Rugby 7s general chat
- Thread starter Hugh Jarse
- Start date
WorkingClassRugger
Michael Lynagh (62)
Scrubber2050
Mark Ella (57)
Highlander35
Steve Williams (59)
Hopefully after Tokyo it gets bumped to 16 teams. 11th seed Spain has beaten Kenya, who have been disappointing but at the end of the day did finish 7th in the series ahead of England and France.
3 Series regulars missed out (Samoa, Canada and Russia) and a number of other teams, particularly Germany (4th Place finish at Repechage), Hong Kong (Placed 6th at the Repechage and lost the playoff for promotion to Japan), Ireland (Created a team from scratch 15 months ago and made it to the top 8 of the Repechage) and Zimbabwe (leading after the Hooter against Kenya in the regional qualification), wouldn't decrease the current standard IMO.
3 Series regulars missed out (Samoa, Canada and Russia) and a number of other teams, particularly Germany (4th Place finish at Repechage), Hong Kong (Placed 6th at the Repechage and lost the playoff for promotion to Japan), Ireland (Created a team from scratch 15 months ago and made it to the top 8 of the Repechage) and Zimbabwe (leading after the Hooter against Kenya in the regional qualification), wouldn't decrease the current standard IMO.
I guess the fact the event only takes 3 days means it could increase to 16 teams but that would be more than the other team events at the Olympics.
Soccer, hockey and basketball are all 12 team events.
Soccer, hockey and basketball are all 12 team events.
Highlander35
Steve Williams (59)
I can't find it, but I did read an article a while ago that suggested the IOC offered World Rugby a 16 team tournament, but they turned it down to keep in line with the other team sports and to keep the quality high. Given that there's been an hour break between each session so far, there's no additional time required.
Add on the fact that all the play can be done in 6 days regardless of 12 or 16 (with Hockey and Soccer likely to require more), if it's possible, I reckon it would be good for the sport. On top of that, the next bidders are: Rome, Paris, Budapest and Los Angeles, where 2 of the host countries are on the circuit, and a 3rd is an established rugby nation.
All moot though. 12 teams is good, but without the same constraints re time that other sports have, 16 should be feasible.
WorkingClassRugger
Michael Lynagh (62)
True but part of the reason other sports like Basketball, Hockey or Soccer are restricted is because of time contraints. Sevens is very different. Looking at the three above. A game of Hockey goes rins for four quarters of 15 mins (60), Basketball for 4 quarters of 12 mins (48 though with stoppages etc can run for 2 hours) and soccer for 90 min. You could easily run multiple games of Sevens in the space of a standard game of either.
Especially when both the Men's and Women's events are held over 3 days each.
I like to watch
David Codey (61)
I don't thing time is the constraint,rather logistics such as accommodation being the issue.
If all team sports increased the field size to 16 ( there is no argument for Rugby to be exception ahead of more popular and established sports like soccer or basketball) then the head count of participants would increase substantially.
If all team sports increased the field size to 16 ( there is no argument for Rugby to be exception ahead of more popular and established sports like soccer or basketball) then the head count of participants would increase substantially.
I can't imagine it will be expanded in Tokyo. They've just added a bunch of new sports to the program, so I don't think they will be expanding other sports numbers.
The limit on the total number of athletes at games is more or less set in concrete, if I can mix metaphors. It's about 10,500. The ramifications of this are now affecting rowing: it's not possible for any more eights to enter as the largest crews would put rowing's allocated numbers over the top. That's why there're only seven women's crews entered and not many more men's.
I doubt very much if rugby'd get more teams in its Olympic competitions than hockey or soccer.
I doubt very much if rugby'd get more teams in its Olympic competitions than hockey or soccer.
WorkingClassRugger
Michael Lynagh (62)
They're bringing back both Baseball and Softball for Tokyo. Both team sports that will add many more athletes than an expansion of the 7s events to 16 teams each would have. They are also will be including Surfing, Karate, Sports Climbing and Skateboarding.
To make way for these they dropped wrestling.
Just for the record from what I can find the average Baseball team consists of 25 players. So if Baseball has 12 teams you're looking at another 300 athletes right there.
Highlander35
Steve Williams (59)
We need speed, speed, speed. Young talented athletes with Type IIx (super fast twitch muscle fibers ) a few technical guys in the team fine, but plenty of speed if we want to win against the top sides. Otherwise it will stay the same. Not ' Just Players ' who want a crack at the 7s from super rugby or the wallabies. You have to be an athlete, fit, lean muscle mass with speed to burn a special type of player high with aerobic level
RedsHappy
Tony Shaw (54)
Something IMO we should all read.....
"Rio Olympics: Tim Walsh produces a coaching masterclass"
W Smith The Australian August 10, 2016
Google the headline if you don't subscribe. or here if you do:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/spo...s/news-story/f21614f91090046ffdfc9d7bb6f2624a
The power and impact of fine coaching in rugby, it just cannot be over-estimated.
Extract:
"It’s certainly been done at least twice in Olympic history, both times by driven, determined coaches but never by a man like Tim Walsh.
When the Soviet Union inflicted the first defeat in Olympic basketball history on Team USA at the 1972 Munich Olympics, they could never have done it without their hard taskmaster of a coach Vladimir Kondrashin. And when America turned the tables at Lake Placid in 1980 by ruining the Soviet Union’s domination of Olympic ice hockey, they owed it all to a man still bearing the scars of being the last man cut from the US Olympic team just a week before the 1960 Rome Games, Herb Brooks.
No doubt some might baulk at comparing Walsh’s achievement in taking the Australian women’s rugby team to a gold medal triumph to the coaching feats of Kondrashin and Brooks, but consider this. Those men were training athletes who had devoted their entire lives to basketball and ice hockey. Walsh has taken an entire team with little or no knowledge — or even familiarity — and in three short years has coached them to also win an Olympic gold medal by beating a team from the most rugby-aware nation on earth, New Zealand. And yet he is anything but a despot.
Indeed, he draws praise for being “a left brain” coach, one who constantly thinks of ways to make training not only innovative but fun. Small wonder Australian Rugby Union chief executive Bill Pulver, in the exuberance of Australia’s 24-17 victory yesterday, hailed him as a “super coach”.
The win was the fifth in succession by Walsh’s team over New Zealand, which admittedly detracts from the “Miracle on Grass” theme since Kondrashin’s and Brooks’s teams were ending a dynasty. But where else in Australian rugby, or indeed world rugby, is there a team that has beaten New Zealand five times in succession? Any New Zealand team, in any form of the game. The best the Wallabies have done over 113 years of trans-Tasman Tests is three wins on the trot."
"Rio Olympics: Tim Walsh produces a coaching masterclass"
W Smith The Australian August 10, 2016
Google the headline if you don't subscribe. or here if you do:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/spo...s/news-story/f21614f91090046ffdfc9d7bb6f2624a
The power and impact of fine coaching in rugby, it just cannot be over-estimated.
Extract:
"It’s certainly been done at least twice in Olympic history, both times by driven, determined coaches but never by a man like Tim Walsh.
When the Soviet Union inflicted the first defeat in Olympic basketball history on Team USA at the 1972 Munich Olympics, they could never have done it without their hard taskmaster of a coach Vladimir Kondrashin. And when America turned the tables at Lake Placid in 1980 by ruining the Soviet Union’s domination of Olympic ice hockey, they owed it all to a man still bearing the scars of being the last man cut from the US Olympic team just a week before the 1960 Rome Games, Herb Brooks.
No doubt some might baulk at comparing Walsh’s achievement in taking the Australian women’s rugby team to a gold medal triumph to the coaching feats of Kondrashin and Brooks, but consider this. Those men were training athletes who had devoted their entire lives to basketball and ice hockey. Walsh has taken an entire team with little or no knowledge — or even familiarity — and in three short years has coached them to also win an Olympic gold medal by beating a team from the most rugby-aware nation on earth, New Zealand. And yet he is anything but a despot.
Indeed, he draws praise for being “a left brain” coach, one who constantly thinks of ways to make training not only innovative but fun. Small wonder Australian Rugby Union chief executive Bill Pulver, in the exuberance of Australia’s 24-17 victory yesterday, hailed him as a “super coach”.
The win was the fifth in succession by Walsh’s team over New Zealand, which admittedly detracts from the “Miracle on Grass” theme since Kondrashin’s and Brooks’s teams were ending a dynasty. But where else in Australian rugby, or indeed world rugby, is there a team that has beaten New Zealand five times in succession? Any New Zealand team, in any form of the game. The best the Wallabies have done over 113 years of trans-Tasman Tests is three wins on the trot."
K
KAOPointman
Guest
...for me they where Inept!
Bad coaching calls left our squad with our only options in running the show with....scratchy Stannard and our bench playmaker at best Faalavalau!
Should've kept Quade in the Squad! (Just his presence and experience was invaluable)
I will rue that descission to axe him forever. Was the weirdest selection rubbish ive seen in my time!
The skill difference between Quade an Chucky was highlighted in the Aus v SA game. Chucky throws some crazy slow wide massive forward pass, not even under pressure. Quade is notorious for his lazer sharp wide flat passes, and would have put Hutchison in nice space......just like he did during the year often!
The future Aussie 7s team NEEDS at least 1 player (ideally2) with a proper "rugby brain....an eye for space! Then having young skillfull forwards and sprint champs (think rocket rod Davies) running lines off them. Then we can keep the same useless coach.......
Dismal Pillock
David Codey (61)
curious what NZ's team would look like if NZRU said fuck all other engagements, we're sending the best we've got
1 Elliot Dixon
2 Kieran Read
3 Aaron Cruden
4 Beauden Barrett
5 Ben Smith
6 Damian McKenzie
7 Nehe Milner-Skudder
8 Waisake Naholo
9 TJ Perenara
10 Melani Nanai
11 V.Vito
12 Sonny Bill Williams
1 Elliot Dixon
2 Kieran Read
3 Aaron Cruden
4 Beauden Barrett
5 Ben Smith
6 Damian McKenzie
7 Nehe Milner-Skudder
8 Waisake Naholo
9 TJ Perenara
10 Melani Nanai
11 V.Vito
12 Sonny Bill Williams
Brumby Runner
Jason Little (69)
I like the idea of identifying and going with young players who have certain skills required and who can learn the rest in the couple of years leading into the next Olympic year. Would absolutely like to see a similar approach to the Wallabies in the period leading to the next RWC.
kiap
Steve Williams (59)
Dunno. Time for a new slate?
Strewthcobber
Simon Poidevin (60)
He was a new slate wasnt he?