‘Greatest game of consequence’: Aussie Sevens chasing consistency

The Aussie Sevens sides are right in the midst of preparation for the final fortnight of HSBC SVNS World Championship action, and men’s head coach Liam Barry is determined to make the next two weeks count.

Welcoming Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt into the camp to assist with the side’s contact zone, passing and ruck work, Barry is now tasked with delivering a big turnaround ahead of a difficult pool stage in Valladolid.

The Aussie Men’s side started promisingly in Hong Kong China, topping Pool C with wins over New Zealand, Kenya and the United States.

However, like in New York, the side fell away when knockout rugby came around, going down 19-5 to eventual bronze medalists Spain, before a 26-10 loss to Fiji to finish in sixth.

It is key moments of execution, physicality and delivering under pressure that Barry is looking to perfect.

“Sevens is the greatest game of consequence because your core skills have to be so accurate,” Barry said to reporters last week.

“You’ve got to deliver on your catch, pass, tackle, clean out [and] ball carry really accurately and with real intensity. I think that’s where our detail is crucial for the sevens.

“We went to [Hong Kong China] with real expectations and we fell over there, we only got sixth.

“We had an excellent day one and a half, but you’ve got to continue that, which we didn’t do.”

The biggest challenge underlying all of these work-ons is consistency, particularly as his side has shown they can beat the best on a regular basis throughout the regular season.

Barry hopes having Schmidt come to support him in preparation will prove beneficial, leading to positive change in the players with less than two weeks until the second round of the World Championship gets underway in Valladolid.

“Joe knows our program really well, he was in [Hong Kong China]and watched us live,” Barry added.

“It was really an opportunity to get him again here, bring the detail that he brings to the Wallabies into our program and also let the players play in front of the Wallabies coach, which is great.

“We’ve got quite a few Wallabies currently that have come through the sevens program, it’s a real pathway for us to push our players through to Super [Rugby] and Wallabies beyond [that].

“You just don’t get that off of one training, you know?

“It’s the consistency of the players turning up to bring effort, to bring the detail and the execution training after training, which then can mirror what you do in game time, when we play Kenya in a couple of weeks.

“We’re really keen to do well in Spain, in France. But Spain first, really kick on.”

The Aussie Sevens teams will have to navigate a difficult pool stage in Valladolid when the competition gets underway on 29th May, with the women’s side taking on South Africa, Fiji and the United States in Pool B, with the men taking on Kenya, Great Britain and South Africa in Pool A.