News dribbles slowly out of GB’s HQ.
At least we know the squad:
Emma Uren (captain), Isla Norman-Bell (vice captain), Ellie Boatman, Reneeqa Bonner, Abbie Brown, Shona Campbell, Heather Cowell, Grace Crompton, Meg Davies, Eloise Hayward, Vicky Laflin, Georgie Lingham, Alicia Maude, Chantelle Miell, Emma Mundy, Catherine Richards, Jade Shekells, Katie Shillaker, Lauren Torley, Charlie Woodman and Amy Wilson-Hardy.
That is 21 players, where the conventional number attending a SVNS tournament is 13 or 14. So each time Giselle Mather has the job of deciding who stays at home.
Emma Uren retains the captaincy, while Abbie Brown, for many years the captain, remains in the ranks.
The awkwardness of the GB arrangement, in place since the run-up to the Rio Olympics, remains. The idea of a team displaying the Union flag as its emblem is still unfamiliar in rugby circles. Now comes a new chance for them to display their credentials.
Of the full squad no fewer than eighteen are English: Shona Campbell is the solitary Scot; Catherine Richards and Meg Davies the two Welsh. Can the SRU or the WRU be content with surrendering their own Sevens set-up for such a limited reward? In effect it means the decision was taken to put all the eggs in the Olympic basket; other championships, which would allow the three nations to appear separately, cast aside.
Then comes the question: have the players all totally committed themselves to Sevens? Ever since the RFU pulled the rug from under the English squad’s feet by suddenly withdrawing their contracts, the structure has appeared unstable. Some on the list have been familiar names in the PWR recently, notably Charlie Woodman (Gloucester-Hartpury), Heather Cowell (Quins), Reneeqa Bonner (Bristol) and Vicky Laflin (Trailfinders).
How many of them are willing to cut themselves off from 15s for the foreseeable future? There isn’t a nation on earth where two squads flourish side by side as separate entities. In Australia the 7s squad has been all-powerful, but now a leading figure like Charlotte Caslick is suggesting she might like to have a shot at making the 15s squad in time for the 2025 World Cup. Even in New Zealand the odd player has slipped across from 7s to 15s, Ruby Tui much the most celebrated.
Canada, to my mind the most successful nations at combining both formats, has allowed players like Olivia Apps to appear in both guises.
GB’s immediate future
Since GB’s successes have been fewer, it would seem sensible for the squad to commit themselves fully to their task, but the temptation to switch back to 15s must be just as strong. Club loyalty remains a factor.
It will be fascinating to see who Mather selects for the opening trip to Dubai (starting 30 November) and how they get on. And for her the occasion will present new challenges. The half-time talk will be reduced from its comfortable 10-12 minutes to what will feel like a couple of seconds, as calm, sensible points have to be made under pressure. The timing of substitutions is totally different too.
At least she has enormous experience in player-management, and no fewer than four of her own (former) players from Trailfinders are in the ranks, including the captain.
Both the men and women’s squads now use the London Irish training centre, Hazelwood, in Sunbury by the Thames as their base. That puts them one step ahead of the Red Roses who remain a wandering side in that sense. Whether this permanent home will make a significant difference remains to be seen. At least, three nations will be joined as one in wishing them success.
