Calling 1-on-1 and 1-on-2 rucking a "dumbed down" version doesn't make any sense as it, by nature, amplifies any errors in technique at the breakdown. No more relying on Fardy and Mowen to move Sekope over the ball, he'd need to do it himself.
I'd be more worried about him giving away penalties if he's repeatedly called on to secure possession.
Junior Rasolea and Tom English are apparently fast enough to play center in "real footy". You're a bit off your rocker with that entire notion. Every Australian starting forward is faster than SBW. They're also all in the 95-100kg range -- SBW would have to drop 10-15kg to get there. He'd have about 6 months to do this.
Doing that while also learning 7s (for presumably the first time) is a huge ask even for a guy like SBW. I don't think the mental aspect of getting to an Olympic level in 7s has been addressed enough here, to be honest. It's not quite as dramatic as Leauge -> Union but it is still a wildly different brand of footy that calls on an entirely different style of play and different instincts than the 15s game. SBW didn't exactly explode into dominance right away in Toulon.
I'm not saying there's no chance, not even close. But to assume he, or any athlete, will succeed at the Olympic level in a code they haven't played before which calls on a different body type than they currently have (dropping 2-3kg a month without sacrificing too much muscle mass will be extremely hard in and of itself) is just a bit too much supposition for me. We're also 2+ years out from any of this, that is a fucking age in sport years.
As a side note..I realize this is an Australian rugby forum but I don't think continually referring to the Australian 7s program as any sort of benchmark for Olympic 7s is appropriate.
It makes no sense to suggest that a world standard Rugby player does not have sufficient breakdown skills to compete with the likes of Shannon Walker who honed his breakdown skills on the bench for the Gold Coast Titans,until he was recruited into 7's.
No one needs to shift Sekope on their own,in 7's.
Why quote Rasolea and English when you refer to current starting forwards?
What about Jenkins,Cusack or Parahi.You are off your rocker if you think any of these guys would gas SBW.
The mental aspect?
How can you possibly think that someone who has repeatedly been exposed to pressure cooker situations,and succeeded,is more of a risk under pressure,than someone who is yet to feel pressure?
That's just illogical.
SBW didn't explode into dominance until they moved him from 13 to 12.
Having said all that,I do agree that his age is against him.But IMO that's all that is against him.