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Former Ireland captain Brian O’Driscoll, gold medal-winning coach Ben Ryan, ex-Wallabies captain George Gregan and current USA Men’s Sevens player Stephen Tomasin star in revealing film released ahead of the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens
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In the run-up to the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens, World Rugby Sevens Series title partner HSBC today released a new short-film that delves into the unique mentality of a Rugby Sevens player and the mental attributes required for a successful team.
Former Ireland and British & Irish Lions star and current HSBC Rugby ambassador Brian O’Driscoll talks in the film about his experiences of the pressures of top-class sport: “When I was a young guy I always thought that experience was completely overrated… As soon as you get that experience…you realise how vital it is to the success of any team having players who have been there and done it, who have that calmness about them when everyone else is panicking.
“Fire in the belly, ice in the mind…You see the best players always turning up in key moments and making good decisions, because as much as their heart is jumping out of their chest, they’re very clear in their thought.”
HSBC Rugby ambassador Ben Ryan had plenty of experience with the minds of Sevens players as head coach of the England Sevens team and the gold medal winning Fiji Sevens side: “What will make the difference ultimately in the tight games and the big matches is what’s happening mentally…still seeing 360 when the clouds come in, with fatigue, with decision making, with the opposition being ahead, the clocks running one way, something else is happening and you’ve got to still think very clearly, you’ve got to be able to communicate clearly and you’ve got to make the right decisions…The top players are going to be able to do that, the teams that perhaps aren’t used to that situation, haven’t got that resilience, are going to be the ones that will get close, but won’t get close enough…”
Having played 139 tests for Australia, HSBC Rugby ambassador George Gregan knows what it takes to perform mentally at the highest level: “You can never really practice being nervous…What you’ve got to be able to become good at is being able to be disciplined enough to do the real simple things real well…It might be the last two minutes, it might be the last play of the game, it might be winding down the clock. It’s what you do in those situations that’s really important.”
Current USA Men’s Sevens star Stephen Tomasin knows all-too-well the impact Rugby Sevens has on the mind: “In the Sevens game the lungs and the legs are what get fatigued first and then the mind goes after that. So if we can get our lungs and legs to fatigue as far as they can and keep our mind in the game, then we know we can go that little bit extra.”
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To follow the story of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, follow @HSBC_Sport on Twitter and Instagram and HSBC Sport on Facebook.
Comments on RugbyPass
Except for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
33 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
2 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
33 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
49 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
33 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
33 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
17 Go to commentsI'm not listening to a guy moralise over others when this is the guy who walked out mid season on Canterbury RLFC when he had a contract with them, what a hypocrite. Those praising him are a joke.
17 Go to commentsI’d put Finau at 6 instead of Blackadder but that’s the only change I’d make. Can’t wait to see who Razor picks.
33 Go to commentsTamati Williams, Codie Taylor, and Same Cane? Not sure about Hoskins Sotutu at test level. Wasn’t that impressive last season. Need a balance between experience and talent/youth.
33 Go to commentsInteresting insight. Fantastic athlete, and a genuine human being.
17 Go to commentsThey played at night in Suva last weekend and it’s an afternoon game forecast for 19 degrees in Canberra this weekend. Heat change is a non issue.
1 Go to commentsWishing Rosie a speedy recovery
1 Go to commentsObscene that SA haven’t been knocking
1 Go to commentsChances of Blackadder being injured seem too high to give him serious consideration. ABs loosie combination finally looked good with 2 committed to tackling and clearing rucks in the centre and Ardie roaming. Hoskins/Ardie together would force one of them into where they don’t excel and don’t get to use their talent, or require a change in tactics. If we continue to evolve last years systems I would take Papali’i and Finau at 6 and 7 (conceding that Blackadder will be injured) and Ardie at 8.
33 Go to commentsArdie’s preferred position 7? Where do they get these writers from? I've no idea where he's playing in Japan, but the previous two seasons he wore the 7 jersey exactly twice.
17 Go to commentsNot good to hear Ulster described as “financially troubled”. Did not think it was getting to that level. I would hope the Irish system of spreading players of talent away from Leinster would kick in now. Better to have a Leinster fringe player with Ulster or Connacht, then getting only a few games a season in Dublin. 10, for example, would seem to be a case for spreading the talent. I would not be at all adverse to a SA man coming in as head coach/DR. Ludeke is worth trying. Certainly got a long and impressive coaching career at this level…..149 games in SR, then Japan, 30 years experience. And Ulster’s ledger of successful SA coaches and players is on the positive side. Is talk of Ruan Pienaar interested in coming back as a coach…..could be a good combination with Ludeke. And Pienaar and family would have no settling in to do, one would judge. He loved life in Ulster when there, by all reports.
1 Go to commentsSome thoughts to consider here, Sam. Thanks
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