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Ed Jenkins has decided to step down as captain of the Australian men’s rugby sevens team ahead of the start of the 2016-17 world series.
Jenkins has been the side’s captain since 2011, but announced that he would be relinquishing the role in the wake of an unsuccessful Rio Olympics campaign.
“This isn’t something that has come about overnight, Friendy (coach Andy Friend) and I had been discussing a transition well before the Olympics. With a lot of new faces in the squad, we thought the time was right for the team to start looking to the future,” said Jenkins.
Jenkins’ replacement has been named as 23-year-old playmaker Lewis Holland, however he won’t feature at all during the 2016-17 world series after rupturing his achilles tendon during a pre-season training session.
Coach Friend said Jenkins is still an important part of the side and will be part of the leadership group for the coming years, but the decision to put the team’s interests in front of his own was an unselfish one.
“Ed and I had been working on a plan for post-Olympics for several months and he has decided that the time was right to hand over the captaincy. Ed has put what he believes is in the best interests of the team ahead of his own personal endeavours, which shows the quality leader that he is,” Friend said.
“Prior to Rio, Ed signed on with the Sevens program until the end of 2018, so he certainly still has a lot to contribute the team in terms of leadership and experience and he will be there to support Lewis and the other guys in the leadership group for at least the next two years.”
Holland, originally from Queanbeyan, has 31 caps for the Australian sevens team and earned beaming praise from his coach.
“Lewis was the obvious choice to lead the team,” said Friend. “Not only was he one of our most outstanding players last season, he has also grown tremendously as a leader and has the respect of the group.
“Lewy suffered a cruel break with his achilles injury, but we wanted to acknowledge his standing within the squad by naming his as club captain. Throughout the season we’ll appoint tournament captains for each tournament.’
30-year-old Jenkins is the most-capped Australian sevens player with 45 appearances and has not ruled out continuing his career past the end of his current contract, which expires in 2018.
Due to the injury of Holland, the Australian sevens team will appoint on-field captains for each tournament they play during the 2016-17 world series.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.