Does Olympic rugby need NRL players?

John, 7s is nothing like league IMO. Wigan won and Bradford won as well, good on em. So did the british army. But the fact remains when league fans bring those events up to try and prove a point, they are missing the point,,, A English 7s CLUB comp DOES NOT represent the whole of the Rugby population. They dont represent Manu Samoa etc. So what do you say when i bring up the point that Aussie Rugby SchoolBoys defeated a League school at a Hybrid game? What about when Stade Francias defeated a League club in france... at League? And a amateur Utah club rugby team defeated a 'pro' League club by 50 points... TWice.. under league rules? Do those league teams represent all League players? Can i boast about how superior rugby players are to League players based on those results? The answer is NO.

First you tell us it was a year before then you say it was a month before. The competition was not taken seriously by the Rugby sides so claiming they beat the best of Rugby is more then a stretch. Most of the players there were not even premier rugby players. And the one's who were spent most of the tournament sitting on the pine.

Its funny people said exactly the same in 2002 with regards to 1996 when Wigan won it. Bradford then proceeded to win it even more dominantly than Wigan. Also after these wins Rugby people gave the excuse it was only because sevens is more similar to League than Rugby, however those that dont want League players near the sevens team say it is nothing alike and that League players dont have the necessary skills. People cant have it both ways.

Wrong the Commonwealth games were the month before. Greening of Wasps was captain of the England sevens and made to look a mug by Bradford. Wasps also had Lewsey and Sampson in it and had others like Sackey who would later go on to play for England. Gloucester who Bradford also beat had England sevens players like Amor and Paul playing for them. As such Wasps and Gloucester were strongly fancied to win it and got demolished. St Hillaire had been injured all of the previous season, couldnt get in the Leeds team and was using it for fitness. Shortly after he was at Huddersfield. He was hardly a name in League and dozens of better players could have been picked but they wouldnt have been released by their clubs. Commitment or not nearly all of the best sevens players that England had to offer were playing in the 2002 Middlesex sevens. Bradford absolutely demolished the best sevens players that England had to offer after playing a Super League game the night before and getting to London at 5 in the morning after their coach broke down. After this many Rugby people at the time though that League players should get picked for England in sevens tournaments to give them a better chance. I dont know why Rugby fans get to defensive, it is simply naive to think that NRL players wouldnt make Australia better at sevens. Whether it is right to pick them is a different matter.

I can say the same thing for Australia as they have more soccer players than rugby league. If Kiwis are passionate towards both codes then rugby league international and Warriors tv ratings should be up there with the All Blacks and super rugby but they are not.

Sorry john, its hard to take that event seriously since its a English competition. I also find it rather pointless to see leaguies continually bring that 2002 event up, which was more than 10 years ago, which had vastly different teams and approach to professionalism as it is now... and how they use it to try and score points on the internet...

"Wasps had 5 players that had represented England in the Commonwealth games sevens the year before" The Commonwealth Games was in held in Manchester a month after Bradford won the 2002 Middlesex Sevens, not the year before. Wasps provided two players to England's 14-man squad at the Games, not five. Incidentally, one of the other members of that squad was Leeds Rhinos rugby league wing Marcus St Hilaire. England's sevens coach at the time was former Wigan star Joe Lydon. The Premiership clubs commitment to the sevens format was amply demonstrated earlier in 2002 when many refused to release players for the Beijing Sevens tournament in March that year. Arguably England's best sevens exponent, Ben Gollings, was pulled from the trip by Harlequins. Lydon and the RFU had said Beijing would be crucial preparation for the Commonwealth Games so there was a considerable fuss at the time.

ptovey01 You musn't know much about rugby sevens if you select a fourteen man side to represent Australia at the Olympics. All International sevens tornaments consist of 12 players per team so two of you selections are redundant. How Will Chambers could play in an international rugby sevens side is incredible when he couldn't make the Qld Reds 22 man squad in 2011. Uakile Uate would be one of the slowest Fijian wingers ever to play any form of rugby and wouldn't be in Fiji's top one hundred players. Greg Inglis doesn't have the fitness to play seven-a-side a rugby and I have no idea what Cameron Smith would do on a rugby sevens side. Where would he play? - he is slow, slight and i've never seen him tackle- apart from being fourth in a gang tackle. The Morris brothers are trundlers. Michael Jennings is also slow and has no conception of space. Tony Williams doesn't have the fitness to be a sevens player. Glenn Stewart is as average as Paul Gallen and Anthony Watmough ( thankfully you didn't name these two in your squad). Justin Hodges' breaks from dummy half wouldn't get him anwhere in sevens and I've never seen him stretch out. He looks to have no speed past his initial two metres whasoever. Brett Stewart and Jarryd Hayne are great talents but injuries and lack of heart respectively would militate aginst them being able to perform over two/three days of breakneck competition at 2 hour intervals. By contrast Jonathan Thurston and Billy Slater would be welcome additions to any rugby sevens team. Unfortunately it won't happen because they play rugby league and rugby has fought tooth and nail for the last 30 years to be included in the Olympics. If rugby league nines is admitted to the Olympics I'll be happy to provide a list of rugby players who should be included in the Australian side. I'd expect to be shot down in flames as you must have been when you wrote your article.

You forget to mention that in the 2002 event that Bradford battered Wasps in the final. Wasps had 5 players that had represented England in the Commonwealth games sevens the year before and contained many of the best sevens players that England had to offer. They had also beaten Gloucester previously who also had England sevens players, as well as full internationals, playing. All this after Bradford getting spanked the night before against St Helens in a Super League match and only getting to London at 5 in the morning after their coach breaking down. Talking about whoever won last years event is irrelevant as the event is now not used by professional teams and is rather pointless.

Cmon Zippa don't let a few facts get in the way of your story mate.

Again Zippa, i have no problems with league players being selected, BUT they have to be signed with the ARU, and play for a 15s and 7s teams at least 1 - 2 years before being eligible for Olympic Rugby 7s team.

Zippa i'm just speaking from my experience of playing all three games. There is noway on earth you could play 40 minutes of sevens and then back it up with another 40 after half time.

So Karlos, you mean to say that a 7s tournament in England... represents all the rugby playing nations on earth right? So when a Amateur Club rugby team in Utah beats the 'PRO' Leaguie team from Utah at LEAGUE by 50 points.. it means somehow that Pro league team in USA represents the whole of the league playing nations? And check this out.. the winners last season were Samurai International... Lol.. Very professional. Also from that 2002 event. "Yet the entertainment failed to match the hot weather because some Premiership clubs - most notably Leicester and Bath - failed to honour the commitment that 50 per cent of their players would have first-team experience." AND anyways.. That is England.. They have never won an IRB series event... And everyone knows how rubbish England is at Rugby anyways.

you spelt cochon wrong or i dont get it ?

Good on them after all they won't be playing in the Olympics ever so they can choose NRL and AFL grand final if they want it doesn't matter. I do know that NRL is bigger in NSW and QLD. AFL is bigger in WA, SA, Tasmania and Victoria.

Leo most Aussies would prefer to win an NRL grand final or an AFL grand final much more than would a gold medal otherwise rowing and swimming would be more popular than RL or aussie rules but we all know RL and AFL are king in Australia with daylight next.

Zippa? 10'000 crowds? So those 120K who rocked up over 3 days in Dubai... the other 120K over 3 days in Hong Kong... the 70K+ in USA over 2 days... They are all made up numbers ey?

I was there the Wigan team would have won anything they wanted. Now , they might not . Proves nothing.

Any Australian side would be stronger 7s if they Included NRL players too. It would be great fun .

Karlos, you also have to really clever to read obviously. Like playing Union, I suggest you give it a go some time...