Super Rugby Rio hopefuls will miss out on selection should Australia finish third in sevens standings

THE Australia sevens team currently sits fourth on the World Sevens series standings and coach Andy Friend has disheartening news for Super Rugby players.

Jamie Pandaram

2 min read

March 7, 2016 - 6:54PM

AUSTRALIA’S sevens coach Andy Friend will not consider Super Rugby players for his Olympic squad if they can finish in the top three of the world series.

The revelation comes after Australia narrowly lost the Las Vegas leg of the series, beaten 21-15 by Fiji in the final, to move to fourth in the rankings.

When Friend took over before the Sydney Sevens, the side was eighth.

There are several Super Rugby players interested in putting their hand up for the Rio Olympics in August, and intend to declare their interest if and when their teams are mathematically ruled out of contention for the finals in July.

But Friend, who has overseen the team’s resurgence to make successive finals in Sydney and Vegas, said he would trust and reward those who had already performed for him.

“If we can be a top three team, there is no need to look outside,” Friend told News Corp.

“It means the boys who are here have done a job.

“Winning a gold medal in Rio would be fantastic, and as much as others would like to be a part of that I have to show faith in the guys who perform and contribute to the team’s achievements.”

Quade Cooper made his debut in sevens in Vegas and while he had some moments of brilliance, he had a final to forget, firstly losing the ball that allowed Fiji to score a 105-metre try to take the lead 21-15, and then throwing a forward pass as Australia looked to score a match-winner in the dying seconds.

Quade Cooper played a big role in Australia’s loss to Fiji.

“We will have a chat about those things, he is a very experienced rugby player and he knows exactly what he should and shouldn’t have done.

“It is one thing to know, and another thing to put that into action.

“When your body is under the fatigue that it is playing this game, unless you’re put into that position, you don’t know what it’s like.

“When your heart-rate is going at 120 beats per minute, the lactic is building, you’ve been running flat out for the past two minutes and you still have to get up and go again and make split-second decisions under pressure, your brain isn’t thinking the way it normally thinks.

“Quade will be better for the experience.”

Friend revealed that Cooper has been given permission by his French club Toulon to also play the next series tournament in Vancouver this weekend, which means he could potentially have four tournaments of experience (with Paris and London the final two) before the Olympic squad is named.

Australia has a favourable draw in Vancouver given they made the Vegas decider, being grouped with Wales, Russia and Canada, which should see them stroll into the quarters in first place.

“The confidence and belief within the squad is definitely growing,” Friend said.

“There is a lot of ability in this group, we’ve just got to work with it.”

WORLD SEVENS SERIES STANDINGS AFTER FIVE ROUNDS

1. Fiji (91 points)

2. South Africa (86)