Olympics and Rugby
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It is hard not to be inspired by Olympic endeavour. It is also hard to justify the Olympics without rugby.
There are plenty of sporting lessons to be learnt from the Games, biomechanically, mentally and as a spectacle.
Here are some sites to visit to get your juices going. And here’s Olympic Sevens, men’s and women’s in 2012.
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Sevens is a worldwide game played by many nations; the spirit and ethos of rugby is closer to the Olympian ideals than many other sports.
Comment by Martin O'Brien August 28, 2008 @ 11:27 amMmmm, for us afficionados, undoubtedly. But, how would it be sorted so that the medals were not always won by the usual suspects? (Age group?, Uncapped players only? Those not being fully paid?) Is there a way to ensure that teams such as Kenya, Uruguay, Georgia and Holland can realistically aspire to the top? If so, it would be great. Another issue is the venue. Where would the tournament be? If it were to be in London, the venue would have to be in the centre of Olympic attention, not farmed out to Twickenham – it must be created as a true desire to see the expansion of the game, not merely propping up the established order.
Comment by Steve Johnson September 1, 2008 @ 10:20 amI have never witnessed rugby in the olympics and have always questioned why. To me, and many others, rugby is the sport that asks the most of the human body. It takes fitness, strength, agility, speed, teamwork, passion, and above all…intellegence. I have played many sports and I find rugby to be the most trying sport. It asks the most of a person, physically and mentally. I can not think of a better way to help the sport grow even further than to showcase it at the olympics. I also feel sevens to be a great introduction rather than 15′s just for the fact that it is easier to see everything going on and it is much more fluid. This will help new comers to the sport understand it more and keep from getting lost as much. I thought the advertisement for it was also perfect. The combination of the league play and the youth rugby was a nice touch. Best of luck to getting the idea off the ground and I will be sure to tune in for more details.
-Joe (USA)
Comment by Joe Marino September 1, 2008 @ 5:55 pmWhy 7′s why not a more general game of 10′s bringing in more aspects of the 15 a side game?
Comment by Ian September 2, 2008 @ 10:01 amWhy not 10′s? Well because there is no need for a “more 15′s feel”. Sevens is a great variation. Speed, speed, speed. It’s a viewer friendly game aswell, just ask Hong Kong.
Comment by Zac October 6, 2008 @ 2:06 amAn awesome video. A 7s tournament is the perfect package for rugby to gain inclusion to the olympic games.
Comment by Stewart May 28, 2009 @ 9:39 am