Why Rugby Sevens must be played in Brisbane’s Olympics heartland

While the Queensland government may want to spread the Olympics love across regional areas of the state, it shouldn’t come at the cost of Rugby Sevens, writes Julian Linden.

The fate of rugby’s most underused asset will become clearer in the next few days.

While the 2032 Brisbane Olympics are still a long way off, Tuesday’s announcement on the host venues for each sport could have a lasting impact on the future of Rugby Sevens.

The Queensland government has been toying with the idea of playing the Rugby Sevens tournament at Townsville’s Country Bank Stadium, partly to save money but also to spread the Olympic gospel to regional Queensland.

The home of the North Queensland Cowboys, Country Bank Stadium, is believed to be in consideration by the Queensland government to host Rugby Sevens at the 2032 Brisbane Olympics. (Photo by Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images)

It is a sweet idea but one that really should be swiftly booted into touch because Sevens needs to be right at the heart of the Olympic action, which means being in Brisbane.

Officials from World Rugby and Rugby Australia have been quietly lobbying behind the scenes for Suncorp Stadium and remain hopeful that commonsense will prevail.

But they also know the ugly nature of domestic politics means nothing is ever guaranteed and with the best-laid plans for other sports still changing at the last minute, rugby’s leaders remain as anxious as everyone else ahead of Tuesday’s formal announcement.

They have good reason to be apprehensive because the stakes are so high.

World Rugby is already planning to cut the number of teams and tournaments in the annual World Series, so holding the Olympic competition away from the main host would be another devastating setback.

Other international federations have already complained that Brisbane’s organisers have hardly even spoken with them during the secretive 100-day review while other previous Olympic hosts have underplayed the value of Sevens, effectively treating it as a second-class sport.

Included on the Olympic program for the first time in 2016, the inaugural competition in Rio, where Australia’s women famously won gold, was held at Deodora Stadium, a temporary facility with seating for just 15,000 spectators.

Nathan Lawson of Team Australia scores a try in the Men’s Rugby Sevens Bronze Medal match between Team South Africa and Australia on day one of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Stade de France on July 27, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

Sevens did at least get an upgrade for the next Olympics when Japanese organisers agreed to stage the matches at Tokyo Stadium, but Covid meant that the ground’s 50,000 seats remained empty.

The abbreviated game finally got to show just how great and popular it can be at Paris last year, but only after a protracted negotiation and some divine intervention.

The French organisers originally wanted to play the men’s and women’s tournaments at a smaller suburban rugby ground in Paris rather than the 80,000 capacity Stade de France, which had been booked for athletics.

World Rugby pleaded for a bigger venue but were told that to get the Stade de France, they would have to agree to a compromise.

To ensure the Stade de France was ready for track and field after holding Sevens, the three-day men’s rugby tournament had to be split in two stages, with a rest day in between.

The first two days were held before the Opening Ceremony, then the final day after the parade of athletes on the River Seine and the lighting of the cauldron.

The risk was that the stop-start format would be a turn off to spectators, who would presumably save their money for events taking place after the official opening.

But it had the opposite effect.

Fans were so keen to witness live action that every ticket to every session of Rugby Sevens was sold out months in advance, thanks in no small part to an inspired decision by Antoine Dupont, the captain of the French 15-a-side team.

Officials from World Rugby and Rugby Australia have been quietly lobbying behind the scenes for Suncorp Stadium to host the Rugby Sevens at the 2032 Brisbane Olympics. Picture: Supplied.

Recognising the once in a lifetime chance to play at a home Olympics, Dupont took six months off regular rugby to devote himself to Sevens.

Already rated the best player of the world in 15s, the French halfback was rewarded with the ultimate prize when France upset Fiji in the final and he got himself an Olympic gold medal.

There’s no copyright on inspiration and Rugby Australia should take note of the Dupont effect and start planning a similar approach for 2032 or risk squandering a golden opportunity that rival football codes could only dream of.

At the very least, Australia’s best rugby players should be given the chance to go for gold at home in 2032 – whether that includes Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, Max Jorgensen, Madison Levi or other stars yet to emerge.

But not only that, the Brisbane Olympics should be the time for rugby, NRL and even the AFL to put aside their differences and come together, picking the best players with a chance of winning gold for Australia, regardless of which code they play.

This is one time Australia can’t afford to drop the ball.

Originally published as Why Rugby Sevens must be played in Brisbane’s Olympics heartland