The Olympics Conundrum

THE success of the London Olympics has, perhaps only temporarily, set people thinking about the British approach to sport. The performances, the dignity shown, the way our medal winners genuinely cared was a world away from the self-centred, so-far-up-their-own-arses approach we have become used to from our Premiership footballers - and I regret to say, some of our rugby players.

 

How far into the new season this feeling lasts is another matter, buyt, for now, we can but hope. Which brings me to the Olympics and rugby.

 

Just as one-day and twenty20 cricket has usurped pure five-day Test Match cricket in the public's consciousness, so perhaps sevens, with Commonwealth Games and Olympic Games promotion may in time become more popular than 15-a-side rugby; particularly if the 15-a-side is a typically forward-dominated English Premiership grunt fest. We will have to wait and see on that one, but, right now, what to do about sevens is a conundrum for "the blazers".

 

The IRB International Sevens Circuit is a year-long, world-wide travelling circus, of which your average British rugby fan knows little. But this circuit will be the qualifying competition for the 2016 Rio Olympics, at which rugby will rejoin the Olympic "family".

 

The four Home Nations compete here individually, and while England, Scotland and Wales will have a wee additional multi-sport games warm-up in Glasgow 2014's Commonwealth Games, they will jump from there straight into the Rio qualifying process - how best to do this is a problem, which was addressed at a Twickenham conference last week.

 

Do they carry-on as separate entities? Or is there a case for bringing the best players together after Glasgow into a Team GB unit? With, maybe, the outside chances continuing alongside as England, Scotland and Wales.

 

What about Ireland? You ask.

 

Yes, the Irish problem. From memory, I don't recall 'Northern Ireland' featuring in the Sevens at the Delhi Commonwealth Games - maybe the Ulster provincial mandarins didn't fancy a potential argument with Dublin if they had.

 

On the face of it, I can see, as happens in boxing, most of the Ulstermen, even those with a penchant for wearing bowler hats, white gloves and orange collarettes during July, opting to play for Ireland rather than Team GB at the Olympics.

 

So, the Irish question has to be addressed. Also, I would hope, with the experience of all those Lions Tours, the Unions will, like other team sports such as basketball, hockey and volleyball, make sure that each individual union has some input into the UK rugby body which will handle the nuts and bolts of the Olympic effort and take rugby's chair within the BOA, and not, like football, leave it to the English governing body. There could be a wee seat here for Gerald Davies or Andy Irvine.

 

But, time is not on rugby's side - they have to get up to speed, and quickly. And, from a purely Scottish perspective, surely, since we invented the bloody game, there has to be a Scottish involvement, in both the playing and management side, in Rio.

 

 

 

ON another matter of international diplomacy, I see those eternal "friends" the English and French are making waves about Heineken Cup qualification. Thjey want to see the Rabo Direct Pro12 used as a straight qualifying competition, rather than, as happens now, allowing automatic qualification for the Heineken for a set number of Irish, Italian, Welsh and Scottish  teams.

 

The reasoning being, they (the English and French) have to qualify through their efforts in their domestic leagues, where relegation is a constant threat, while the Celtic and Italian teams, once they get into the Pro12, are set.

 

This overlooks the basic fact, in England and France the (club) tail wags the (internaitonal) dog, so  to speak. The FFR and RFU let the clubs set the agenda, elsewhere, the Union rules.

 

With the Amlin Cup as a safety net - rather like the Europa League in football - I see, no reason why the Pro12 shouldn't become a Heineken qualifier, with the top eight, regardless of nationality, going into that and the other four into the Amlin. It might add a wee bit of spice to the games - if such a thing is necessary.

 

However, the English and French timing is wrong - argue for change from a position of strength, not, as now, from one of weakness and under-performance. Also, in typical Anglo-Gallic style, they have started with threats - agree with us or we will start out own competition - you would have thought, after their previous brinkmanship over the Five/Six Nations some years back, and with their long memories of their arrogance being overturned on the park - Murrayfield 1990 being the prime example - the English and French might have remembered, you upset the Celtic fringe at your peril. Will they ever learn?