How to stop snubbings like we saw at the Hong Kong Sevens

South Africa's B team nearly won the tournament, LOL. 2 Points away from beating Fiji, which they would have then gone on to win.

He's dreaming if he thinks Commonwealth players (and national unions) are going to prioritise any 7s tournaments over a (for many once in a lifetime) chance to represent their nation with saturation media coverage. As I write this the women's 7s are on live and in full in prime time on the main free to air TV station, something that doesn't happen with any other 7s Comp.

Mike Friday (the English coach of USA Sevens) has just been speaking on a US rugby podcast. He would like the Commonwealth Games to be downgraded. Sevens features in the Pan Am Games too but he says countries send B teams to that competition, and he'd like Commonwealth nations to do the same to their Games. He believes the Olympics should be the pinnacle, followed by a World Cup, followed by the World Sevens Series. As it stands, some players value a Commonwealth Games medal above the World Cup, because of the history, and experience of the Games. This year, in particular, he thinks the format of the World Cup in San Francisco has turned the tournament into a lottery, where an underdog victory can have a disproportionate effect on the eventual result (Basically, there are no pools as such, it's a series of all-or-nothing knock-out matches). The presence of Rugby Sevens at the Commonwealth Games is a major reason why it was accepted as an Olympic sport. Friday understands, then, that is has always had a prominent role in the sevens calendar. I don't think he imagines that teams will come around to his way of thinking, however.

bazza .

True baize, it does have many strong nations, but it is not a global event.

kind of a regional or select event like Asian games or Pan American games or IAAF championships. 19 sports / games - 275 events - 3900 participants - 12 days . MEN Pool A South Africa Scotland Papua New Guinea Malaysia Pool B England Australia (host) Samoa Jamaica Pool C New Zealand Canada Kenya Zambia Pool D Fiji Wales Uganda Sri Lanka WOMEN Pool A New Zealand Canada South Africa Kenya Pool B Australia (host) Fiji England Wales

its certainly not the 7S world cup San Francisco , USA - July 20 - 22 Kenya South Africa United States (Hosts) England France Wales Australia Fiji New Zealand (Holders) Canada Argentina Scotland Samoa Uganda Zimbabwe Jamaica Uruguay Chile Hong Kong Japan Ireland Russia Papua New Guinea Tonga

Canada and Kenya had their A team - of the few i saw . the reason they had to send B teams is becoz of the gap among HK 7S , CG and the Singapore 7S is small. HK 7S - April 6 - 8 CG 7S - April 14 - 15 SGP 7S - April 28 - 29 normally a break of one month is given after 2 legs of the word series. because of this congestion , the London leg will be in June 2 -3. seems noone wants to talk and adjust their schedules. despite all the talk about player welfare and growing the game ....

Well actually Crazy Horse, it wasn't that long ago, the world ratings for sport, were the No.1 sport was Soccer, then the Olympics, followed by Rugby, in that order. It's possibly changed now, but I do think that Soccer is still the Worlds No.1 sport. Globally, the Com games doesn't rate, & possibly never will.

I do understand that, Muzzo. I might well have taken a pass on Hong Kong this year too. It's a hard call for the Sevens series. Hong Kong has a long enough history that it can still be a big draw regardless of the players on show. Not necessarily true of other hosts. In four years time, the Games will be in Birmingham in July, so there won't be a similar clash. However, Singapore & Hong Kong want to host the Sevens World Cup, probably around March again, so that will have to be accommodated.

Non Commonwealth countries may not care about them but the Commonwealth Games are a very big deal in Commonwealth countries. Second in prestige only to the Olympics in all sports. Being a Commonwealth Games Champion carries prestige (and marketing/sponsorship opportunities) well beyond that which is achievable in any sport. So of corse Commonwealth countries, which includes most of the major rugby nations, are going to send their A teams to the games in exactly the same way that the Olympics get prioritised over everything else. The Games run for 11 days and for the athletes it is a total experience, They are part of a multi-sport national team not just their own sport. That is not going to change. Other tournaments in all sports simply have to fit in or accept that they'll get the B teams from Commonwealth countries for any event in the Games window.

The HK 7's is an institution, always held this time of the year . Commonwealth Games dates fluctuate,depending on location. Why couldn't teams firstly play HK, then fly to the Gold Coast. An aside : Australia was the only country to bid for the games. Other Nations did not bid because they could not afford to host the games as it is very costly and loses money.

Regardless, it was a cracking tournament,. Great fun. Also gave some of the development players an opportunity to shine. But Fiji probably did get it right.

Well Rugby Fan, I do know of some friends who attended this years HK tournament, & they were so disappointed. They expected to see the top players there, but were impressed by the emerging talent, coming through. Their argument was, if they had have known, this was going to happen, they would have given it a miss. They kinda felt robbed. If your paying top dollar, to attend a fixture, or anything as such, you do expect the top of the shelf. I do see their point. Cheers.

The Games has a big attraction for sevens players. James Stannard is more upset at being forced to miss the Gold Coast than he is a round of the Sevens circuit. Most of the top sevens nations qualify to send teams. Only USA, Argentina and France are missing. Unlike the Olympics, England, Scotland, and Wales play separately, so it's a unique occasion for those sides. This is also the first year a womens sevens tournament will be held, so it's a good showcase for the sport. Winning an Olympic or Commonwealth Games medal has a currency outside rugby. Just taking part, lets you rub shoulders with elite athletes from other sports, which is a unique career experience for the players. The Commonwealth Games doesn't always clash with the Rugby calendar, it depends on the venue. When held in Australia and New Zealand, it takes place early in the year and overlaps with the sevens series. Other venues hold the games later in the year, anywhere from July to October. Similarly, the Sevens World Cup venue determines when that event is held. San Francisco this year puts it in July, but Hong Kong and Dubai hosted it in March, while Edinburgh had it in April. The World Cup host is usually selected after the Commonwealth Games dates are known, so there is some scope for flexibility. Unfortunately, the rugby calendar is just too full. The annual rugby sevens series is an international competition but it's more akin to the sport's club level. It's common to see Northern Hemisphere club teams play on in their respective leagues, while their international players go away on Test duty. This year's Hong Kong sevens felt a bit like that. As biltongbek says, it didn't suffer as a spectacle.

Not ALL, the teams cantab, as quite a few had their top players, especially the non Com.nations teams. Fiji actually got it right, as Jerry Tuwai, made it known.

Totally agree Gavin, as it goes to show that, in truth, there is no communication, between World Rugby & Com games, organisers. As it is the Com games, is really showing how pathetic, their organisers are, with a continuing saga of daily stuff ups. To have a global competition, virtually stopped in favour, of the Com. games is pathetic. Like the British Com Games, is not a global event, it's just for member nations of the old British Empire, to attend. About 70 countries all up. To take top players away from, an event that is the pearl of Rugby Seven's tournaments, in an ongoing global series, really doesn't make any sense at all. As it was, it was great to see the emerging talent that was on display, talent that should have been on display at the Com. games. IMO, organisers, need to communicate far better than what they have. Hopefully that will happen.

Sorry mate, but it is. hence all the teams excepct Fiji sent their 'b' team.

the french, italians, japanese, americans, argentnians dont care. aclub based on being a former part of a british empire 100 years ago aint important