Former New Zealand Sevens captain Karl Te Nana believes more 15-a-side players will join World Rugby’s Sevens Series ahead of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Planet Rugby’s David Skippers caught up with Te Nana, who is a World Rugby ambassador and Sevens television commentator, during the Cape Town Sevens which was won by Fiji last weekend.
With Sevens introduced as a sport at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, there was an influx of high-profile 15-a-side players to the game.
Sonny Bill Williams led the way for New Zealand and was included in that country’s Olympics Sevens squad alongside fellow All Black Augustine Pulu. Elsewhere, South Africa had Springboks Francois Hougaard and Juan de Jongh in their ranks for Rio while France named Virimi Vakatawa in their squad and eventual competition winners Fiji provided Leone Nakarawa and Josua Tuisova.
Te Nana said the impact made by players from the more established code is good for Sevens and he expects more 15s players to make their mark on the World Rugby Sevens Series ahead of the 2020 Olympics, which is just over 18 months away.
He warned, however, that players who make the transition from 15s to Sevens must be used appropriately.
“I think there will be (more players coming over),” said the 43-year-old, who was part of the successful All Blacks Sevens squad which dominated the early stages of the World Rugby Sevens Series.
“The thing is they have to be used properly. Sonny and (former All Blacks Sevens head coach) Gordon Tietjens got it right. Sonny became an integral part of that team (at the Rio Olympics) but unfortunately he blew his Achilles in the first game.
“I know Bryan Habana tried to make the Blitzboks team but maybe they could have used him in the forwards rather than the backs.”
Te Nana, who won a gold medal with the New Zealand Sevens team at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, highlighted the importance of fitness in Sevens.
“The fitness levels are different (to the 15-a-side game),” he added.
“Fiji have shown (how to do it) over the last couple of seasons. They have brought in their 15-a-side guys to great effect. Whether it was Semi Radradra or Josua Tuisova. So, I think they have shown that it still is possible for 15-a-side guys to come in and make a huge impact in the game of Sevens but you’ve got to put them in the right positions to do so.”
Te Nana, who also represented the Chiefs and Highlanders at Super Rugby level, praised World Rugby’s Sevens Series and the way it has grown since its inaugural series in the 1999/2000 season.
“Since the series’ inception in 1999, there was an idea to get all the tournaments together and to get something going officially,” he said.
“It was at a time when Sevens was seen as something which 15-a-side players did on the side. But since then it grew in popularity and was introduced at the Commonwealth Games (in 1998) and countries started getting serious about it.
“The Olympics has taken it to another level and taken it to areas which the 15-a-side game can’t.
“The Women’s game has brought a lot more viewership into it and it’s turned into the juggernaut that it is now. Once something goes from minimal level up to the Olympics, which is what everyone wants to achieve, it puts it onto the world stage and that contributed to the growth which we have seen since then.”
According to a World Rugby survey which was held earlier this year, there has been significant increases in rugby interest driven by emerging markets since Sevens’ Olympic Games inclusion.
An example of that is the 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens which was held in San Francisco in July where over 100,000 fans were in attendance over three days.
Te Nana is confident that the game will continue to grow and reach even greater heights by the time the 2020 Olympics is held and said the game’s professionalism is something which is contributing to its growth.
“There are athletes coming over from different sports who are trying to make it in Sevens now, both men and women,” he explained.
“It’s one of those things which gives real quality (to the game) and I think Sevens is really leading the way. That is something, both on and off the field, that World Rugby has noticed and tried to implement and I know the teams have done well.”
The All Blacks Sevens side was the dominant force during the early years of World Rugby’s Sevens Series and they have won 12 out of the 19 World Series held so far.
Things have been very different of late though with South Africa and Fiji leading the way in recent years and both those countries have now won the series on three occasions while Samoa also won it once.
Te Nana feels that the series has become more competitive since the sport gained Olympic status as countries are investing more finances and time into the game.
“That’s the thing that the Olympics has done,” he said.
“It’s made countries centralise their programmes and put financial backing in behind it.”
He’s also delighted with the progress the New Zealand Men’s team have made under the guidance of Clark Laidlaw, who led the team to memorable tournament victories at the Commonwealth Games and World Cup earlier this year.
“I think Clark’s been outstanding,” said Te Nana.
“He’s a very different operator to (his predecessor) Gordon Tietjens. He’s created an environment where the players have a lot to say about what their build-up is like during the week and how they approach their game-plan.
“He’s also working well with (assistant coach) Tomasi Cama, whose had a lot of influence in terms of the game-plan and also the attacking side of things. And what I see is that these guys have all bought in and I haven’t seen that for a while.
“They all have the self-belief that they can win, whether it’s the Commonwealth Games Final, a World Cup Sevens Final or a pool game against the home side in one of the hardest places to play and they came out on top with seconds left on the clock (in reference to New Zealand’s 26-21 win over South Africa on the first day of the Cape Town Sevens).
“They’ve been through the ringer and they believe in what they are trying to do. They’re doing it all together and I think that’s probably the secret and credit to Clark and Tomasi for the environment they’ve created.”