IRB Sevens World Series 09/10 Preview

We are now only a matter of weeks away until the recently crowned Olympic sport of Rugby Sevens takes to the international stage once more.

We are but weeks away from the Dubai Sevens, the official start of the 11th IRB Sevens World Series. This season looks like it will have an unprecedented amount of international interest for this coming season.

It has been widely discussed that with only three sides ever having won the series (New Zealand, Fiji, South Africa) that perhaps at the highest level its can be slightly predictable, bar the usual once-a-tournament shock.

Although these upsets are widely credited as aiding the sport’s Olympic status, often the teams creating the shocks, such as Kenya, USA, Wales, Scotland and in some cases even the Cook Islands, have been unable to continue their form throughout the tournament. This particularly makes it difficult for these sides to make an impact on the overall standings.

With further financial help coming from Olympic associations and governments it is hoped that the landscape can change over the coming years, before the Sevens festival descends on Brazil and Rio in 2016! I am pretty sure that it’s going to be this year that we see such building blocks begin to fall into place.

It’s difficult to label any team a strong favourite for the 2009/10 Sevens World Series title.

Yes, South Africa with their full-time squad will be as strong as ever. Yes, New Zealand will want to make amends for what they feel was a failure of last year. Then there is obviously Fiji and England, who will always be strong.

But if you take a closer look, the World Series is certainly not about the ‘top 4′ – a phrase often penned by English football writers. Argentina feature some of the most experience 7s players in the world, they deservedly won in San Diego last season whilst also coming runners-up in the RWC in Dubai. Kenya feature a number of the modern sevens superstars in Humphrey Kayange and Collins Injera and with the support of Virgin Atlantic they have put the structures in place that it’s no longer a shock to see these guys win. It is now a case of a when and where, and I can guarantee that their fans will party it up to the max in city that finally sees them get over the line for a Cup win.

The USA Eagles are a strange one. They have threatened for a couple of seasons but have almost failed to realise their potential. Even before the Olympic decision it can be argued that the 7s game is most developed in the US with the structures in place for elite player development through a number of training camps with coach Al Caravelli. A luxury not always afforded to many of his rivals.

With a young US squad learning the ropes post RWC Dubai at the latter end of last season; they are now ready to make more of an impact in the latter stages of the tournament, of course only time will tell.

Watch out for the likes of World Champions Wales and Celtic rivals Scotland, who are both looking like they are going to have consistency in squad selection this coming season, making them dangerous.

Before we have even started we can name seven teams who can beat one another on any given day, that of course is without even mentioning Samoa and Australia.

The latter have discussed that 7s is becoming more a priority over the coming years and considering we are entering into a Commonwealth Games year, I am sure this will be the case. So with 9 teams in the mix, and only 8 spots in the quarters up for grabs each tournament it’s going to a cracker.

Dubai Sevens and George Sevens are firmly on horizon, and now we have a new venue to look forward to in Las Vegas for the USA Sevens! Combine that with the usual Hong Kongs and Wellingtons of this world and its surely going to be a celebration of 7s for the coming six months.

Olympic inclusion has upped the ante for this global phenomenon that sees teams from every corner of the world battle for 14 minutes on a level playing field. Let’s get this party started.

Olympic Rugby Update

It seems all the campaigning carried out by the Olympic rugby fraternity seems to have paid off! Well at least a little bit. Just to get all up to speed, last month the IOC nominated rugby sevens and golf to be included in the 2016 Olympic Games.

This is undoubtedly great news and an achievement in itself, however there is another mountain standing in the way of Olympic Rugby. In order to scale the next mountain rugby sevens has to secure in excess of 50% of the vote from the 106 delegates when they vote in October.

If the IRB are successful in achieving their goal of reinstating rugby into the Olympics the impact on the game of rugby sevens will be tremendous. Here are my predictions was to what might happen.

• Full time professional players, who play very little 15s

• A professional 7s league • USA and China to become major players

• Increased financial investment

• Government involvement along side governing bodies • More kids playing

• 15’s to filter out in some countries to focus on 7s (e.g. Uganda, Cook islands etc.)

I am fully aware that I am bias towards rugby sevens’ inclusion in the Olympics; however I really can’t see any negatives. I would be interested to hear if anyone has any?

Remember if you haven’t already – play your part and sign the petition to help make Olympic Rugby a reality.

Olympic Rugby – its got to happen.

With the first decision on which sports are to enter the 2016 Olympic Games on the horizon the excitement has never been so intense. Entrance decisions are always keenly debated and anticipated but as the IOC make their final considerations it has become obvious that on this occasion their decision is being scrutinised more than ever.

The primary reason for the added scrutiny is due to the standing of a number of the sports vying for a place in 2016. It has been said that golf, rugby sevens and baseball are not traditional Olympic sports, but for that very reason it is undeniable that they have had a major impact on the world sporting landscape today.

Golf has created some of the most incredible sporting stories, sports men and women, and riches beyond most people’s dreams. From an 18-year-old American amateur Francis Ouimet caddied by an even younger 13-year-old Eddie Lowery defeated the great British professional Harry Vardon at the 1913 US Open to the richest sportsman on the planet today, Tiger Woods, golf has many virtues that the IOC should consider ‘Olympic’ whilst making its decision.

Although the professional nature of the PGA and European tours may not sit comfortably with the traditions of the Olympics, when you consider the importance of the British and US Amateur Championships and the Walker Cup competed for by amateurs either side of the pond, the proponents of the game of sticks do have an argument that is worth consideration.

Baseball, ‘America’s favourite pastime’, played from April through September with every side playing 164 regular season games and average crowds being around the 25,000 mark, even with 82 home games, the popularity of the sport cannot be questioned. The game is just as popular (to scale) in other continents such as Asia or South America and the argument that the game is not global can be countered – though never silenced.

The history of the sport goes hand in hand with the 20^th century history of America from when the Boston Red Sox believed until 2004 that they were cursed by the ‘bambino’ for the sale of their hero Babe Ruth to their greatest adversaries the New York Yankees to only last year the Tampa Bay Rays going from perennial losers to World Series runners up. The game creates summer drama year on year but does this make it an Olympic sport?

Then we come to Rugby, which in its traditional sense faces some of the similar arguments faced by that of Baseball. When most of the world thinks of rugby they think of scrums, rucks, and mauls – big men taking the field for organised fighting to the uneducated eye. When considering rugby though, there is a fundamental difference between the game with the odd shaped ball over that of Baseball and Golf and that is because it has adapted in a changing sporting world.

Not that we can credit the administrators of the game with the notion that they adapted with the idea of Olympic inclusion in mind, but as this became a possibility they realised that by nurturing the game this could well be achieved.

The game of rugby in its traditional sense, with 30 players on the field, was considered conservative, traditional and almost imperial with the countries that hold dominance over the sport having primarily been part of the British Empire.

Though it is not this game knocking on the door in Laussanne. The game that has people sitting up and taking notice is the game of Rugby 7s and this game does not face the same arguments that Golf and Baseball face. The sport is truly global at the elite level. Nations compete eight times a year in the IRB World Series and winners have come from Europe, South America, South Pacific Islands, Africa and this does not do justice to the teams also competing for titles down the stretch that are yet to get over the final hump. Kenya have yet to qualify for a 15 a-side World Cup yet are feared throughout the world as one of the top 7s nations. America considered by many as a team with very little rugby success, have caused upset after upset on the 7s field – the only difference being on the 7s field these are not considered upsets.

In what other sport could winners of global competitions read like this: England, South Africa, France, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Samoa, Argentina, Wales and if one is to consider that each of the listed teams have lost to other nations such as Portugal, Kenya, Cook Islands and Canada who in turn have lost to nations such as Hong Kong, UAE, Tonga, Russia and Spain it is instantly recognisable that this sport is not like its traditional, conservative older brother but one of a new age.

Stadiums are full, music loud and spectators of every creed and every colour party and cheer as one for the love of their nations, but primarily for the love of the game.

Every single year millions of people will crowd round TV sets to see if Tiger sinks his putt on the 18^th to win at Augusta in April. Likewise in October to see if Alex Rodriguez and his New York Yankee millionaire team mates will win the World Series. But how many of these millions will be in beach bars in the pacific or club houses on Ngong Road in Nairobi? Though these sports have huge relevance to the professional sporting landscape and have broken down many barriers with regards to their consideration as non-global or elitist, neither can even be spoken of with regards to global relevance as Rugby 7s.

The Rugby World Cup can be put in the same bracket as Golf and Baseball without an argument; it’s the third biggest sporting event behind the football world cup and of course the Olympics. This is the 21^st century though and the game of rugby has evolved for different palette, one which has broken down all traditional barriers, with one more to go. If and when the IOC announce Rugby 7s as a member sport for the 2016 games it will be seen as finally having arrived. The truth of the matter is though, Rugby 7s has already arrived – just ask anyone on the street in Asia, Europe, Africa, Americas, Australasia, oh hang on that just about everywhere.

Olympic Rugby – could the wait be over?

Olympic Rugby

1924; the booming 20s were well underway. St Petersburg, Russia had its named changed to Leningrad, a US presidential address was aired on the radio for the first time and the first ‘thanksgiving’ parade in New York took place. 1924 and the 20s in general were times of firsts, World War I was behind people and the world looked forward to a prosperous future. Well with the beauty of hindsight we can see that 1924 also was a ‘last’ for something. 1924, 2 generations ago was the last time that Rugby took part in the Olympics.

The ‘Chariots of Fire’ games took place in Paris, France and the United States of America won Olympic Gold defeating the home nation 17-3 in the final. 83 years later Rugby once again stands on the precipice of being welcomed back into what most of the world considers sporting immortality, the Olympic Games.

After an unsuccessful bid for entry into the 2012 games, Rugby is at the forefront of applicants for entry into the 2016 games. For the International Rugby Board the application process is nearly over, they have presented their case and decision of Olympic Rugby now firmly rests in the hands of the IOC and its members.

Of course this time it’s a different form of rugby to that of the one that took place in Paris many moons ago; Rugby Sevens, the 7-a-side modified form of the game is the game looking for entrance. It has proven in recent times that its global appeal at an elite level reaches much further than that of its older brother the 15 a-side game and this has become part of the argument for its inclusion into the 4 yearly sporting jamboree.

After completing the proposal and presentation to the IOC, Mr Bernard Lapasset who has led the bid on behalf of the IOC as Chairman said “Rugby World Cup Sevens in Dubai showed that the so-called smaller sporting nations can compete with the biggest in the world. Countries like Kenya, Zimbabwe, Samoa, Tonga, and Uruguay proved they are capable of beating the best. Playing Rugby at an Olympic Games would offer these countries a real chance of medals and a further opportunity to be part of the global sporting family.”

Mr Lapasset hits on a very strong point, none of the above sides have a realistic chance of medalling if the 15s game was the chosen sport and in many cases other team sports but Rugby Sevens. With only 14 minutes, 7 men and whole lot of running, passing, hitting and did I mention running, all of these nations have a chance of taking home a medal for their country.

Kenya and the British Army are invited to the Middlesex Sevens

In the rugby world at present the game of sevens is never far from the lips of supporters, players and coaches alike. 2009 is a massive year for the modified form of the game of rugby with the decision being taken on the sport’s entrance into the 2016 Olympics by the IOC in October. Given the timing one of the oldest, most famous sevens events taking place in August takes on extra significance.

The Middlesex Sevens started 14 years after the last appearance of rugby at the Olympic Games in 1926 and was traditionally held in May at the end of the rugby season before being moved to it’s new date of mid-august in 2001. Bar the 4 years between 2005-2008 the tournament has always been an invitational tournament attracting teams from all over the world and across the rugby codes.

The top English league sides have always featured heavily and in its present form make up 12 of the 16 entrants for the tournament. They have not necessarily dominated in the way some might expect though with the tournament having been won through the years by teams such as St Marys Hospital (now Imperial Medics), Loughborough College, Metropolitan Police, Wigan Warriors, the Barbarians, the Penguins, Bradford Bulls and the British Army. Of all the top sides in today’s English game Harlequins from just over the A316 at the Stoop have won the event the most times, totalling 14 wins and they will be back to defend their title this year.

The tournament organisers have recently announced 2 of the invitation sides that will be taking their place alongside the Premiership giants. The first of these will be the side that many of the spectators who pack out Twickenham for the day will be used to seeing. The British Army won the event in 2001 and 2004 and after losing out last year Howard Graham and his side of South Sea Island soldiers will be looking to win back the trophy taking a number of big name scalps along the way. The Army play in tournaments all around the world and have recently arrived home from an unsuccessful venture to Roma Seven. That being said the Army is a side that is feared throughout the sevens world and will be expected to compete for the overall title come August.

The second of the invitational teams announced is one that is sure to bring huge numbers through the gates at HQ. The Kenyan Sevens team have become a real force on the world stage in the past couple of years defeating England, South Africa, New Zealand and at this year’s World Cup in Dubai, Fiji.

With the players and their fans love for the game they have become everyone else’s second team, be it through their exciting brand of rugby sevens or their dancing to the Kayumbeta after tournaments, the call of ‘Lets go Kenya, lets go’ can be heard wherever they play. An invitation to this years Middlesex Sevens was extended to the Kenyan Rugby Union which acknowledges their place in the rugby playing elite as well as the their draw for spectators.

Kenyan coach Benjamin Ayimba will surely be using the Middlesex Sevens as an opportunity to look at players before the IRB season starts again in Dubai this coming December. When not playing in International competition the Kenyan side take on the title of ‘Shujaa’ which means that sometimes certain players become Kenyans for the day such as one Waisale Serevi who played for the Shujaa in Nairobi in 2005 much to the joy of the home fans.

The addition of 2 such great sides to what is already a tournament packed with talent can only help the occasion as the RFU and Premier Rugby aim to showcase the club game of sevens. If another festival of rugby with thousands of fans packing out Twickenham takes place as it did in May for the IRB London Sevens, the IOC will once again have to take notice.

The sevens game has made some giant leaps in recent years, and it’s due to this that the game is part of the conversation for the Olympic Games. To see a centre stage tournament that has been going for 75 years embracing both the new and the old, the message this sends to those decision makers in Switzerland is one that can only be deemed positive.

Tusker Safari Sevens – A welcome home party

With the emergence of the Kenyan national sevens team in the recent years to become one of the real forces on the IRB World Series, it would seem natural that a number of tournaments in the home nation of the side would also emerge as a training ground for future players. This is certainly the case throughout the other major sevens playing nations such as South Africa, England, New Zealand even the USA. In Kenya though there is only one such tournament, only one tournament that the beloved followers of the Kenyan sevens team can see their heroes play on home ground and that is the Tusker Safari Sevens in Nairobi.

Though it stands alone as the flag bearer of the sevens rugby in Kenya, what a flag bearer the nation has, attracting teams from across the globe to sample the wonderfully pure delights of one of the great countries and cities on the African continent. Sevens teams have been forever touring the globe looking for that one tournament that excites and captivates the mind both on and off the field and that is exactly what the Safari sevens aims to do.

John Hooper who toured with Samurai International at the Safari sevens in 2008 remembers arriving on the morning of the tournament. “We literally were in the oldest mini-bus you had ever seen, driving on a road that could not be described as a road, it felt like we were literally on Safari not playing rugby at the Safari Sevens.” Though all of the Samurai players were thinking ‘where are we?’ on that first morning Hooper goes on to say “then it appeared, the playing arena on Ngong Road had literally thousands of fans around it and it became damn obvious we were there to play rugby!”

That’s the special thing about the Safari sevens, it’s so very African. Exactly how you want a tournament to be when you arrive on foreign soil as a touring team. You don’t want a tournament that merely mimics other tournaments as many have tried in attempting to replicate the world famous Hong Kong and Dubai sevens. When this happens the feeling of the commercial reality that rugby sevens works in becomes overly apparent. Tournaments and their organising committees forget what made teams come to their tournament to begin with, the fact that they are in a different part of the world wanting to sample different cultures whilst playing sevens rugby.

The Safari sevens does not forget this; in fact it in the eyes of the IRB this is to its detriment. It is not run like a commercial machine, it has taken the approach of ‘build it and they will come’ and it works. The spectators are passionate about rugby and their Kenya team (it gives them something to cheer other than endurance running) they are also knowledgeable about the sport, but when you arrive you know that this is somewhere special, that this is not your everyday sevens tournament.

Long term the tournament organisers would like to see the Safari sevens on the IRB World series, but the ‘hidden gem’ nature of this tournament is such that though this makes it so unique for sides to compete in away from the World Series (this year Samoa & Fiji compete) it means that it doesn’t mesh with commercial expectations of a series that includes venues such as Twickenham, Petco Park and ‘The Sevens’ in Dubai on its menu. This is not to say we won’t see the Safari sevens on the series one day and if they get it right I am sure it will be one of the most popular. Finding that mix of commercial success (on an international scale) without losing what made teams arrive in Nairobi to begin with will not be easy but if it is achieved one of the great sporting competitions will be born.

If you’re interested to learn more about the safari sevens take a look at the tournament profile on ur7s.com.

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