A new leader in charge
The names Giselle Mather has listed for the opening tournament in Dubai this weekend are familiar. But her completely new immersion in the game makes their playing strategies quite unpredictable.
She had a positive baptism with the visit to the Elche Sevens in Spain, though the opposition there was not on a level to match the big guns of the World Series.
She had come to the format untrained in its basics, but her immense experience as a World Cup winner and a coach across men’s and women’s rugby gave her a headstart. A clear indicator of her standing comes with the presence in the new World Team of the Year of no fewer than three players from her Wasps side: Abby Dow, Ellie Kildunne and Maud Muir.
Kildunne and Meg Jones, another former Wasp, were the only two Red Roses to make the GB 7s squad for the Paris Olympics.
Back to School
Mather has been busy immersing herself in the skill-sets the short format requires. There she is helped by highly experienced operators like captain, Emma Uren, and England and GB’s most capped player, Amy Wilson Hardy, both familiar to her from their days together at Trailfinders.
But she has been keen to take advice from coaches around the world with long experience. The combination of all these sources will make GB’s performances among the most unpredictable and intriguing of the new series.
Plenty to prove
The squad’s results have lagged a distance behind their leading rivals over the past few seasons. They currently rank eighth. At any Olympics only three positions bring rewards, so the least we can hope to expect from this new HSBC series is an upward trajectory.
When the Olympics come into view, Mather would be happy to widen the squad to include members of the current Red Roses 15s squad who have a background in 7s. They include such notables as Alex Matthews, Ellie Kildunne, Emily Scarratt, Jess Breach, Holly Aitchison and Mo Hunt.
At present the English game is overflowing with sprinter talent, even if not all of them are currently fit. Add in names like Dow, Claudia Macdonald, Bo Westcombe-Evans, Reneeka Bonner, Millie David and Katie Buchanan, and you might wonder where the dreaming will stop.
A reminder of the new squad
Emma Uren (captain), Isla Norman-Bell, 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, Amy Wilson-Hardy
The Opposition (30 November):
First match v USA
Second match v France
Third match v Spain
It will be a triumphant first step if they can see those three off.
