Pressure is on women’s rugby sevens team to follow up Rio gold with victory at Commonwealth Games

AFTER Australian rugby’s largely forgettable 2017, hopes for a brighter time this year could be made or broken in the next few weeks by two very formidable groups – women and Kiwis.

The Australian women’s rugby team after their gold medal win in Rio.

AFTER Australian rugby’s largely forgettable 2017, hopes for a brighter time this year could be made or broken in the next few weeks by two very formidable groups – women and Kiwis.

After cricket’s recent shenanigans, we all jumped on board to decry the win at all costs attitude of our sportspeople.

“Tut-tut” we screamed. But that was last week.

So, to this week and the Commonwealth Games and the newspaper headline which also took to screaming. “All that matters is gold for women’s 7s.”

So much for playing the game for the game’s sake.

I’m being slightly mischievous here as I’m sure such cheerleading, if it can be called that, will forever be a part of the sporting landscape.

The harsh reality for rugby is that while our women’s team winning gold next weekend is not really all that matters, it’d be pretty damn helpful if they did.

Australia’s women’s rugby sevens squad celebrate their gold medal win in Rio.

Rugby Sevens’ inclusion in the Olympic program was the chance the game had to take, and courtesy of the gold old time the girls had in Rio, it was grabbed. Rugby, women’s rugby, sevens rugby, all benefited but success equates to expectation.

They were beaten in the final of last year’s World Series by New Zealand but on home turf and with the tag of Olympic Champions on their CV, the stark truth is they are expected to win again.

While encouraging women’s rugby in all formats is important for the code, my guess is that the vast majority of girls growing up with a desire to represent their country in one form or the other would prefer the speed and thrill of Sevens – combined with the option of an Olympic Gold medal – ahead of the more brutal 15-a-side game which potentially could lead to World Cup success. Those girls will be watching events at the Coast closely.

Whether gold eventuates will depend to some degree on luck but I imagine all that matters to coach Tim Walsh at the moment is that his players are thriving on the pressure that comes with expectation, because both the pressure and the expectation are unavoidable.

So much for the women, how can the Kiwis do their bit for Australian rugby?

Australia’s women’s rugby sevens team celebrates winning gold at Rio with victory over New Zealand in the final.

By not doing what the Hurricanes did to the Rebels last week when they scored 42-0 during their 50-19 cakewalk.

In the past 33 encounters between New Zealand and Australian Super Rugby teams the scoreboard currently sits at 33-0, and while some were singing the praises of the Rebels in the early stages of the tournament, reality bit big time against the ’Canes.

Will it be the Brumbies’ turn for a dose next week when they play the Highlanders?

The Reds and Waratahs have all their games against Kiwi sides still to come in the closing half of the schedule and while there have been hints of improvement this season from both sides as they prepare to face one another next Saturday night, the true tests will be in the weeks to follow.

The Hurricanes put the Rebels to the sword last week.

It is an anomaly, if a comforting one for Australians, in the Super Rugby programming that the Kiwis play each other as many as eight times en route to the finals, while each of our teams has a maximum of four trans-Tasman contests prior to the playoffs.

The Reds don’t play the Crusaders at all, the Waratahs are spared the Hurricanes and there’s no Rebels-Chiefs clash. Do I hear something about being grateful for small mercies?

To use cricketing parlance for our Super Rugby teams, the military medium pacers are soon to be dispatched to the outfield. The quicks are off their long run with a new ball. And it’s swinging.

The Kiwis are coming and it’s time to prove your worth.

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Originally published as Pressure is on women’s rugby sevens team to follow up Rio gold with victory at Commonwealth Games