Rugby Sevens Preparations for Rio 2016 in Full Swing

Around The Rings – The Business of the Olympics magazine, have released an update on the preparations for 7s at the Olympics in Rio 2016. Mark Egan, who is in charge of the rugby sevens Olympic preparations said that the IRB will try everything to ensure 7s will be presented to the highest standard in Rio.

Currently, Egan and his team hold talks with the Olympic Broadcast Services (OBS) about the best possible broadcast strategy for the game at the games, aiming to spread the competitions over several days, rather than the current traditional structure, which covers all matches over two days. This would have the positive effect, to present 7s to many more people.

The 7s competition will be played in the largest temporary venue in Rio, a 20,000 capacity stadium. According to Egan a fantastic opportunity to promote the sport in a great light and to leave a legacy. In addition, it is important to maintain the integrity of the sport, its stamina, endurance, speed, and skill, in the best possible way.

New star coach for Kenya sevens, but things are far from good at the moment

Former South Africa sevens head coach Paul Treu will take charge of the Kenya sevens team from November 1st onwards. Treu spent the previous nine years working with his native country and guiding the side to 14 HSBC Sevens World Series tournament wins as well as one World Series champion title in 2008-2009, the pinnacle of his coaching career.

The 42-year-old from the Western Cape takes up the position as head coach and performance director and will be in charge of his new side for the first time at the next round of the HSBC Sevens World Series in Dubai on November 29 and 30 before returning to his native land a week later for the South Africa Sevens in Port Elizabeth on December 7 and 8. For an extensive article please click here.

Only 24 hours after Treu’s appointment, some rather disappointing news was released from the Kenyan camp. According to an article of insidethegame several members of the Kenyan side have gone on strike in protest over delays in the signing of new contracts in a move which threatens their participation in Dubai next month.

The players claim that they are owed three months’ worth of wages, a fact been denied by the Kenya Rugby Union (KRU). Various players have reported that they had not yet received new contracts and it is believed problems have occurred because KRU have suffered delays in the renewal of their contract with sponsors Kenya Airways.

Welsh 7s star enters the international stage

7s Star Cory Allen

From 7s to 15s – Read in this exclusive article by the WRU how 7s rugby helped Cardiff Blues star Cory Allen into the Wales 15s side. Click here for the full article.

Rugby Sevens confirmed for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo

As we all know, Rugby Sevens will be part of the Olympic programme 2016 in Rio. But now, the news agency Reuters confirmed that Rugby Sevens will also be among 27 other Sports in the Olympic Games 2020 in Tokyo. For the full list of sports, please click here.

Gold Coast 7s: Dream Team and Try of the Tournament selected

7s fans from around the globe had the chance to select a dream team (#SevensDreamTeam) and the try of the tournament (#FansFavTry) for the first stage of the series at the Gold Coast 7s in Australia. The HSBC World Sevens Series attracts at every stage a huge amount of fans through social media. In fact 83% of people check in via social media if a game is live on TV or streamed on www.irbsevens.com. Here is a full article with all the stats and backgrounds.

The Sevens Dream Team:

1 – Ed Jenkins (AUS)

2 – Oscar Ouma (KEN)

3 – Scott Curry (NZ)

4 – Justin Geduld (RSA)

5 – Tim Mikkelson (NZ)

6 – Ilai Tinai (Fij)

7 – Joe Webber (NZ)

The Try of the Tournament (Collins Injera, Kenya)

Will SBW be an All Blacks 7s player soon?

SBW: a 7s star soon?

After Australia sevens coach Michael O’Connor said recently that he could imagine, suspended winger James O’Connor potentially turn to 7s, now New Zealand’s sevens coach Sir Gordon Tietjens, has revealed that current NRL Rugby League star and former All Black Sonny Bill Williams, would also make a great 7s player. Tietjens outlined that Williams has “got the work ethic…and he’s an athlete and he’s got all those skill sets that could make a very fine sevens player” (Full article). Both of the coaches statements indicate that with the Olympics 2016 on the horizon, we could see more stars from Union and League codes entering the 7s stage. Comments by Sir Clive Woodward in 2012 have also encouraged discussions about implementing Rugby Union players in the British sevens team for the Games.

Does 7s need more Rugby Union stars?

With the next Dubai Sevens on the horizon, an interesting discussion has evolved in terms of the sport and the tournaments should recruit more stars of the 15-a-side version of the game. The Australia Sevens coach Michael O’Connor has mentioned recently that he would happily pick troubled winger James O’Connor for his side. But does the sport, really need superstars from the Union or is it time to create our own role models within sevens?

This article from “The National”, a newspaper from the United Arabic Emirates argues that tournaments such the Dubai Sevens in November, certainly will be a massive success, even without a player such as O’Connor, however someone of his quality would increase the box-office ratings.

7s Rugby at the Youth Olympic Games 2014

We all know that 7s Rugby will be on the big stage at the Olympics 2016 in Rio, but did you know, that the sport will also be part of the programme at the Youth Olympic Games 2014 in Nanjing, China? The Youth Olympic Games take place every four years and hosts up to 3530 athletes, aged between 14 and 18. This will be a great opportunity, to showcase the sport, two years ahead of the big show in Rio. In addition, it will further push the sport in Asia, another sleeping giant in the world of 7s rugby. Further information about the Youth Olympic Games can be found here.

Pools for Emirates Dubai Sevens confirmed

The Gold Coast 7s are wrapped up, now the focus is on the next stop: Dubai. On the 29th and 30th of November the 16 teams will compete in the 50.000 seater 7he Sevens stadium. The IRB confirmed the pools and fixtures for the weekend on their website.

The best four teams from the Gold Coast 7s, will be top seeded in each of the four pools. Interestingly, former England coach Ben Ryan, will compete with his new team Fiji, against his former side, now coached by Simon Amor, in the pool stages, as they are both drawn into Pool C, together with Canada and the USA.

A full fixture list and all pools are now available on the HSBC Sevens World Series website.

IRB Sevens introduces relegation and promotion structure

A very interesting change in the current HSBC IRB Sevens World Series format. This season there will be a relegation and promotion structure in place. Simply spoken, one team goes up and one goes down. This is a great opportunity for the smaller 7s countries to join the big stage and more pressure for the current nations.

A full article by the Scottish Rugby Union about the topic can be found here.