Quade Cooper is already talking about becoming an Olympian but a treacherous path to Rio is about to become abundantly clear for any Wallabies with five-ringed aspirations.
Australia’s hopes of qualifying for rugby sevens action at the 2016 Olympic Games face their acid test next weekend (November 14-15) when they contest the Oceania Regional qualifying tournament in Auckland.
Caretaker coach Tim Walsh, who has already guided Australia’s women’s team to a Rio berth, will announce a full-strength squad for the eight-nation tournament on Monday, including game-breaking star Cameron Clark in his return from injury.
Not only will all 12 sevens specialists be looking to secure qualification for the world No.5-ranked Thunderbolts, who face a tough rival in Samoa, they will also aim to put a down payment on their own Olympic selection hopes.
Since rugby was admitted to the Olympics, Wallabies players such as Cooper, Israel Folau and Michael Hooper have been feted as star recruits.
But Walsh admits it won’t be easy for even the most talented Wallabies – especially with the prospect of France-based Cooper and Brumbies flyer Henry Speight likely to only be released for just three tournaments on the world series circuit.
In contrast, Sonny Bill Williams and fellow All Black Liam Messam will play the entire season with New Zealand’s sevens team.
A member of Australia’s 2002 Commonwealth Games team, Walsh won’t rule any Wallabies out from making the leap, even with Rio only 10 months away, but stressed it was uncharted territory for 15s players.
“The current (Thunderbolts) boys are hardened three to four-year veterans on the circuit and have been there and done that,” he told AAP.
“In sevens the laws are so much more magnified and you also have to adapt to the style of play.”
Former national coach Michael O’Connor offered a more dire warning when he finished his six-season tenure last year, stating only Folau and Hooper had the talent to make Olympic selection with a minimum four-tournament build-up.
Speight has been granted a Super Rugby release for three tournaments – Sydney, Hong Kong and London – while nothing has been assured for Cooper, who reiterated his Games dreams on signing with Toulon on Wednesday.
An Australian Rugby Union spokesman said it was positive that Toulon were prepared to release the 58-Test five-eighth but stressed nothing had been agreed.
Despite speculation Wallabies will take the places of loyal sevens servants, Walsh denied Thunderbolts players were bitter about the potential prospect.
“They want the best possible players in the team and they want to be challenged,” he said.
“They’re on the front foot – they know sevens and they’re already here.”
Chivas
Guest
Good point, just grab a couple of Wallaby wingers, Quadie and a couple of loose forwards. Rio here we come. Gotta be better than those no-name talentless sevens players. Oh wait what game are we talking about.... Never mind... Go the Wallabies and Quade the legend :-)
cuw
Guest
contrary to popular belief, this is his 10th year with nz 7S team. i guess he is famos becoz nz have won 12 out of 15 world 7s series tournaments since 2000. in addition to other honors as commonwealth gold and world 7s championships. just like mccaw, he has been the face of the 7s team for long, though they had many more stars.
cuw
Guest
in 7s there is nothing called a playmaker, everyone is a playmaker BUT some seem to do it better, the likes of Waisale Serevi, DJ forbes, Ben Gollins, Ule mai, thomasi cama, cecil africa. each and every player in the squad of 10 need to be aware of one thing - SPACE. once u put someone in space it is a matter of supporting the runner. there are few out-and-out speedsters in 7s like the us sprinter carlin isles or the englishman dan nortan or the fijian william ryder. most of the others are of acceptable speed like any other player.
usacenter
Guest
Shame this site has trolls like you chivas. Your hate for a professional athlete you've probably never met just makes me feel sorry for you.
Chivas
Guest
Have another bottle. It all might start to make sense.
Jibba Jabba
Roar Guru
Yo - but the 1st 5 role is a play makers role i thought ?
Jibba Jabba
Roar Guru
Geez DJ Forbes must be about 100 years old now !
cuw
Guest
SBW is not a shoe-in to the team , he is in the squad as a newbie. also scott curry is the new skipper. Dylan Collier (Waikato) Scott Curry (Bay of Plenty) Sam Dickson (Canterbury) DJ Forbes (Counties Manukau) Gillies Kaka (Hawke’s Bay) Akira Ioane (Auckland) Rieko Ioane (Auckland) Ben Lam (Auckland) Liam Messam (Waikato) Tim Mikkelson (Waikato) Ardie Savea (Wellington) Sherwin Stowers (Counties Manukau) Sam Vaka (Counties Manukau) Beaudein Waaka (Taranaki) Joe Webber (Waikato) Sonny Bill Williams* (Counties Manukau) *new squad member While Messam and Williams have committed for the entire series (10 tournaments), other Super Rugby players selected will be available for the Wellington and Sydney tournaments (Ioane brothers, Lam and Savea). They will then return to their Super Rugby teams through to Week 10 and be available for the remaining two tournaments of the World Series in Paris and London.
cuw
Guest
Teams that do not achieve a top four ranking through the 2014/15 HSBC Men’s Sevens World Series need to win their respective 2015 World Rugby Regional Association Men’s Sevens Championships to be held between 1 June 2015 and 31 December 2015. There are six total quota qualification places available, one per region: Africa (CAR), Asia (ARFU), Europe (FIRA-AER), North America and the Caribbean (NACRA), Oceania (FORU) and South America (CONSUR). The Oceania tournament will be held in Auckland in November. Australia would need to win the Oceania (FORU) Regional Men’s Sevens Championships to receive a qualification place for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Since New Zealand and Fiji from the Oceania region are currently ranked in the top four in the 2015/16 Sevens World Series, they will not be eligible to participate in the Oceania (FORU) Regional Men’s Sevens Championships. :) Should the Australia not qualify through the Regional Tournament but still achieve a top three placing, then they will participate in the Men’s Final Olympic Qualification Tournament for the final place in the Olympic Games. This tournament will take place between January 2016 and 30 June 2016 (final date confirmation will be made by 30 November 2015). The best ranked teams from each 2015 Regional Tournament will be invited to participate, 16 in total: Africa (3 teams), Asia (3 teams), Europe (4 teams), North America and the Caribbean (2 teams), Oceania (2 teams), and South America (2 teams). Teams that have already qualified for the Olympic Games will not be eligible to participate in this tournament. Only the winner of this Final Olympic Qualification Tournament will receive the final qualification place to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
cuw
Guest
no need for high level rucking and mauling skills like Pocock or Mccaw for the 7s game. just read what the coach said - LAWS are magnified. u cannot hold onto the ball for ages like u do in 15s. there are just 7 on the park from each side and usually the tackler is also the poacher. u dont release the whistle goes. the simple reason sbw will be good in 7s is , he was a forward in league and he just has to do the same stuff. if u have seen 7s , the scrums are more or less simillar to the league ones. the line out is just 2 guys. the 2 most important skills are handling and tackling. NO KNOCKONS!!! and u cant miss one-on-one tackles!!! if i recall Akira Ioane dropped a ball in his first year with 7s and NZ lost the match (2014). but sbw will come up against some big quick guys from fiji and south africa and england in 7s. there are others who can also shock u like kenya or usa for example. the good thing is he will play the entire season - i think 10 tournaments.
taylorman
Roar Guru
It is an interesting one. Sevens requires a high level of fitness and consistency over a lot of matches over a very short time frame in terms of not only each match but the period of the tournament. It's a completely different fitness regime as fifteens...80 minutes every week for several months. Here the tournaments done in a few days. 3 or 4 a day. Assuming Coopers role will be as a playmaker, outside back or forward not really his style, he has a sharp learning curve because he hasn't played that role before.
Chivas
Guest
My sister didn't play either. Maybe that would have made a difference. Delusion is strong in this one.
Dave
Guest
Yes, glad we went with the ‘safe’ option and only lost by 17 points. Phew, couldn’t risk winning I guess
Jibba Jabba
Roar Guru
Suggest you review that - I am no fan of QC stemming back to 2011 but ...he is a gifted rugby player and a better athlete than most of the current '7's players going around. .
Jibba Jabba
Roar Guru
I think QC would do more than okay - he is an extremely good athlete so fitness and strength should not be an issue, he has great ball instincts and a great pass which would be an asset in the '7s' and if he still has pace......he will do pretty well across a more open field. i.e. plenty of space for his dazzling footwork.. . - and like all rugby players he would have played the '7' game before. Actually the more i think about the more i am interested to see him play '7s'.
American Dave
Guest
I have to say articles like these seem to do a massive disservice to the lads in Australian 7's team. They perpetuate this idea that every 15's player is a shoe in. Cooper would be a massive liability if selected and played. Too weak in too many areas to be of use for the team.
44bottles
Roar Guru
"Ok TWAS. Quade is awesome and will be as instrumental as Foley was at sevens." Because that's exactly what he said
Chivas
Guest
Ok TWAS. Quade is awesome and will be as instrumental as Foley was at sevens. A couple of small points you gloss over: 1. Foley knows the game 2. Foley was aerobically fitter and a couple of kg lighter. There is a compromise between 15's and sevens. 3. I don't think Qiuade is a more effective contributor to a sevens type defence than Foley. Not everything is a p55ing contest between your first love and Foley. Remember to also factor in the context of my comments, which was considering he doesn't know the game, other parts of his game will be even more under the spotlight if he wants to have a point of difference. I expect he has as much chance of being a valuable member of an olympic sevens side as he has of being a serious contender in boxing. But who knows he may surprise me. As an aside staying up with the pace of the game... Have you seen him playing sevens in a tournament requiring him to take the field 3 or 4 times a day for several days on end.
puff
Guest
Difficult call: Gents, like most rugby fans I wish QC all the best at Toulan, they play a slower game which may suit his style of play. In my observation he struggles with the pace of up tempo rugby, only looks comfortable on the front foot but is bereft of structure when under pressure. Although the man has a gift, all major rugby nations in my opinion have 10’s with superior capabilities. Which suggests in the international arena he is not rated that highly among his peers. With that said, 7’s is a very different animal, embracing not only rugby skills but a level of athleticism and fitness required by an elite sportsperson. Like others contemplating the switch, it may be outside his purview.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
Because if there's one thing you can say about Cooper, it's that he struggles to keep up with the pace of the game. I agree he may not have the time but to question his fitness and defence ignores the fact that many past 7s contemporaries like Foley were not significantly fitter and are not superior defenders.