Saracens pair will push for role in Rio 2016 Olympics

England duo Chris Ashton and Alex Goode are prepared to put their Premiership careers on hold when Sevens makes its inaugural appearance at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
The Saracens pair, who chief executive Edward Griffiths confirmed would be released if called upon, are desperate to sample the Olympic spirit currently engulfing the nation.
Rugby league convert Ashton has already earned a reputation as one of Europe’s deadliest finishers in the 15-man code and would jump at the chance of representing Team GB.
“Yes I’d love to play at the Olympic Games in Rio in 2016 if I was given the chance,” said Ashton. “I would be 29 then so I might be a bit past it but hopefully not.
“I would like to go there and any chance to get a gold medal is a very exciting thought.”
The inclusion of Lancaster’s elite 15-man stars would be a controversial move as England already possesses a specialist Sevens squad, who are centrally contracted to the RFU.
But the temptation for coach Ben Ryan to include stars such as Ashton and Goode, who could both appear at the JP Morgan Sevens final this Friday at the Rec, would be overwhelming.
And Goode, who made his England debut in the summer tour of South Africa, admits if there was even a glimmer of an opportunity he would fight tooth and nail to earn his place on the plane to South America.
“I have always wanted to go to Rio – it would be ideal to combine it with an Olympic Games,” said Goode. “I wouldn’t hesitate to do it, I would literally love to do that.
“It would be a dream to be an Olympian. To see the Olympics now and the fever I have got if I even had a glimmer of getting there I would work myself to the bone to have a chance.
“It would be fantastic. I think it would take two months maybe to play a few games and get that level of fitness because those boys are complete athletes these days.
“But it’s something I would just grasp with two hands, just to say I’ve been to an Olympics and to tell your kids when they’re young is special.”
With the Olympics in Rio taking place in the summer – a jaunt to Brazil for Ashton and Goode would not be hugely disruptive to their England and Saracens’ careers.
And Saracens chief executive Griffiths,above, admitted if one of his players were desperate to head to the Rio Olympic Games – neither he, nor the club, would stand in their way.
“We’d absolutely release Chris Ashton,” he said. “Obviously it’s a long way away but we try and align the club’s interests with the players’ interests.
“Obviously for the player it would be great to play in the Olympics so from our side it would be great for him to play in the Olympics as well.”
JACK ZORAB