As the 2012 Summer Olympics in London draws near, I am reminded of the controversy of a combined Britain football at next year’s Games.
I am not a big football fan, so the furor didn’t interest me much. However, today’s article in The Scotsman piqued my interest.
The next Summer Olympic Games will be hosted in Rio De Janeiro where Rugby Sevens will be making it’s debut.
The Scotsman article today mentioned that Scotland may forfeit it’s national Sevens interest on the Sevens World Series circuit to the benefit of a possible Great Britain team in 2016.
When announcing the Scottish team for the next tournament on the HSBC Sevens World Series in London, Graham Lowe, Scottish RFU Performance Director said:
“We are having discussion with the other unions and the IRB and the qualification process is quite complicated as it means bringing forward almost a new (Olympic) sport. To qualify as a team you have to play as a team (and) that’s part of the discussions.”
Lowe added:
“From a GB sevens perspective we have had initial discussions so that the team represents the aspirations of players from three different countries for the team from Great Britain to be successful. The Olympics has been a key driver that has changed the dynamic of sevens and it’s importance to rugby in the world.”
For now, I think it will be safe to say that Scotland will still field their national side for the next Sevens season (2011-2012). I am not sure when qualifications for the 2016 Rio Olympics starts so we’ll have to wait until after the 2012 London Summer Olympics for clarity.
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