I read a post on The Roar by Robbie Deans which was always going to polarise opinions, and there was one such opinion that I took exception to (and of course I duly replied).
One of the Roarers was lamenting about the good players like Bernard Foley, Luke Morahan and Ben Lucas being dragged out of the Lions tour to play Sevens for Australia in Moscow.
Now, I admit, those lads might have a small crisis of conscience, but I am guessing that they have weighed up a Lions Tour experience against a potential future Olympic experience (note: I didn’t say “medal”) because there are no guarantees of that for any of the sides, but the experience alone must be worth striving for.
If you were Foley, or Morahan or Lucas, former (so they thought) 7s players, who might have thought that their chances of getting to the Olympics were over, and Michael O’Connor, or whoever is responsible at ARU HQ throws out the opportunity to have a crack at being an Olympian, would you go for it or would you say no?
Yes the opportunity to play the Lions comes around once in 12 years, but the opportunity to be an Olympian comes around once in a lifetime! Yes, there might be Rugby players who play in two Olympics, but I would guess that they wouldn’t play in too many Super Rugby games or Tests in their careers.
It’s a real bastard being spoiled for that kind of choice, but most of us Roarers can only dream about that!
The point is that that this particular Roarer is very short sighted – if we don’t bolster our Sevens squad, there is a big chance that we won’t even qualify.
From what I can see, we are not yet there, by a long shot – so if we didn’t qualify then this whole debate is meaningless, anyway, isn’t it?
I saw an article in The Canberra Times by Tom Cusack, one of the current crop of Australian 7s players – a great young lad and a huge talent (I watched him at school level – the mighty Marist, Canberra) who was basically pleading for a “hands off” approach.
His thesis: let the current crop develop and we will show you what we can do – admirable, Tom, but naïve.
There is every possibility that you guys are just the keepers of the flame.
What do I mean by that?
By the time the Olympics come around (and assuming that you great bunch of players has got us there) – then the media and political pressure will come on strong.
They will want the best possible athletes, including guys from outside the Sevens set up.
You might see pressure to pick the Israel Folaus, or even players from the NRL like Billy Slater or Benji Marshall.
Even an AFL player – they do, after all, have a bit of political clout.
I am not joking – it could happen.
This debate has not even gotten off the ground, but it will. And the pressure from everywhere will be enormous – wouldn’t mind being a fly on the wall in some of the discussions that Michael O’Connor has with the ARU).
Will there be political intervention (or interference?) How will Bill Pulver and his successors, et al (never forget Al!) deal with it?
Maybe Mick O’Connor could be persuaded to share his thoughts with us at The Roar?
Food for thought and probably for another day, but I don’ t think that we should let the Lions tour blindside us, as there is a lot of work to do.
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