GRR: Olympics
Well we learned something from Nanjing, and the main lesson is, you can’t half-way the Olympics.
Now, I’m not saying that the coaches phoned it in or the players didn’t care, or anything like that. What I am saying is, it’s not that easy to just get a bunch of young players together, most of whom can count the number of 7s tournaments they’ve played on one hand, and win a medal.
After a brief camp in California, the USA women’s team for the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China will reassemble in August to prepare for the event.
Regulation 9 is the rule within World Rugby that forces clubs to release players for international action during specific times of the year, and for specific special events.
Normally, the Regulation 9 windows are March (Six Nations), June (pretty much everybody), and November (everybody). In addition, 15s and 7s world cups, and world cup qualifiers fall under the regulation, too.
The US Olympic Committee had a hand in the removal of Matt Hawkins as USA 7s team Head Coach.
The move came after an exhaustive post-season examination of both the men’s and women’s teams. Both were put under the microscope by USA Rugby representatives (including CEO Nigel Melville) and the USOC.