'It's hard not to be excited': Three-way battle to sign Sevens star ahead of Olympics

Less than a year after losing Corey Toole to Super Rugby, men’s Sevens coach John Manenti has a fight on his hands to keep another rising star from switching to Super Rugby before next year’s Olympics, with Darby Lancaster attracting plenty of interest from Australia’s franchises.

Lancaster, 19, has been the breakout star of the World Sevens Series, scoring tries at will and defending them too.

His brilliant performances, which continued over the weekend in Singapore, haven’t gone unnoticed either.

The Roar understands three Super Rugby franchises – the Waratahs, Brumbies and Force – are fighting for the powerful winger’s services.

It’s easy to understand why.

The flying winger is quickly becoming a human highlights reel.

After being one of the few players to impress in Sydney, Lancaster had delivered eye-catching performances in each of the past three World Series events.

In Vancouver, he made a magnificent trysaving tackle and then scored a beauty against New Zealand.

Later, in the bronze medal match, his solo try against Ireland was one to remember after skipping out of tackles before putting on the afterburners.

After running the 100 metres in 11.04 seconds and 22.08 in the 200m in 2020, Lancaster’s in-and-away 100m effort against Samoa in Hong Kong confirmed his raw pace.

Then his hop, skip and afterburners were on show against Uruguay and Great Britain in Singapore over the weekend.

It led to English Sevens great Rob Vickerman saying, “It’s hard not to be excited by this young lad.”

Lancaster has caught the eye of three Australian Super Rugby franchises.

The Waratahs would likely be his preferred place to land, but given they are stacked in the outside backs with Max Jorgensen, Mark Nawaqanitawase and Dylan Piestch forming a threatening trio, minutes in the starting side could prove tough.

Plus, with schoolboy sensation Hadley Tonga and NRL star Joseph Suaalii to land at the franchise in the coming years, the Waratahs have an embarrassment of riches on the fringes.

The Brumbies, too, are currently stacked out wide and their program has proved to be the best in Australian rugby for years.

Toole’s seamless transition, as well as Ben O’Donnell’s impressive start to his career at the Brumbies, is also another huge tick for their program.

But does the Coogee-based winger want to move to Canberra?

Then there is the Western Force, where Lancaster would likely get regular minutes. But is it the best place for his development?

All three destinations are worthy of strong consideration, with each having its pros and cons.

Lancaster will likely want to stay in the Australian sevens program for next year given it’s an Olympic year, but qualification is not yet assured.

Plus, with a British and Irish Lions series the year after, Lancaster, like others including Toole and Tate McDermott, might want to switch between the two programs.

Darby Lancaster is attracting plenty of interest. Photo: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images

Australia finished fifth in Singapore, which gave Manenti an important 13 points.

It leaves them in fifth spot on the World Sevens Series standings on 112 points, 10 points behind fourth-placed France and a further eight behind Fiji.

Only the top four on this year’s standings automatically qualify for next year’s Olympics, with the rest having to fight it out for qualification in their respective regions. It means that unless Australia automatically qualifies, they might have to play Samoa in the Oceania Sevens to reach their third straight Olympics.

Fixing up their kick restarts will be Manenti’s priority ahead of the penultimate World Sevens Series event in Toulouse.

Australia was smashed in the area against Argentina, losing the opening three kicks in their quarter-final against the South Americans.

The inability to secure their ball meant Argentina raced out to a 12-nil lead and left Australia having to defend for an energy-sapping five minutes, before finally scoring to hit back in Singapore.

But the taxing workload in defence contributed to their heavy defeat, as Manenti watched on in frustration with the headset on as he added to World Rugby’s coverage in commentary at the time.