2020 -> 2021 Olympic Sevens (Tokyo)
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Honestly I don't think this team is much worse than previous ones, I think the rest of the world has got a lot better, especially with the entry to the Olympics giving it a better platform and more funding access.
Our best players have always gravitated to the 15 man format so that's also nothing new. I think the suggestion of a national circuit is a good idea, but I suspect 7s generates very little revenue for nzr so they're never going to invest much.
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@bovidae said in 2020 -> 2021 Olympic Sevens (Tokyo):
We've also seen how hard it is for XVs players (including ABs) to make the transition back to sevens. It's a totally different game to what sevens used to be like, and to XVs, requiring a leaner athlete and a different kind of fitness.
Yep, and to be fair much of our early dominance in sevens was because we treated it as a different game with different requirements while other countries selected a muddle of XVs players that were available.
We then kept ahead for a while based on experience and coaching while everyone else got up to speed.The Titch manual was picked up by other coaches and fitness levels raised.
I do think that there is room at the Olympics for a marquee player or two to be thrown in the mix. We did see how Kerevi struggled for more than a couple of minutes but I am thinking more like a DMac as playmaker or RIoane in bursts. -
@stargazer said in 2020 -> 2021 Olympic Sevens (Tokyo):
FUCK UP YOU fluffybunnies I'M COMPETING TOMORROW!!!
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@dogmeat said in 2020 -> 2021 Olympic Sevens (Tokyo):
Heard Dallas Seymour on radio this morning. He says that we play too little sevens in NZ. That players can't transition from 15-7's and so we need a domestic comp to uncover new talent.
He hinted that this is why we see the same faces consistently - compounded by COVID I guess.
Would like to see a domestic sevens series played early in the footy season to both unearth talent and give players more opportunities to learn and develop their skills. Compared it to Fiji where 7's is the main game and players are into it constantly from a very early age.
Also said that our team did well and could have won but for poor decision making under pressure and defensive lapses.
We used to have a system where lots of guys cut their teeth and learnt how to be professionals in 7s before then becoming top 15s players - think of Cullen, Loki, Osborne, Mils, Rodney, Rico Gear, Rokocoko etc
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@junior said in 2020 -> 2021 Olympic Sevens (Tokyo):
@dogmeat said in 2020 -> 2021 Olympic Sevens (Tokyo):
Heard Dallas Seymour on radio this morning. He says that we play too little sevens in NZ. That players can't transition from 15-7's and so we need a domestic comp to uncover new talent.
He hinted that this is why we see the same faces consistently - compounded by COVID I guess.
Would like to see a domestic sevens series played early in the footy season to both unearth talent and give players more opportunities to learn and develop their skills. Compared it to Fiji where 7's is the main game and players are into it constantly from a very early age.
Also said that our team did well and could have won but for poor decision making under pressure and defensive lapses.
We used to have a system where lots of guys cut their teeth and learnt how to be professionals in 7s before then becoming top 15s players - think of Cullen, Loki, Osborne, Mils, Rodney, Rico Gear, Rokocoko etc
to make you feel old, that was 20-25 years ago. Things have changed just a little bit.
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@taniwharugby 12 months i reckon. 12 months of training and playing and they would be fuuuuuucking hard to stop. Those guys are genetic freaks.
Receivers, running backs, linebackers and safeties.
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@taniwharugby that was hilarious when it blew up yesterday on Twitter.
Yeah mate - just got to teach them passing skills they've never possessed, how to tackle correctly, and the entire set of laws of the game.
Only took Carlin Isles 5 years to get the gist of it.
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@mariner4life said in 2020 -> 2021 Olympic Sevens (Tokyo):
@taniwharugby 12 months i reckon. 12 months of training and playing and they would be fuuuuuucking hard to stop. Those guys are genetic freaks.
Receivers, running backs, linebackers and safeties.
At least 12 months. They're amazing athletes but have no idea how to pass - a lot of the Yank converts still don't, and it shows - and the different awareness of space.
They're used to operating in narrow channels on very strict game plans, and the WR in particular don't do defence.
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Carlin Isles is not DK Metcalf or Tyreek Hill or Derrick Henry.
If it's all they do for 12 months, gee i would love to see it.
Of course i wouldn't, because 7s pays what some of those guys make in a week.
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@nta not to mention fitness.
I reckon an all star NFL team would be fun to watch, but they'd get smoked.
Learning to tackle would be a massive hurdle, just to keep players on the park!
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@taniwharugby tackle? The fuck do you think linebackers and safeties do all season? Read plays and make tackles.
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Was a hard watch, simply put Fiji made less (a lot less) errors and were well deserving of their win. NZ got rattled early and never got their composure back, some poor kick restart gathers, some poor tackles, some poor hands on attack. Showed great ticker but Fiji clearly the better team.
Am glad for Fiji though, it's always nice to see a minnow come through and claim some Olympic glory (just wish it wasn't at our expense!)
Also really glad that Argentina got bronze, well deserved after that incredible victory over SA, for me that games probably been the highlight of the Olympics - such incredible resolve and character, it's the reason you love sport!
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@mariner4life more the way they tackle, the defensive line in NFL is typically more structured too, I'd say they'd be better able to slot into a League defensive pattern much easier, but still need to learn how to tackle properly that wouldnt see them sin-binned.
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@taniwharugby said in 2020 -> 2021 Olympic Sevens (Tokyo):
not to mention fitness
I would argue there's a genetic element to that too. Different sports encourage different sorts of genetic freaks.
In sevens you're constantly going up and down from peak effort to moderate effort. Can an athlete who is a genetic freak in short bursts develop the same engine as Curry?
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@mariner4life said in 2020 -> 2021 Olympic Sevens (Tokyo):
Carlin Isles is not DK Metcalf or Tyreek Hill or Derrick Henry.
If it's all they do for 12 months, gee i would love to see it.
Of course i wouldn't, because 7s pays what some of those guys make in
a weekan hour.Fixed.
I reckon you'd need to recruit about 50 guys from those positions, and use your 12 months to get them up to speed.
Some guys aren't going to stand up mentally to the change, and some aren't physically going to enjoy 5-7 minutes of flat out exertion.
Once the passing is taken care of - which I think is the biggest hurdle - I reckon the rest of it is piss-easy for 7s.
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@taniwharugby said in 2020 -> 2021 Olympic Sevens (Tokyo):
@mariner4life more the way they tackle, the defensive line in NFL is typically more structured too, I'd say they'd be better able to slot into a League defensive pattern much easier, but still need to learn how to tackle properly that wouldnt see them sin-binned.
I remember reading Seattle Seahawks were moving toward rugby style tackling several years ago in order to increase safety.
It also turned out to increase effectiveness.
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@duluth said in 2020 -> 2021 Olympic Sevens (Tokyo):
@taniwharugby said in 2020 -> 2021 Olympic Sevens (Tokyo):
not to mention fitness
I would argue there's a genetic element to that too. Different sports encourage different sorts of genetic freaks.
In sevens you're constantly going up and down from peak effort to moderate effort. Can an athlete who is a genetic freak in short bursts develop the same engine as Curry?
They'd have to love not carrying around 10kg of padding and helmet tho.
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France only just hold out Fiji, 12-5 not a bad game to be honest, very tough womens match
