The Sevens debate
25 Apr 2008
Does Sevens justify the time and money invested in it by Saru and Sasol? SA Rugby magazine investigates.
The Springboks lost to Tonga and no-one cared. No-one called for the coach’s head, no-one phoned a radio station to complain and no-one sent an angry letter to a newspaper. That’s because it was the Springbok Sevens team that lost to Tonga in the quarter-finals of the Wellington Sevens in New Zealand. A team made up of players who weren’t considered good enough to play in the Super? 14 this year. Players who probably would not be recognised if they walked down the streets of rugby-mad Pretoria.
It is not politically correct to criticise Sevens rugby in this country. Various marketing departments have done a good job of making us believe that Sevens is fast, fun and furious, when in fact it is often painful, predictable and pointless – at least when the best players are not involved. Remember when the Springbok Sevens team reached the final of the Sevens World Cup in 1997? Public interest was high because players such as Joost van der Westhuizen and Bob Skinstad took part. South Africans identified with the team because they identified with the players. The likes of Mpho Mbiyozo, Frankie Horn, Vuyo Zangqa, Neil Powell, Schalk van der Merwe, Renfred Dazel and Jonathan Mokuena are not rated among the top 150 players in the country, so why should we bother watching them play Sevens? Surely fringe Super?14 players, who spend most of the season outside of the match 22, could be made available for major Sevens events such as Hong Kong, Wellington and George?
Andy Marinos, manager of national teams at the South African Rugby Union (Saru), admits this would be ideal.
‘I would like to see [Bok Sevens coach] Paul Treu be allowed to pick whoever he wants for the George Sevens in December, as this is South Africa’s leg of the IRB Sevens World Series. We also need to discuss the possibility of including Super?14 players for Sevens events that take place during the Super?14. We certainly should add a few of these players to the Sevens squad for the 2009 Sevens World Cup [in Dubai] and the 2010 Commonwealth Games [in Delhi].’
I ask Marinos why South Africa bothers playing Sevens rugby. Is it a tool for development, ie, it gives promising black players the chance to play at international level? Or is it used to prepare players for 15-man rugby at Super?14 and Test level?
‘I wouldn’t call it a tool for development,’ he says. ‘It’s more a platform where young emerging players can display their talents on a world stage and gain invaluable experience playing under pressure in front of big crowds.’
Marinos also believes Sevens helps players make an impact in 15-man rugby. However, a study of recent Springbok Sevens squads shows that these players rarely go on to be successful Super?14 or Test players (Kabamba Floors and Jaco Pretorius the obvious exceptions).
Take a look at this Bok Sevens squad selected in 2005: Gcobani Bobo, Howard Noble, Dusty Noble, Mpho Mbiyozo, Jandre Blom, Jonathan Mokuena, Renfred Dazel, Antonius Verhoeven, Schalk van der Merwe, Mzwandile Stick, Marius Schoeman, Stefan Basson. Of those players, only Bobo (Sharks) and Dusty Noble (Lions) were named in Super?14 starting XVs for the first round this year. The rest are either languishing in the Vodacom Cup or still playing Sevens. I ask Marinos if this concerns him.
‘Yes and no,’ he replies. ‘The players that have progressed, like Pretorius and Floors, deserve to be there. My worry is that often players like Thobela Mdaka, Jonathan Mokuena and Mzwandile Stick, who have done well at Sevens, are given limited opportunities to prove themselves at Super? 14 level. I believe they could have made an impact if coaches had backed them.’
Another concern is that South African Sevens stars rarely make a successful transition to 15-man rugby. Fabian Juries is regarded as possibly the best local Sevens player ever yet he has repeatedly failed to crack it at Super?14 level. Former SA Sevens Player of the Year Stefan Basson always posed a threat in the IRB Sevens World Series yet failed to cement a spot in the Blue Bulls Currie Cup team and eventually signed with Italian club Rovigo.
‘Some players are just better suited to playing Sevens rugby,’ is Marinos’s response. ‘To play Test rugby these days you have to have certain physical attributes.’
Interestingly, a Bok Sevens player can now earn the same salary as a first-choice Super? 14 player. Treu fought hard for two-year contracts for his players, so they could focus on playing Sevens and not worry about being selected for 15-man teams (where all the money used to be). The team now also has a permanent base in Stellenbosch, where they prepare for IRB events.
But does a Sevens players deserve the same salary as a Super? 14 player? There are severe consequences when a South African Super?14 team performs badly. Coaches are fired and players are dropped. That pressure to perform is not nearly as intense in Sevens. The Boks can lose to Tonga in the quarter-finals of the Wellington Sevens, and no heads roll. Super ?14 players face a gruelling 13-match schedule that includes nightmare four- or five-match tours to New Zealand and Australia, whereas our Sevens players compete in eight IRB events a season (all are held over two days, except for Hong Kong which is three). The bodies of Super?14 players also take a severe beating, whereas Sevens players obviously take a lot less contact.
From a results point of view, the Sevens Boks are in no position to demand more money. In the eight-year existence of the IRB Sevens World Series, the Boks have finished fifth on the log three times and fourth three times. Their best finish was a silver medal way back in 2000-01, although the Boks had moved up to second on the log midway through the current series.
Not once has the coach’s job (Chester Williams’s or Treu’s) been under threat, because this lack of success is seemingly tolerated. However, Marinos insists Saru has high expectations of the Sevens side.
‘We want to be No 1 in Sevens and 15-man rugby,’ he says. ‘Treu has key performance indicators against which he is judged annually, and he is given incentives for a first-place log finish. We are currently in a building phase for the 2009 Sevens World Cup. We have targeted this event as one we must win.’ Marinos does not say what will happen to Treu if the Boks fall short.
Having spoken to Saru, SA Rugby magazine approached the International Rugby Board (IRB), which finances world Sevens. I asked Greg Thomas, the head of communications, why they bother with this form of the game.
‘Sevens is now becoming a distinct sport in its own right, and at the elite level it is played by the best players,’ he says, ignoring the fact that the world’s best players – such as Bryan Habana and Matt Giteau – do not take part. ‘In fact, top 15-man players would now find it hard to compete in the IRB Sevens World Series,’ he adds. That’s another debatable point. ‘At the 2005 Commonwealth Games Sevens, Australia’s Lote Tuqiri and Chris Latham and England’s Mathew Tait found that the standard of Sevens – skill, speed and fitness – had improved dramatically over the last five years.’
Thomas says unions around the world are using Sevens as a development tool (which contradicts Marinos’s earlier statement) for up-and-coming talent to find their feet on the international stage against quality players and in front of crowds normally expected at Test matches. ‘The IRB recently discovered that 153 players at the World Cup in France had also played Sevens rugby for their countries,’ he adds. ‘That is 25.5% of the 600 registered players at the World Cup. This development process is a big reason why Sevens should be funded.’
However, the main reason the IRB backs Sevens is that it’s the only way for the sport to return to the Olympic Games. Fifteen-man rugby debuted at the 1900 Olympics in Paris and featured in London in 1908, Antwerp in 1920 and Paris in 1924. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) then scrapped it as an Olympic sport.
Fast-forward to 2008. Sevens rugby is a core sport of the Commonwealth Games, and 50?000 fans watched the final day’s play in Melbourne three years ago. Sevens is also part of the World Games and Asian Games and will soon be part of the Pan-American Games and All-Africa Games. However, entry to the Olympics has remained elusive for the IRB.
In 2005, the IOC voted on the current sports programme, and baseball and softball were removed from the 2012 London Olympics (they will be at Beijing this year). A vote was then taken to decide if two other sports should be added to reach the maximum of 28. Rugby Sevens, karate, squash, golf and roller sport were put forward, but none was accepted into the programme (the IRB still doesn’t know why). The irony is that IOC president Jacques Rogge is rugby-mad and played for Belgium. However, he has been under pressure since becoming president in 2001, and others in the organisation have used his support for rugby against him.
The IOC will vote again on the sports programme in 2009, when the IRB again plans to state its Sevens case. According to recent reports, the IRB will appoint a professional lobbyist to target those countries – and those votes – they need.
From a commercial point of view, the IRB will also agree to fund and underwrite the organisation of any Olympic Sevens tournament, which would in any case be a huge money spinner for the IOC. The tournament would be held over two days (the Beijing stadium will be empty for six during this year’s Olympics) along with a women’s event.
The IRB believes an Olympics Sevens tournament would help to grow the game around the world. ‘Many governments only fund sports that are part of the Olympic programme,’ explains Thomas. ‘We would unlock substantial additional funding in countries in regions such as South America, Asia, Eastern Europe and Africa.’
If Sevens were accepted into the Olympic fold, Saru would have no choice but to make the country’s best players available for selection. And perhaps then Sevens in this country will gain serious respect.
By Simon Borchardt
This article first appeared in the April issue of SA Rugby magazine. The May issue is on sale now.
22 Comments
25 Apr 2008, 07:00 am
Dragons
25 Apr 2008, 07:04 am
“If Sevens were accepted into the Olympic fold, Saru would have no choice but to make the country’s best players available for selection. And perhaps then Sevens in this country will gain serious respect.”
Simon, I don’t believe this is true. The government will dictate the make up of any olympic team that represents South Africa. And that will most definately include the 7′s side when and if this happens.
They will insist on quota systems. We’ve seen this already with past Olympic teams.
25 Apr 2008, 07:09 am
Er … our Olympic committee recently approved an all-white swimming team for Beijing (21 swimmers, if I remember correctly)
25 Apr 2008, 07:14 am
Whilst that may be so that is just one small part of the Olympic team to represent the country.
You need to look at the FULL SA team being sent over.
Consider our hockey team’s past experiences as an example…
Where transformation is most active, that is where you will find the hardest pressing for quotas, which we know does not always lead to the very best players being picked. And rugby is certainly in the spotlight. Not swimming.
25 Apr 2008, 07:17 am
Asking around and most of my friends do tend to watch the sevens games when it is on tv, live or on repeat. the reason no-one seems to care about if the boks loses against tonga is that you have to realise that sevens is a mercurial game where just one loose pass can cost you a game without time and bring it back. the whole game is played in “injury time”
one of the reasons sevens in south africa is not doing as well as in other countries supporters wise is that the SA leg is in crappy George. ****, there were more people at a recent lions home game than there were at the george sevens. it’s not in a venue where anyone really cares. take it back to stellenbosch like the old winfield 7′s used to be. That used to be a party, not unlike the games at twickers, adelaide etc etc. SARU is shooting sevens in the foot by shoving it to some backwater. when overseas people look at the broadcast from george they will only be under the impression that rugby is only watched by white, overweight middle aged men, which george seemed to mostly made up of. Looks like in george, aFter matric, bring on the boep, the checkered shirt, the socks pulled up to under the knees and pattern baldness!
25 Apr 2008, 07:20 am
Well, Habana and Chavhanga would both make an Olympic Sevens team on merit, and I can think of a few others too.
25 Apr 2008, 07:26 am
#6 Simon:
Simon, that is not the point at all.
Of course they would make the team and certainly they would both deserve it. And yes I can think of others too. But so what?
My point is that we are probably getting ahead of ourselves if we truly believe that quotas in sport are now a thing of the past. I’ll believe it when I see it.
I am not attacking you here, I think you get enough of that from others on a bad day; I’m debating one comment…
“Saru would have no choice but to make the country’s best players available”
Saru would definitely still have a choice. And I’d expect they would exercise it.
25 Apr 2008, 07:53 am
This story made a lot more sense before the Boks beat the Kiwis in the final in Adelaide and underlined their No.2 status. How many other sports are South Africa No.2 in? This season the Bok Sevens team is performing consistently better than any of our Super 14 teams, apart from maybe the Sharks. The time and money invested by Saru and Sasol is obviously well justified.
25 Apr 2008, 08:04 am
I don’t really see the big deal most major rugby countries treat 7′s exactly the same Australia, New Zealand, England, France etc.
Fabian Juries… man that guy had talent it’s probably too late for him but still would be interesting to see him back in the 15 man game agian one day.
25 Apr 2008, 08:20 am
i honestly think sevens is a waste if you play guys like demas and neil powell. use it to give the talented youngsters a go. players like the ebershon twins, wilton peterson, watermeyer, dippenar, matt turner and de jongh. all these players are future bok canadates so why not let them play all over the world and in front of huge crowds on an internatonal level??
25 Apr 2008, 08:49 am
Sevens is a game that should have nothing to do with the 15 man game.
The last place I would send an up and coming youngster in the 15 man game is to sevens.
They learn more bad habits then good ones.
Promising youngsters must play 15 man rugby.
25 Apr 2008, 09:03 am
Gee Simon, your attack on 7s has been relentless. Give it a rest. The one suggestion I do have is to play the SA leg in a proper stadium, with a proper festival atmosphere. Durban in December would be flippen great.
25 Apr 2008, 09:05 am
“Does Sevens justify the time and money invested in it by Saru and Sasol?” The most idiotic remark I’ve heard in a long time. The question should be “Does Saru and Sasol promote sevens enough to justify the money invested in it?”. Players are after the big bucks and fame. That’s the 15 man game. Offer the same in 7′s and you can keep your players and build on them. I would love it if 7′s got more tv coverage, because it’s really exciting to watch. But most people don’t watch a match if they don’t know the players. The same goes for 15′s, most Sharks\Bulls\Stormers supporters won’t watch a Cheetahs\Lions game becasue they might not know the players. 7′s is developing into it’s own game. Good 7′s players are not necesarily good in the 15 game, and vice versa.
On a diffirent note, the only reason Basson didn’t make it at the Bulls, was beacuse they were too stupid to see the guy was better than anything else they had in their backline. He is an exciting player.
25 Apr 2008, 10:10 am
Another “”"”journalistic”"” piece by Simple Simon the local JJ Harmse & Stephen Bullard hybrid. Previous works has been such utter tripe not even gonna bother scanning this piece. Rather gonna go scan Die Son for works of somewhat superior quality.
25 Apr 2008, 10:18 am
#14 saffa_guy: Yep, pretty much have to agree with saffa_guy.
Then again, to his credit Simon has never claimed to be the sharpest knife in the drawer and, by gum, he’s right!
25 Apr 2008, 11:56 am
Actually, my friends call me Simon “Razor Sharp” Borchardt because I have an abnormally high IQ.
25 Apr 2008, 13:54 pm
This article should not have been written! Why go look for a storm in calm water? I enjoy watching sevens when it’s on!! Just leave the bloody game alone dammit.
25 Apr 2008, 17:10 pm
16
when compared with an ape
25 Apr 2008, 17:44 pm
I makes me mad when people attack sevens rugby for no reason. Play sevens for sevens sake. I think it is a great sport and a lot of fun to watch, who cares if sevens benefits 15′s or not… I would like to see better players play 7′s more often and that is one reason I am excited for kabamba to play 7′s again. 7′s should be in the olympics, it is fun to watch, and it makes money so stop attacking the sport and enjoy it for what it is.
25 Apr 2008, 17:45 pm
lol, I makes me mad…
“It” makes me mad
25 Apr 2008, 19:59 pm
#16. Hey “Simple Simon”, if which dream did you have a friend?
26 Apr 2008, 04:33 am
Jonah Lomu first came to prominence in Sevens. His talent might well have gone unnoticed but for that.
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