roots, the place we got here from and who we characterize, and that doesn’t change whether or not you put on a GB shirt or a Welsh, English or Scottish one. It’s simply that you simply’re additionally carrying the hopes of the entire of Nice Britain now, and since we got here collectively there was an actual pleasure among the many gamers and back-up employees for that.
“There’s no quotas, no political choices on together with gamers from every nation, and so there’s a respect there. We have been clear on that from the beginning – you need to earn your spot and if it occurs to be seven English gamers, then that’s the best way it’s. Nevertheless it has been nice to see how every nation has responded and the best way gamers work onerous to enhance one another, and everybody right here has earned their jerseys. And now it’s about getting the boys over that closing hurdle and into the most important present on earth.”
Scotland, famously, invented the sport of sevens when in 1883 Melrose butcher David Sanderson and his apprentice Ned Haig got here up with a fundraising thought to assist the Greenyards membership improve its earnings. Inviting all of the Borders groups to participate in a one-day match was the concept, and clearly 15-a-side video games of 80 minutes weren’t an possibility, so seven-a-side, shorter ties have been proposed. It proved a monetary and group success, and all of the native golf equipment quickly adopted go well with. A few of the most well-known rugby names have gone on to grace the Greenyards occasion, together with David Campese, Andy Irvine, Will Carling, Serge Blanco, Waisale Serevi, Gregor Townsend and Percy Montgomery, and it’s now performed in all corners of the globe.
It doesn’t rival the XVs recreation, however to witness packed stadiums from Hong Kong to Los Angeles, Dubai to Suva to Tunisia, is to grasp its undoubted enchantment. From its launch because the IRB Sevens Collection in 1999-2000, World Rugby has invested considerably in a worldwide circuit as a strategic path to participating and inspiring smaller nations for whom the XVs competitions merely don’t exist, and striving to make the game one thing nearer to world.
It remained a controversial bone of rivalry amongst tier one nations, and their finance administrators, till some vivid spark noticed the potential of Olympics involvement. Rugby’s makes an attempt to entice world powers the USA, China and Russia, and their cash, into the game was a wrestle, as authorities funding for sport in these nations adopted Olympic channels. A-ha. So, what if rugby was within the Video games?
Years of lobbying lastly paid off when the Worldwide Olympic Committee agreed in 2009 to confess rugby again into the Video games in Brazil in 2016. It had final featured – as 15-a-side – with simply France, Romania and winners the USA, in Paris in 1924. For a similar causes as Melrose went with sevens, the IOC and World Rugby agreed it needed to be the shortened recreation to allow a reputable match to be performed in a brief timeframe. The house nations needed to enter as Nice Britain, and regardless of being thrown collectively, the boys’s crew completed runners-up in Rio to Fiji, with the ladies in fourth. They each completed fourth at Tokyo 2020, however now have a extra skilled method, as Beattie explains.
I used to be immediately given a clean piece of paper and requested to provide you with a GB sevens programme for women and men. So, the previous two years have been an enormous studying curve, for me and everybody concerned.
“Up till 2022, the truth is till 10 days earlier than the Birmingham Commonwealth Video games, we had sevens programmes in every nation and would come collectively only for the Olympics, after which return to our personal nations. I feel the crew most likely shocked lots of people by successful silver in 2016, however after we missed out in Tokyo, the choice was made to unite beneath the GB banner on the world sevens circuit, to create a efficiency stage for GB between Olympics.
“Coming simply 10 days earlier than we performed in opposition to one another, as Scotland, England and Wales, in Birmingham it got here as a shock. I used to be immediately given a clean piece of paper and requested to provide you with a GB sevens programme for women and men. So, the previous two years have been an enormous studying curve, for me and everybody concerned. Nevertheless it’s additionally been a improbable expertise.
“It’s not straightforward as a result of gamers have come from all types of backgrounds in 15s rugby, so you will have younger gamers who nonetheless need to be a 15s worldwide and play within the Six Nations and World Cup, whereas others see this as their one shot to play worldwide rugby. Our job as coaches is to provide them the chance to develop these ambitions inside this setting, get on the identical web page and achieve success.”
Beattie, who can also be head coach of the ladies’s crew, admits that the professionalising of sevens has taken it away from 15s, and the concept that it’s a mere stepping stone to success within the longer format.
“Don’t get me incorrect, we’ve got some cracking 15s gamers concerned with GB women and men proper now. A few of the ladies have come again to us from huge performances within the Six Nations, and Ross McCann, an excellent Scottish winger, has proven in sevens the world-class participant he might be, and has been signed by Edinburgh, the place I feel he’ll go on to be very profitable.
“However the recreation has moved on massively to the extent that they’re nearly two completely different sports activities. You solely want to take a look at Antoine Dupont. He’s so excited to be representing France within the Olympic Video games – an Olympic medal is clearly an enormous factor for him, regardless of what he’s gained in rugby – however he accepted that even because the world’s greatest rugby participant he wasn’t adequate to stroll straight right into a French crew on the Olympics and selected to overlook the Six Nations Championship to become familiar with sevens once more.
“A sevens participant can step again into 15s extra simply which you could go the opposite means now, due to how organised, tactical and uniquely skilful sevens has change into. After I performed you can pitch up per week earlier than and play sevens – guys a decade or so earlier than that pitched up on the day, after an evening of team-bonding pints! You may’t do this on the high stage now, however, nonetheless, sevens and 15s cater for all styles and sizes… simply extraordinarily match styles and sizes.”
The GB males’s crew is coached by former England sevens chief Tony Roques, and Beattie’s compatriots Scott Riddell and former Scotland wing Sean Lamont are additionally a part of the GB administration. The lads are in a pool this weekend with Canada, Uganda and China, and whether or not they declare that final spot in Monaco, and go to the Olympics, or not, there’s a dedication from the house nations that GB is the route for sevens within the house nations. The return to particular person nations is deliberate for the Commonwealth Video games and Rugby World Cup Sevens, although venues for the 2026 occasions are nonetheless to be determined.
“The following cycle is about how we unfold the online wider and discover our place in UK rugby as a complete,” provides Beattie. “Sevens was an enormous asset to Scottish rugby with its small skilled base. We didn’t price some huge cash, comparatively talking, and once you take a look at the variety of gamers developed within the sevens setting into superb professionals for Glasgow and Edinburgh, and stalwarts of the membership recreation, it supplied good bang for its buck. Add within the coaches, physios, medical doctors, managers and admin those that toured the world with sevens studying find out how to do their job professionally, and also you see the worth of sevens to the game.”
Rugby shall be huge on this Olympics, from the second it opens the Video games within the Stade de France, and it’s big for rugby that GB is there. We’re there with the ladies… and I’m optimistic that if the boys get there, they can even be medal contenders.
There’s little doubt that sevens has transcended its conventional place within the newbie recreation, drawing many 1000’s of latest individuals to its occasions across the globe, from gamers throughout Africa, America, the Center and Far East, and components of Europe the place rugby hasn’t had a powerful voice, to supporters, companies and sponsors who’ve change into passionate followers throughout carnival weekends. Many GB gamers shall be extra well-known around the globe than in their very own nation, one thing Olympics’ publicity can change.
“The world sequence tournaments are undoubtedly eye-openers and routes into the game for many individuals around the globe,” agrees Beattie. “They carry one thing completely different to 15s as over eight weekends, and plenty of ties by three days, they let gamers interact with the followers up shut and private, and that helps to promote rugby.
“Rugby shall be huge on this Olympics, from the second it opens the Video games within the Stade de France, and it’s big for rugby that GB is there. We’re there with the ladies, and you will note some actual present and future stars from every of the three nations in that crew, and, whereas it’s massively aggressive – sevens remains to be sevens and may flip in a flash – I’m optimistic that if the boys get there, they can even be medal contenders.”
