Rugby Sevens - Rio Olympics   7 Feb 2015

Andrew Mehrtens

RUGBY SEVENS

Any aspiring All Blacks Olympians will have to do the hard yards on the sevens circuit first before entertaining any grand ideas of going for gold at Rio, according to New Zealand rugby legend Andrew Mehrtens.

06/02/2015

Andrew Mehrtens scored just shy of 1,000 points in 70 appearances for New Zealand in what was an incredible, nine-year international career. But, unlike his successors in the All Blacks jersey, he never had the opportunity to compete at the Olympic Games.

A top four spot at the end of the current HSBC Sevens World Series would guarantee New Zealand a place in the rugby sevens event at Rio 2016 – and open up the possibility of seeing the likes of 15s stars Sonny Bill Williams and Julian Savea going for gold.

However, as Mehrtens points out, being an All Black at 15s does not give any player the divine right to be one in sevens.

“You can look at freaks of the game like Israel Folau and Sonny Bill Williams who can probably pick up the ball and run with it in any code. But just because a guy a star in 15s it doesn’t automatically transfer to the sevens game,” Mehrtens said.

“I think if anyone is serious about playing sevens at the Olympics they have got to put aside the whole of the 2016 season to get up to speed. Yes, the basic skills are the same or similar but sevens has got its own innovations, its own strategies and it takes some time to pick that up.

“There is a conditioning issue as well, a different sort of fitness is required. It is short and sharp and anaerobically very challenging. You wouldn’t go into a Rugby World Cup straight from Rugby League which is the challenge for Sam Burgess, it is a very, very hard ask.

“While rugby guys might come in with a profile, particularly in New Zealand as an All Black, I think the favourites (to be selected) are the guys that are proven, the ones that are already in the system. But that’s not to say there might not be a couple of bolters.”

HAVE NEW ZEALAND LOST THEIR EDGE?

It would be one of the biggest shocks in rugby, in either code, if New Zealand failed to make it to Rio 2016. With another Cup quarter-final spot booked in Wellington they remain on course to successfully defend their home tournament title and improve their third place in the series standing.

While a top four spot would be enough for them to compete in Brazil, Mehrtens says New Zealand will want to go there as reigning series champions. “Like any team they will be out to win the series; they have won it a number of times (12 in 15 years) and will want to do so again. I don’t think they’ll be satisfied with just getting into the top four,” he said.

“Clearly New Zealand has a big task ahead of them to win the title again as South Africa are going very well. Sevens is probably not a game that has suited South Africa historically but they have made a big effort on it recently in terms of their tactics and physical preparation, and I guess the competitive edge that New Zealand naturally had – through the efforts of Gordon Tietjens, whether that’s through the conditioning or being at the forefront of the innovation of sevens and developing and evolving the game – is not necessarily there anymore.”

Mehrtens says that the continued improvement of nations like the USA – through to another Cup quarter-final in Wellington – will draw more people to the sport, especially once the Olympic Games is underway.

“Sevens is fantastic in that almost anything can happen in the games,” he said. “The traditional big boys in sevens normally come through but at the same time you’re seeing teams like United States and Kenya getting through to the quarter-finals, or even a team like Scotland, who haven’t traditionally had much sevens success, making progress.

“Looking at the bigger picture it (sevens) has to be respected in its own right as a standalone sport, but it is also a great vehicle for rugby in general to get into markets where people who might not know about the intracies of rugby can still get excited by the sport.”

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