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'Two phases later I was knocked out - the next memory is at the hospital'

By Perry Baker
Perry Baker (Getty Images)

This is a massive year for sevens with the top four teams at the end of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series automatically qualifying for the 2020 Olympic Games in Japan.

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We believe we are a top four side and now it is up to all of us in the USA Sevens squad to deliver the consistent success that will be needed to ensure we don’t have to take part in the other qualifying tournaments to find the 12 teams that will be competing in Japan.

As a team, we are ready to take our game to another level because we are growing and evolving all the time and everything we do is focussed on becoming better. It is now all about bringing that hard work together and while I don’t think I have got quicker maybe Carlin (Isles) has, which is exciting.

Coming into this opening leg of the series in Dubai as the Player of the Year for the second successive time is truly humbling. I only knew I had been shortlisted with Ben O’Donnell of Australia and Jerry Tuwai of Fiji when my Eagles team mates came up and were congratulating me.

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I was really curious as to why they were all saying well done and when I realised why, it was like “Wow!”. When I then got the phone call telling me I had won it again I was truly shocked but when I thought about it I realised it wasn’t about me, it was actually about my team mates and what they do to make the game so much fun and helping create opportunities to score all those tries.

To win the award again was amazing, but is also challenging and I am super excited heading into the first day of competition in Dubai.

This is the opening leg of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series and while the heat is the big factor for everyone taking part I really don’t mind the high temperatures because it helps with my warm up! I get ready quicker in this kind of heat and we came out here early to adapt to the climate.

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I am hoping to contribute more than last year when I was concussed in the opening seconds of our first pool game. While the rest of the squad was competing in the pool matches, I was heading to hospital in an ambulance. I then had to sit out the Cape Town sevens as I recovered from the concussion and I really don’t want to through a similarly frustrating period again without being able to help my team mates.

My only recollection of that first game last year was the ball being kicked off, we turned it over and two phases later I was knocked out! The next memory is at the hospital.

The last series led up to the Rugby World Cup Sevens in San Francisco which was won by New Zealand and the tournament dominated the season which saw South Africa defend their HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series title staying ahead of Fiji. The series came down the last round in Paris and we believe we can be a top four side by the time this one is over because even though we started slowly in Dubai last year, we still had opportunities to one of the best teams in the final table.

The World Cup really made an impact in the USA with fans more aware of the sport and game has definitely grown and is a new level at home which is great. Now, it is all about maintaining that momentum.

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Jon 9 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 11 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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