mar.05.2009

Hong Kong Sevens coach Rod McIntosh has thrown his full backing behind the campaign to include Sevens rugby in the 2016 Olympic Games.

McIntosh joins several Sevens coaches and players to voice their support before the International Olympic Committee’s decision on the matter in Copenhagen in October and he believes a positive decision would enable Sevens to flourish in Hong Kong and China.

“If it was to become an Olympic sport there would be a lot of interest, a lot of investment and a lot of growth that would be very positive for Hong Kong,” he said.

“Currently in Hong Kong we compete with a lot of sports for government funding and we have got competitions coming up like the Asia Games in 2010 and if we were to medal at those games our level of government funding would grow exponentially.

“The other aspect is that our neighbours over in China, who we have quite a close relationship with, they obviously have an immense population base, so you would see the balance of power shift. Teams like the [United] States and China would go and find athletes and learn the game.

“And as was demonstrated in the last Olympics these countries have got some great structures and good government support and I’m sure it will only be a matter or time before they develop and become a leading nation on the circuit.”

Making the right decisions

China women’s coach Zheng Hongjun agrees with McIntosh’s summary but believes that Sevens would have to be marketed and broadcast correctly in China to attract increased participation.

“In China we have a big population but it is hard to get a sport to people and rugby is a young sport in our country,” he said.

“We are trying to get children to play the game by starting them playing Sevens at school but until the sport is recognised as an Olympic event we will always struggle to beat sports like soccer in attracting new people because not enough people know about it or watch it.

“The Olympics would be the best possible result for Sevens rugby in China, like it would be for all other countries. If the Government recognised the sport as an Olympic one then they would obviously provide funding and this would help us a great deal. But this funding would have to be used in the right way and with the right support for it to be successful.”

China select players from agricultural colleges across the country above the age of 18 but Zheng believes that extra financial backing combined with added exposure would enable younger players and those from more broadly based backgrounds to enter the sport.