Johannesburg - The HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series is upping its game and now as some of the big names are coming on board, it is getting bigger and better, says Argentina Head Coach Santiago Gomez Cora.
“After Sonny Bill Williams made an impact, mostly in Sydney, players like Bryan Habana and Quade Cooper were joining in and it was exciting. We hope to start bringing in some of our 15s players before the series is over too, but this is something we are still working on.”
Cora said that when one looked to how the Sonny Bill Williams experiment went, it is clear that players need time to adapt. “He had a good opening tournament in Wellington but he really made a difference a week later in Sydney and it is clear that he will continue to grow and grow.”
One can see why other players are coming into the system. Australia have a strong team but they need a playmaker in the style of Cooper.
The Springboks need a speedster to give some rest to Seabelo Senatla who is at the moment unstoppable and Bryan Habana will be a great option for that. He has speed and experience and the two will be great working in parallel.
Cora said Argentina were looking at a few players from the 15s. “They are being considered because they recently played for us and because they can add to the squad we already have. They will have to prove themselves like all of these players, and the challenge is already laid as it is for every team. “If I had a wildcard, I'd love to have Juan Imhoff back and in terms of other sides, two players I'd love to see playing sevens are the England duo of Mike Brown and Anthony Watson. They are really exciting players with all the right skills.”
Cora said that planning for Rio was well underway and when they are in Las Vegas, their women's side will be playing in the Aquece Rio test event.
“It is important that we start getting acquainted with the Olympic facilities and our manager Toti Ciocarelli is planning a visit when we fly back from North America. We will also have a training camp when the series is over in Brazil to acclimatise.
“Being only three hours away from Rio will take out one of the big enemy in sevens which is jet lag, and that alone is great news. “Las Vegas is an interesting city and one in which we've not always performed to the best of our abilities. Last year we underperformed and we want to turn that around.” - African News Agency (ANA)