British Rugby sevens look for XVs Olympic support

Great Britain Sevens will look at bringing players from 15-a-side rugby into their squad in a bid to bolster their challenge for Olympic glory.

While the likes of New Zealand's Sonny Bill Williams, South Africa's Bryan Habana and Australia's Quade Cooper will all be bidding for a medal when Sevens makes its Games debut in Brazil, no front-rank player has yet to be confirmed in the British side.

Great Britain men's Sevens head coach Simon Amor plans to name a wider training group in early May before the final 12-man squad is announced in July, with two separate squads entered into a variety of competitions in June and July for what will effectively be a series of selection trials.

"Being able to enter two GB teams in all competitions allows us to test different combinations and confirm which XV-a-side players can make the physical, mental and game-understanding transition," Amor said Friday.

Part of the problem is that England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland are independent rugby nations for all major events outside of the Olympics.

But for Games purposes, as is the case with all sports, they are split into the separate teams of Great Britain and Ireland.

Adding to the complexity is that while Northern Ireland athletes usually compete under the British banner at an Olympics, they also have the option of representing the independent Republic of Ireland at the Games.

By contrast, the Irish rugby team that competes in the Six Nations features players from both sides of the border.

England, the leading sevens nation among the four Home Unions -- albeit they finished last of the 18 teams when in the World Series tour event in Las Vegas last month -- are set to provide the bulk of the Olympic squad.

Players are able to earn a living as sevens specialists and with the England XV-a-side team set for a three-Test tour of Australia in June, the chances of any of the side that featured in this year's Six Nations Grand Slam appearing in Rio are slim.

And with the other Home Unions also making post-season tours, Celtic stars such as George North may not be released for Olympic duty, with clubs such as the Wales wing's English Premiership side Northampton reluctant to expose their top players to an additional risk of injury on someone else's behalf.

But fringe or discarded international players such as former England fly-half Danny Cipriani could make it into Amor's final Olympic squad.

"I've been looking closely both at sevens specialists from across the three unions and a number of XV-a-side players throughout the season and know the balance we need in the squad," Amor said.
SouexW :AFP