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Clark Laidlaw believes live-wire Blues wing Caleb Clarke can help New Zealand win Olympic Games gold in Tokyo next year after helping secure the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series title with the competition cancelled despite four legs still be played due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Coach Laidlaw discovered he had guided New Zealand’s men to the title while in quarantine in an Auckland hotel and admits the decision to end the competition early due to the pandemic only adds to the sense of unreality.
? Your 2020 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series Champions! ?
FULL STORY ?? https://t.co/rtzfUZqfF5 pic.twitter.com/t4rfnUeTll
ADVERTISEMENT— All Blacks Sevens (@AllBlacks7s) June 30, 2020
Laidlaw is having to isolate for two weeks having returned to the UK following the death of his mother and has two more days before he can see his family again to highlight the unprecedented impact the virus has made. World Rugby has handed New Zealand the men’s and women’s titles as it is impossible to complete the remaining legs of both events and now Laidlaw and his players will set their sights on winning gold at the delayed Olympic Games in Tokyo which takes place in 12 months’ time.
With the men’s series events in Hong Kong, Singapore, London and Paris cancelled, Laidlaw’s squad can now concentrate on getting game time in Super Rugby and the Mitre 10 competition in 15s. Unlike other areas of the world, New Zealand rugby is back up and running with crowds. 21-year-old Clarke, a key weapon in Laidlaw’s sevens squad, is making a significant impact for the unbeaten Blues where his elusive running has captured the headlines while Etene Nanai-Seturo is with the Chiefs, Salesi Rayasi at the Hurricanes and Scott Gregory in the mix with the Highlanders.
Laidlaw believes the fact his players are going to be able to play rugby in the coming weeks will have a long term benefit leading into the 2021 HSBC World Rugby Sevens series. He told RugbyPass: “I am in quarantine at the moment and will be for another couple of days. We were told the remaining four tournaments would not be going ahead and while it is a bit strange we felt that we were a long way down the track to win the series and we are proud of our efforts.
“Caleb is a great advert for our team isn’t he and boys who have been with us for the last year are getting an opportunity which is great. Most of the squad were rolling around in the mud playing club rugby last weekend and it is important we give back to our communities at this difficult time. I am hoping quite a few of the guys will get picked up in Mitre 10 squads and they want to get out there and play.
“New Zealand rugby is committed to producing a team to win the Olympics and we have shown we can raise our performance and get the consistency we have strived for in our game. Our advantage is that we are playing live rugby in New Zealand and the boys will be hungry to get back to sevens.
“In terms of building up to Tokyo we are going to build up again and there is still a lot of uncertainty how the next 12 months will look. We have a contracted group that we will get back together before Christmas and then be in a good position to kick on. We an opportunity to get better.
“We have now won the men’s and women’s HSBC titles, Commonwealth Games and Rugby World Cup Sevens and we should be proud of the success of the two teams and it will be good to slow down and reflect on what has been achieved. We have, effectively, got two shots at preparing for an Olympic Games and we have been able to review everything we have done for this year and that is exciting.”
Clarke will look to feature widely for the Blues as their Super Rugby Aotearoa season continues.
Comments on RugbyPass
It’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
2 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
28 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
1 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
1 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
2 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to commentsAnd the person responsible for creating a culture of accountability is?
3 Go to commentsMore useless words from Ben Smith -Please get another team to write about. SA really dont need your input, it suck anyway.
264 Go to commentsThis disgraceful episode must result in management and coach team sackings. A new manager with worse results than previous and the coaching staff need to coached. Awful massacre led by donkeys.
1 Go to commentsInteresting article with one glaring mistake. This sentence: “And between the top four nations right now, Ireland, France, South Africa, and New Zealand…” should read: And between the top four nations right now, South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand and France…”. Get it right wistful thinkers, its not that hard.
24 Go to commentsHow did Penny get the gig anyway?
3 Go to commentsNice write up Nick and I would have agreed a week ago. However as you would know Cale & co got absolutely monstered by the Blues back row of Sotutu, Ioane and Papaliti and not all of these 3 are guaranteed a start in the Black jumper. He may need to put some kgs before stepping up, Spring tour? After the week end Joe will be a bit more restless. Will need to pick a mobile tough pack for Wales and hope England does the right thing and bashes the ABs. I like your last paragraph but I would bring Swinton, Hannigan into the 6 role and Bobby V to 8
28 Go to commentsThe Crusaders can still get in to the Play Off’s. The imminent return of outstanding captain Scott Barrett and his All Black team mate Codie Taylor will be a big boost.There are others like Tamaiti Williams too. Two home games coming up. Fellow Crusader fans get there and support these guys. I will be.
2 Go to commentsCant get more Wellington than Proctor.
2 Go to commentsWhy not let the media decide. Like how they choose the head coach. Like most of us we entrust the rugby system to choose. A rugby team includes the coaches. It's collective.
14 Go to commentsHi NIck, I have been very impressed with him and he seems a smart player who can see opportunities which Bobby V _(who must be an international 6_) doesn’t see or have the speed to take advantage of. If he continues to improve and puts on 5kgs then he could be a great 8. He is a bit taller than Keiran Reid at 1.93m and 111 kgs, so his skill set fits his body size and who knows where it will lead. I hope the spate of Achilles tendon issues have been dealt with by the S&C people. It’s been a very long time since Mark Loane and Kefu stood out at 8. The question is will we be able to hold onto him, if he does make it he will be pretty hot property. I disagree with the idea of letting them go to the Northern Hemisphere and then bring them back.
28 Go to commentsBilly Fulton 🤣🤣🤣🤣 garrrmon not even close
14 Go to commentsDoes the AI take into account refs? hahaha Seriously why not have two on field refs to avoid bias?
24 Go to comments