Six Premiership 7s stars that should have breakout XVs careers
The 2018/19 Gallagher Premiership season got underway on Friday, as the tournament’s annual sevens event took place at Franklin’s Gardens.
Saracens emerged victorious on Saturday evening, defeating the reigning champions Wasps, 33-12, in the final, with both teams out on their feet after a gruelling couple of days.
The competition might not be the most prestigious around, but it is a valuable opportunity for clubs up and down the country to give youngsters a run out, both accelerating their preseason conditioning and allowing them to put down a marker for involvement with the XVs side in the coming season.
We look at six players who boosted their stock over the two days in Northampton and who will have given their coaches plenty to think about ahead of the season start at the end of August.
Paolo Odogwu, Sale Sharks
Odogwu is becoming a perennial highlight reel in this competition and this year was no different.
His footwork, acceleration and presence of mind to keep the ball in two hands and/or in his non-fending hand all stood out over the two days. He made a couple of excellent cover tackles, too, and all these attributes should translate to XVs.
The arrival of Chris Ashton, who joins Denny Solomona and Marland Yarde at the AJ Bell, doesn’t help Odogwu’s search for playing time, nor does Arron Reed’s emergence, but his attacking potential is clear. His low centre of gravity and shorter stature certainly help him win penalties from high tackles, too.
Callum Sirker, Wasps
There should be no surprise that an England 7s international like Sirker shone at a tournament with a majority of XVs players.
His short-area quickness, however, was all but uncontainable at the Gardens and the Wasps coaches will have an appreciation for the impact that can have in XVs, with the likes of Christian Wade and Elliot Daly regularly prospering in that area.
At just 20 years of age and having been part of the club’s academy before transitioning into sevens, Sirker is a player the club will presumably be keen to invest time and patience in. Daly is a certainty to be away with England during international windows, but the competition will still be stiff out wide, with Marcus Watson, Ambrose Curtis and Josh Bassett in the mix for Wasps.
Tim Cardall, a new arrival from Nottingham, impressed with his ball carrying and support running, too.
Joel Conlon, Saracens
A former Junior World Championship winner, Conlon has gone under the radar somewhat since his move to Saracens in 2016.
The Premiership 7s was a timely reminder of the physicality the back-rower brings to the mix, as well as the speed to turn broken tackles into big gains. His support running was impressive, too, and despite being one of the bigger frames in the competition, he was regularly on the shoulder of the fleeter Saracens players.
With Billy Vunipola, Nick Isiekwe and Maro Itoje involved with England, Michael Rhodes now also eligible for selection by Eddie Jones and Schalk Burger in the twilight of his career, opportunities should be there for Conlon this season.
Reuben Bird-Tulloch and Rotimi Segun both looked ready for more involvement with the senior Saracens side, too.
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Sam Aspland-Robinson, Leicester Tigers
It was far from a successful tournament for Leicester in terms of results, but Aspland-Robinson looked lively coming off the back of an ACL injury.
Not, historically, the career-killer it can be in the NFL or NBA, where the speed of the game is that echelon higher, the development of rugby from a game of yards to a game of inches is beginning to change that. Fortunately for Aspland-Robinson, a player who relies on his pace, footwork and ability to change direction at speed, it looks as if he has lost none of his potency during his lay-off.
He ran plenty of nice lines on Friday and Saturday, had the acceleration and power to exploit holes and inside shoulders and showed good awareness of his support runners with some decent offloads. There’s a spot in the back three with Jonny May and Telusa Veainu up for grabs.
Zach Kibirige, Newcastle Falcons
After a difficult few seasons with injuries and off-field issues, 2018/19 could be the season that Kibirige announces himself emphatically to senior rugby.
His top speed, elusiveness in congested areas and ability to pull off steps and swerves without any loss of momentum all stood out at Franklin’s Gardens. The power he had at U20 level also seems to be translating well to the seniors.
Both Vereniki Goneva and Sinoti Sinoti are in the twilights of their careers, so a good showing in the sevens may have been enough to push Kibirige to the front of the queue to deputise for the pair and ultimately succeed them in the coming seasons.
Fellow wing Adam Radwan also stood out, as did the ball-carrying ability of back-rower Simon Uzokwe.
Calum Waters, Harlequins
Arguably the player of the tournament on Friday, Waters was bordering on unstoppable in the opening evening, when he registered hat-tricks in both of his games.
The reliability and consistency of Danny Care at Harlequins has helped hide the fact the club’s scrum-half depth has been relatively thin in the last few years. If this is the moment Waters’ confidence builds and he kicks on, capable of providing competition to those in the regular senior 23, then that bodes well for Quins moving forward.
Like Sirker, Waters’ patience and ability to spot a gap showed up across the two days and he has the afterburners to make the most of both. As a like-for-like deputy for Care, Quins could do a lot worse.
Two U18s, Lennox Anyanwu and Femi Sofolarin, were among the more impressive performers over Quins’ four games, too, promising a bright future in TW2.
Comments on RugbyPass
Exciting place to be for the young fella. I expected he was French Polynesian when I saw him included in the France 6N squad (after seeing him in NZs), and therefor be strong grounds we might loose him to rugby down here. Good, in that he is good enough to warrant such a profile, and from a journalism’s fan interaction aspect, to finally get a back ground story on the fella. Hope he has settled into NZ OK and that at least one rugby country will fit with him to help his development, which, if so, he should surely continue for a few years, and then that he can experience France to it’s fullest with a bit more maturity and less reliance on family than you would have at his current age. A good 3 or 4 years before he would be ready for International duty if he wanted to wait. Of course he already sounds good enough to accept a call up, and to cap himself, in the more immediate future (he’d have to be very very good in the case of the ABs), and he’ll get a great taste of that being with the Canes who have a bunch who are just a few years further into their career and looking likely Internationals themselves.
11 Go to commentsI remember towards the end of the original broadcasting deal for Super rugby with Newscorp that there was talk about the competition expanding to improve negotiations for more money - more content, more cash. Professional rugby was still in its infancy then and I held an opposing view that if Super rugby was a truly valuable competition then it should attract more broadcasters to bid for the rights, thereby increasing the value without needing to add more teams and games. Unfortunately since the game turned professional, the tension between club, talent and country has only grown further. I would argue we’re already at a point in time where the present is the future. The only international competitions that matter are 6N, RC and RWC. The inter-hemisphere tours are only developmental for those competitions. The games that increasingly matter more to fans, sponsors and broadcasters are between the clubs. Particularly for European fans, there are multiple competitions to follow your teams fortunes every week. SA is not Europe but competes in a single continental competition, so the travel component will always be an impediment. It was worse in the bloated days of Super rugby when teams traversed between four continents - Africa, America, Asia and Australia. The percentage of players who represent their country is less than 5% of the professional player base, so the sense of sacrifice isn’t as strong a motivation for the rest who are more focused on playing professional rugby and earning as much from their body as they can. Rugby like cricket created the conundrum it’s constantly fighting a losing battle with.
3 Go to commentsOh wow… “But as La Rochelle proved in winning in Cape Town this season, a cross-continental away assignment need not spell the end of days.” La Rochelle actually proved quite the opposite. After traveling to Cape town and back they (back-to-back and current champs) got mercilessly thumped the next week. If travel is not the reason, why else would a full-strength powerhouse like La Rochelle get dumped on their @r$e$ one week later?
26 Go to commentsYou know he can land a winning conversion after the full time siren is up. (Even if it takes two attempts.)
5 Go to commentsA very insightful article from Jake. I would love to know how South African’s feel about their move to Europe. Do you prefer playing in Europe or want to go back to Super Rugby?
3 Go to commentspure fire
1 Go to commentsA very well thought out summary of all the relevant complications…agree with your ”refer the Cricket Test versus 20/20 comparison”. More also definitely doesn't necessarily mean better!
3 Go to commentsMust be something when you are only 19 y.o and both NZ and France want you. Btw he wasn’t the only new caledonian in french U20 as Robin Couly also lived in Noumea until 17. Hope he’s successful wherever he chooses to play.
11 Go to comments“Several key players in the Stade Rochelais squad are in their thirties” South Africans are going to hate the implications of that comment!
5 Go to commentsI know Leinster did a job on La Roche but shortly after HT Leinster were 30-13 ahead of them and at a similar time Toulouse were trailing Exeter. At 60 mins Leinster were 27 ahead but after 67 mins Toulouse were only 19 ahead before Exeter collapsed. That’s heavier scoring by Leinster against the Champions. I think people are looking at Toulouses total a little too much. I also think Northhampton are in with a real chance, albeit I’d put Leinster as favourites. If Leinster make the final I expect them to win by more than ten and with control.
5 Go to commentsHey Nick, your match analysis is decent but the top and tail not so much, a bit more random. For a start there’s a seismic difference in regenerating any club side over a test team. EJ pretty much had to urinate with the appendage he’d been given at test level whereas club success is impacted hugely by the budget. Look no further than Boudjellal’s Toulon project for a perfect example. The set ups at La Rochelle and Leinster are like chalk and cheese and you are correct that Leinster are ahead. Leinster are not just slightly ahead though, they are light years ahead on their plans, with the next gen champions cup team already blooded, seasoned and developing at speed from their time manning the fort in the URC while the cream play CC and tests. They have engineered a strong talent conveyor belt into their system, supported by private money funnelled into a couple of Leinster private schools. The really smart move from Leinster and the IRFU however is maximising the Irish Revenue tax breaks (tax relief on the best 10 years earnings refunded at retirement) to help keep all of their stars in Ireland and happy, while simultaneously funding marquee players consistently. And of course Barrett is the latest example. But in no way is he a “replacement for Henshaw”, he’s only there for one season!!! As for Rob Baxter, the best advice you can give him is to start lobbying Parliament and HMRC for a similar state subsidy, but don’t hold your breath… One thing Cullen has been very smart with is his coaching team. Very quickly he realised his need to supplement his skills, there was talk of him exiting after his first couple of years but he was extremely shrewd bringing in Lancaster and now Nienaber. That has worked superbly and added a layer that really has made a tangible difference. Apart from that you were bang on the money… 😉😂
5 Go to commentsNot sure exactly what went wrong for him at Glasgow but it’s pretty clear he ain’t Franco’s cup of tea. Suspect he would have been better served heading out of Scotland around the same time as Finn, Hoggy and Jonny!
1 Go to commentsBulls disrespected the Northampton supporters and the competition. Decide quickly, fully in or out.
26 Go to commentsI wonder if Parling was ever on England’s radar as a coach? Obviously Borthwick is a great lineout coach, but I do worry he might be taking on too much as both head coach and forwards coach.
1 Go to commentsJason Jenkins has one cap. When Etzebeth was his age he had over 80 caps. Experience matters. He will never amount to what Etzebeth has because he hasn’t been developed as an international player.
2 Go to commentsSays much about the player picking this gig over the easier and bigger rewards offered to him in Japan. Also says a lot about the state sanctioned tax benefits the Irish Revenue offers pro rugby players, with their ten highest earning years subject to an additional 40% tax relief and paid as a lump sum, in cash, at retirement. Certainly helps Leinster line up the financial ducks in a row to fund marquee signings like this!!! No other union anywhere in world rugby benefits from this kind of lucrative financial sponsorship from their government…
5 Go to commentsTrue Jordie could earn a lot more in Japan. But by choosing Leinster he’ll be playing with 1 of the best clubs in the world and can win a champions cup and URC…..
6 Go to commentsThanks for that Marshy, noticed you didn't say who is gonna win it. We know who ain't gonna win it - your Crusaders outfit. They've gone from having arguably the best Super Rugby first five ever, to having a clutch of rookies. Hurricanes all the way!
1 Go to commentsGeez you really have to question the NRLs ability to produce players of quality. Its pathetic. Dont the 25mil in Aus produce enough quality womens players. Sad.
1 Go to commentsBulls fan here, and agree 100% with the conclusion (and little else) of this article. SA sides should absolutely f-off from the champs cup until we get fair scheduling, equal support for travel arrangements and home semis. You know, like all the european teams get.
26 Go to comments