Jeff Probyn: Glasgow Sevens should have included some stars

The Commonwealth Games have just started in Scotland and have already been downgraded to a second class contest by the IRB. Whether deliberately or not, the call from the IRB to field ‘star players’ from the XV’s game in the 2016 Olympics in Brazil, while not bothering for the Commonwealth Games, leaves a slightly bitter taste.
The IRB Sevens have been up and running for years and have grown to such an extent that they finally made the grade and were chosen as an Olympic trial sport for 2016. But IRB chief executive, Brett Gosper, stated that he feels that for rugby to really benefit from Olympic inclusion it needs to have its big name XV’s stars involved.
His comments – “The profile of the players in XV’s is obviously something which has a lot of impact. We think it’s important, and the Olympic Committee would like us to have them there” – would seem to indicate that as far as he is concerned it is not particularly important whether those players will help their teams to win or not.
The fact that he hasn’t called for that same inclusion for the Commonwealth games is baffling on two fronts. First, the Commonwealth Games are one of the world’s major sporting events and a good showing there would help set up the teams in the minds of the public for the Olympics.
Second, as the Commonwealth Games are taking place now outside the Premiership season, it would have allowed the XV’s ‘stars’ that Gosper wants, to play without causing major disruption to their clubs – then we could have seen if they actually help to improve the teams or not.
Gosper’s assumption that countries should feel the need to include their XV’s stars to improve their Sevens team is slightly flawed and insulting because Sevens has evolved.
It is no longer the game that was played by clubs at the end of the season, with a props team that mauled the ball up and down the field while working up a thirst for the post Sevens BBQ, (well maybe it still is at grassroots).
The modern Sevens game is a meticulously planned operation and the players are highly specialised with skill sets tailored to the needs of the shortened game and those needs are very different from the XV’s game. Yes, it is possible that some of the ‘star’ players would be great additions to their country’s squad but there is no guarantee and it would take time to re-educate them.
It not just me that is concerned, the Premiership have already fired a shot across the bows of players who are likely to be called on to play for their countries in the Olympics. A veiled threat from Leicester chief executive Simon Cohen that it could have a detrimental effect on contract negotiations, may not have much of an impact on the England stars but would obviously put undue pressure on players from the minor nations.
Looking ahead, it is likely that the teams that compete for the medals in the Commonwealth Games will be the same teams striving for medals and gold at the Olympics with many of the same players. I think that it would be morally wrong to ‘bus in’ better known XV’s star players for the Olympics at the expense of those that have played in the IRB Sevens and won medals at the Commonwealth Games.
*This article was first published in The Rugby Paper on July 27.