Rugby Sevens

Max Carr

How come Eire doesn't have an international Sevens team ? Was watching a tournament on Sky today and practically every other rugger playing nation had a team - including Scotland, Portugal and Zimbabwe !!

Braken

Max Carr wrote: »

How come Eire doesn't have an international Sevens team ? Was watching a tournament on Sky today and practically every other rugger playing nation had a team - including Scotland, Portugal and Zimbabwe !!

IRELAND will have a team next season...

First Up

Max Carr wrote: »

How come Eire doesn't have an international Sevens team ? Was watching a tournament on Sky today and practically every other rugger playing nation had a team - including Scotland, Portugal and Zimbabwe !!

Well Eire doesn't have a rugby team in any form. We play as Ireland - all of it.

But your question is reasonable and it isn't the first time it has been asked. Only the IRFU can answer. I believe there is a sub committee that has been looking at it since around 1985 and is expected to report within the next century.

The Lost Sheep

Max Carr wrote: »

How come Eire doesn't have an international Sevens team ? Was watching a tournament on Sky today and practically every other rugger playing nation had a team - including Scotland, Portugal and Zimbabwe !!

IRELAND will have a team from next year. Cost was 1 of the main reasons we didnt

First Up

The Lost Sheep wrote: »

IRELAND will have a team from next year. Cost was 1 of the main reasons we didnt

A cost every other rugby nation (and a few non rugby nations) has been able to manage.

munsterlegend

First Up wrote: »

A cost every other rugby nation (and a few non rugby nations) has been able to manage.

Cost not the major issue. Obviously political with it now an Olympic sport. england will be representing team gb in Olympics?

First Up

munsterlegend wrote: »

Cost not the major issue. Obviously political with it now an Olympic sport. england will be representing team gb in Olympics?

The Olympics is a new element and a lame excuse. The global 7's circuit has been thriving for years, with us conspicuously absent.

munsterlegend

First Up wrote: »

The Olympics is a new element and a lame excuse. The global 7's circuit has been thriving for years, with us conspicuously absent.

Is it thriving though? Seems half empty stadium most of the time. Rugby 7's long been in the pipeline to being an Olympic sport. Didn't just happen overnight. it's political in gb as well with no combined england Wales Scotland team.

ArmaniJeanss

munsterlegend wrote: »

Is it thriving though? Seems half empty stadium most of the time.

I think its deceptive, theres more tickets sold than would appear from a casual look at the stands. Its a completely different viewing experience than an 80 minute game where the vast majority would stay in their seat for the whole game.

Rugby 7s is a long old day so people take breaks, leave the stadium and come back after a meal, stroll around the catering/merchandising areas of the stadium, spend time in the bar etc, and cherry pick which games to watch.

munsterlegend

ArmaniJeanss wrote: »

I think its deceptive, theres more tickets sold than would appear from a casual look at the stands. Its a completely different viewing experience than an 80 minute game where the vast majority would stay in their seat for the whole game.

Rugby 7s is a long old day so people take breaks, leave the stadium and come back after a meal, stroll around the catering/merchandising areas of the stadium, spend time in the bar etc, and cherry pick which games to watch.

Fair enough. Hong Kong always seems very full and has a long tradition. About time ireland had a team though.

First Up

munsterlegend wrote: »

Fair enough. Hong Kong always seems very full and has a long tradition. About time ireland had a team though.

Hong Kong is a fantastic event and Dubai not far behind. Wellington is a complete carnvival and the South African tournament is huge. A few iffy ones - e.g Las Vegas - but it is a brilliant series with a worldwide following.

The Lost Sheep

First Up wrote: »

A cost every other rugby nation (and a few non rugby nations) has been able to manage.

Of the other nations(not the sides with significant costs in 15 man game) they don't really have a pro league and are using 7s to help get players playing pro and we don't have any real history of playing 7s compared to a lot of places. Yes there is some tournaments that have good histories here, pull a crowd there isn't a huge amount in the country who play much 7s. In a lot of places there is parts of season where players play a huge amount of 7s. That doesn't happen here

munsterlegend wrote: »

Cost not the major issue. Obviously political with it now an Olympic sport. england will be representing team gb in Olympics?

It is a significant issue. Politics will come into it now 7s is in the Olympics but we are a long way off getting near the Olympics

munsterlegend wrote: »

Is it thriving though? Seems half empty stadium most of the time. Rugby 7's long been in the pipeline to being an Olympic sport. Didn't just happen overnight. it's political in gb as well with no combined england Wales Scotland team.

It is doing very well. Its 2 day long events per stadium. People go in an out of stadium depending on the game. Crowds over a day are usually high enough

Braken

First Up wrote: »

Hong Kong is a fantastic event and Dubai not far behind. Wellington is a complete carnvival and the South African tournament is huge. A few iffy ones - e.g Las Vegas - but it is a brilliant series with a worldwide following.

Wellington 7s is in trouble,lost a few hundred thousand this year..

Swiwi.

Braken wrote: »

Wellington 7s is in trouble,lost a few hundred thousand this year..

A lof the people attending the Wgtn 7s had no interest in rugby whatsoever really, just went along for the party. Now that the party element has lost its trendiness, that leaves the rugby fans. Who are poor at attending games in NZs main cities. Definitely work needed there by the NZRFU.

cabla

First Up wrote: »

Hong Kong is a fantastic event and Dubai not far behind. Wellington is a complete carnvival and the South African tournament is huge. A few iffy ones - e.g Las Vegas - but it is a brilliant series with a worldwide following.

Agreed - I've been going to the Dubai 7s for the past 3 years. It's always jammed! 1st day the stadium is average filled but by the Saturday, all the other non professional teams have finished up, Kangaroo Courts have been had and the stadium fills up nicely.

It's more a 2 day event with loads going on and loads of other games outside the statium, than a 80 minute match as you said.

Braken

Swiwi. wrote: »

A lof the people attending the Wgtn 7s had no interest in rugby whatsoever really, just went along for the party. Now that the party element has lost its trendiness, that leaves the rugby fans. Who are poor at attending games in NZs main cities. Definitely work needed there by the NZRFU.

Are NZ 7s in trouble ? Beaten again by the Bok 7s in South Africa ,finding it hard to beat the Boks of late...

First Up

I don't think losing the final to the home side qualifies as being "in trouble".

Braken

First Up wrote: »

I don't think losing the final to the home side qualifies as being "in trouble".

Their usual dominance of 7s is been gradually eroded,this has been their 3rd defeat to SA in a row,they have yet to win a final in the. current IRB 7s series which they have dominated since it's inception ,gold in Rio is not the certainty it once was...

RedemptionZ

Braken wrote: »

Their usual dominance of 7s is been gradually eroded,this has been their 3rd defeat to SA in a row,they have yet to win a final in the. current IRB 7s series which they have dominated since it's inception ,gold in Rio is not the certainty it once was...

I would never have put gold at rio a certainty. SA, England, Aus and Fiji always have the teams to beat them.

They dominate the IRB Series normally but the Olympics are a whole other ball game. I think England or Aus will take it. Just have a hunch.

hahashake

Olympic 7s will be a completely different ball game with top tier players coming into the equation. Obviously it has a slightly different skill set and different conditioning but a lot of international 15s players have come from 7s so it won't be hard to make the transition back. Even the ones that haven't will still be a step above most 7s players in raw talent e.g. Folau.

Re the current NZ team, SA has the upper hand currently but it is only 1/3 of the way into the series. NZ lost a few veterans recently and SA has unearthed a few 7s stars. Still, Titch and the NZRU won't be happy with anything less than 1st.

locum-motion

RedemptionZ wrote: »

...but the Olympics are a whole other ball game...

hahashake wrote: »

Olympic 7s will be a completely different ball game ...

Nah, guys, I'm pretty sure it will still be Rugby 7's!

The Lost Sheep

hahashake wrote: »

Olympic 7s will be a completely different ball game with top tier players coming into the equation. Obviously it has a slightly different skill set and different conditioning but a lot of international 15s players have come from 7s so it won't be hard to make the transition back. Even the ones that haven't will still be a step above most 7s players in raw talent e.g. Folau.

Re the current NZ team, SA has the upper hand currently but it is only 1/3 of the way into the series. NZ lost a few veterans recently and SA has unearthed a few 7s stars. Still, Titch and the NZRU won't be happy with anything less than 1st.

Their wont be too many top tier players coming into the equation. And Olympics wont be a completely different ball game.

Braken wrote: »

Are NZ 7s in trouble ? Beaten again by the Bok 7s in South Africa ,finding it hard to beat the Boks of late...

Lost twice to them this series so far.. Wouldn't say theyre in trouble. Theyre still getting to semis each tournament. Theyre 3rd in series just behind Fiji, the Next round of series is in Wellington. Do well in that and they'll be up to 2nd..

hahashake

The Lost Sheep wrote: »

Their wont be too many top tier players coming into the equation. And Olympics wont be a completely different ball game.

I'm pretty sure there will be a few current ABs and Wallabies in their respective 7s sides for the Olympics. Not sure about GB or RSA.

RedemptionZ

The Lost Sheep wrote: »

Their wont be too many top tier players coming into the equation. And Olympics wont be a completely different ball game.

Currently there is no rugby sevens tournament that has anywhere near the prestige that winning an Olympic gold medal has. There's the World Cup but the fact that international games and tournaments of that style are so frequent in sevens it loses the novelty. Olympics will be broadcasted to a far wider audience, much more pressure on the teams to perform.

Braken

What the black 7s are lacking at present is a player or two with out and out pace
When they get that right ,they will be formidable again

RedemptionZ

Braken wrote: »

What the black 7s are lacking at present is a player or two with out and out pace
When they get that right ,they will be formidable again

Very harsh on the ABs. Still the best squad despite a few results to SA and the like so to call them anything but a formidable force is ludicrous IMO. I mean I'm not saying their squad is flawless, far from it and they do lack a little bit of pace, but they're still an AB team.

flynn2426

locum-motion wrote: »

Nah, guys, I'm pretty sure it will still be Rugby 7's!

How would u know??

The Lost Sheep

RedemptionZ wrote: »

Currently there is no rugby sevens tournament that has anywhere near the prestige that winning an Olympic gold medal has. There's the World Cup but the fact that international games and tournaments of that style are so frequent in sevens it loses the novelty. Olympics will be broadcasted to a far wider audience, much more pressure on the teams to perform.

7s world cup had huge prestige. Was played every 4 years like the Olympics will be and has been got rid of to show the IOC of prestige of the Olympic 7s tournament.

Braken wrote: »

What the black 7s are lacking at present is a player or two with out and out pace
When they get that right ,they will be formidable again

Harsh. Wouldn't say at all that their lacking out and out pace and to say they are not formidable ....:pac:

Braken

The Lost Sheep wrote: »

Harsh. Wouldn't say at all that their lacking out and out pace and to say they are not formidable ....:pac:

What would you think they are lacking ?
formidable definition ..causing fear,apprehension or dread....this is not the case this year particularly with the SA

The Lost Sheep

Jelly Jack wrote: »

Did Ireland ever have a 7s team?

We never have competed in the world series but have competed in the world cup which used to take place every 4 years. But not a regular team as the world cup sides were one off just for the tournament

RedemptionZ

Braken wrote: »

What would you think they are lacking ?
formidable definition ..causing fear,apprehension or dread....this is not the case this year particularly with the SA

They made it to the final!! Meaning at least on paper they were the second best team that week.

http://www.worldrugby.org/sevens-series/standings

Long long way till the series is over and NZ are on an upward trend. Don't be surprised if they end up winning.

Braken

RedemptionZ wrote: »

They made it to the final!! Meaning at least on paper they were the second best team that week.

http://www.worldrugby.org/sevens-series/standings

Long long way till the series is over and NZ are on an upward trend. Don't be surprised if they end up winning.

Look...all I am saying the rest of the nations are closing the gap,it always happens when a sport becomes an Olympic sport...a very prominent guy involved with super 15 s said to me the best chances the blacks have of winning Olympic 7s gold is the first one

The Lost Sheep

So Next stage of screening/selection process for the Men's side is this weekend.
45 players in Lansdowne for training/games etc Then exiles and players from the academies will join for a further selection day before squad is picked for the competitions to take place over the summer

Draw for European Championships has also been made. We're in Division C which will be played June 6/7
Pool A: Bosnia, Austria, Iceland, Malta
Pool B: Turkey, Belarus, Montenegro, Ireland
Pool C: Estonia, Serbia, Liechtenstein, San Marino

Finish in top 4 we qualify for Division B which will be played in Croatian June 20/21

The highest-ranked team in Division B then qualifies into the European Olympic Repêchage Tournament on 25/26 July [venue to be announced], the winner of which secures a place in the 2016 Rio Olympics
England currently are not in direct places for a world cup spot so we could have to play them if we got to Repechage stage of competition

Braken

It's great to see the 7s programme up and running at last .most of the top 7s nations now have their players contracted so it's going to be a long slog for us...

Hagz

A look at some of the potential Sevens squad.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uv9LDvz42Go

Yeah_Right

Does anybody know if any of the provincial players or even national team players are intending to have a crack at 7s next year? I know its happening in some other countries because the players want the chance to go to the Olympics.

The Lost Sheep

Yeah_Right wrote: »

Does anybody know if any of the provincial players or even national team players are intending to have a crack at 7s next year? I know its happening in some other countries because the players want the chance to go to the Olympics.

Doubt we'll see any irish team players involved but we'll see academy players and maybe some players on edge of provincial squads for now in the early stages of the qualification process.

Braken

Yeah_Right wrote: »

Does anybody know if any of the provincial players or even national team players are intending to have a crack at 7s next year? I know its happening in some other countries because the players want the chance to go to the Olympics.

The Irish side haven't a hope in hell of qualifying for Rio...

The Lost Sheep

Welsh Sevens head coach Gareth Williams has drafted in full internationals Rhodri Williams and Adam Warren for the next two rounds of the world series in Hong Kong and Japan

Wonder how many more will be added with 4 rounds of world series to go and so few places up for grabs for Olympics

Braken

The Lost Sheep wrote: »

Welsh Sevens head coach Gareth Williams has drafted in full internationals Rhodri Williams and Adam Warren for the next two rounds of the world series in Hong Kong and Japan

Wonder how many more will be added with 4 rounds of world series to go and so few places up for grabs for Olympics

Wales are placed 11th at the moment with England 5th the leading country will represent GB at the Olympics
There are two other qualification routes the regional 7s championship with one to go through from Europe and a final Olympic qualification tournament
Where the best ranked teams from the world regions play for 1 final place...

The Lost Sheep

Braken wrote: »

Wales are placed 11th at the moment with England 5th the leading country will represent GB at the Olympics
There are two other qualification routes the regional 7s championship with one to go through from Europe and a final Olympic qualification tournament
Where the best ranked teams from the world regions play for 1 final place...

I know Wales are placed 11th.
England, as leading side of the 3 British sides in last years world series, are representing Britain in the qualification process this year. The decision regarding who will represent Britain in the Olympics hasn't been decided yet AFAIK. Should England finish in the top four of the world series in 2014–15, or any of the three British unions qualify in a later stage, the 3 unions will then decide the composition of the Great Britain team

ArmaniJeanss

Probably essential for us that England (i.e. GBR) finish in the top 4 in the World Series and thus get an Olympic place.
As I understand it that would mean that they (nor Wales/Scotland) would not take part in the European qualifier for Rio, leaving it relatively open as Europe isn't a hotbed of Sevens. France would be the favs but no great shakes, Portugal the next highest ranked. We'd have a decent outside squeak at getting the place there. However if England only finish 5th in the Series they'd likely cruise the Euro qualifier.

The final spot, the worldwide repechege, will probably be a minefield and possibly too many experienced outfits for us to have much of a chance.

Braken

ArmaniJeanss wrote: »

Probably essential for us that England (i.e. GBR) finish in the top 4 in the World Series and thus get an Olympic place.
As I understand it that would mean that they (nor Wales/Scotland) would not take part in the European qualifier for Rio, leaving it relatively open as Europe isn't a hotbed of Sevens. France would be the favs but no great shakes, Portugal the next highest ranked. We'd have a decent outside squeak at getting the place there. However if England only finish 5th in the Series they'd likely cruise the Euro qualifier.

The final spot, the worldwide repechege, will probably be a minefield and possibly too many experienced outfits for us to have much of a chance.

Yea it will be close for the 4th spot between England and Australia only 3 points seperate them at present...I agree the European qualifier would be our best outside chance...the US team would probably be fav for the repechege they have come on a lot under their new coach mike Friday ,gave the blacks a close run in Vegas...I think we will struggle long term without contracted players...

sydneybound

Cracking matches going on in the Hong Kong 7s. It's a massive event over there, the biggest in their sporting calendar by all accounts.

NZ V Fiji in the final at 12.

sydneybound

Fiji are immense 21-0 after 9 minutes in the final.

Braken

Final score 33-19 to Fiji ..the Fijians are are such natural players ,great with ball in hand and can move of both feet,they have really tightened up on their defence which will make this team a real danger for Gold in Rio

The Lost Sheep

England won Japanese leg of world series last weekend. They're up to 4th now behind South Africa, Fiji and New Zealand. England 9 points ahead of Australia with 2 rounds to go, in Glasgow and Twickenham, which will be played in May. If England get through it will help Irelands slim chances of making the Olympics.

thebaz

The Lost Sheep wrote: »

If England get through it will help Irelands slim chances of making the Olympics.

Be great to see Ireland at the Olympics - I know we are way way behind all others - but if we got in I think we could add serious players to set up - to mount a decent showing - so go on England

Braken

thebaz wrote: »

Be great to see Ireland at the Olympics - I know we are way way behind all others - but if we got in I think we could add serious players to set up - to mount a decent showing - so go on England

Europe is getting tough Portugal 7s recently drew with NZ

sydneybound

Braken wrote: »

Europe is getting tough Portugal 7s recently drew with NZ

Canada beat the All Blacks at the weekend too while the US seem to be getting better and better. Got to the semis recently.

Braken

sydneybound wrote: »

Canada beat the All Blacks at the weekend too while the US seem to be getting better and better. Got to the semis recently.

I think I will go ante post Fiji for the Gold at Rio,with maybe the yanks an outside chance for bronze...