One of Scotland’s star players, Thom Evans, this week spoke of his backing of Rugby Sevens's Olympic Games campaign as he and the Scotland 7s squad continue preparations ahead of the penultimate leg of the IRB Sevens World Series – the Emirates Airline London Sevens.
“Sevens at the Olympic Games is something a lot of people would like to see. To play on the world's greatest sporting stage for any player would be amazing," he said.
Evans has joined the likes of Bryan Habana, Jonah Lomu, Agustin Pichot, Lawrence Dallaglio, Cheryl Soon and Anastassiya Khamova in supporting the International Rugby Board’s campaign to see the explosive, competitive crowd-pulling form of the Game included in the 2016 Olympic Games.
He feels that the fast-paced nature of the game will excite Olympic crowds around the globe, reaching out to new young audiences as it already does on the IRB Sevens World Series.
“It would be a great thing if Sevens were to be part of the Olympics. It’s one of the most exciting games you can watch and is a great family day out.”
“You have to be fast and very fit, some of the fittest players in the world play Sevens. If you look at the best players in the world, many have played Sevens and I know that I speak for all my team mates when I say that we would be proud to call ourselves Olympians."
“Sevens is just so exciting because of the space you get and the amount of tries scored. It’s something you never take your eyes off when you’re watching and it’s something which I think would be a fantastic addition to the Olympic Games."
Evans also believes that it would be the ultimate accolade to win an Olympic medal playing for your country in front of a television audience of billions.
“It would just be unbelievable. Because Sevens is a only a seven-man game you need to have that extra bit of trust in that man inside and outside of you. There would be no greater sense of achievement to win an Olympic medal at, like I said, the greatest sporting event in the world.”
Evans is currently in London with the Scotland 7s squad ahead of the Emirates Airline London Sevens this weekend before returning to Edinburgh for the final leg of the IRB Sevens World Series at Murrayfield on 30 and 31 May.
The 2008/09 IRB Sevens World Series has been the most competitive of the 10 Series to date, generating genuine upsets in each of the six tournaments. Argentina (winners in USA), Kenya and USA are just three of the teams to have closed the gap on the traditional powerhouses, while the Series is guaranteed to see a new team crowned champions with South Africa leading the standings.
"There is no doubt that this has been a fantastic season for Rugby Sevens," said IRB President Bernard Lapasset. "The standard of competition has raised to another level with Kenya nd Argentina pushing for honours, while we have also witnessed a season of record attendances and broadcast figures."
"It is not just in the men's Game where the competition has been intense. Women's Rugby World Cup Sevens 2009 in Dubai was both historic and memorable. For the first time we had the likes of Thailand, Brazil and Uganda competing at a Rugby World Cup. It was a landmark event that clearly demonstrated the truly universal nature of the Women's Game," added Lapasset.
For more information on this press release please contact: Dominic Rumbles, IRB Head of Communications, +353 (0) 86-852-0826, dominic.rumbles@irb.comYour complete source of news about the Olympics is www.aroundtherings.com, for subscribers only.
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