Lee Stensness: Our legacy dictates that sevens success is a must

During Tuesday's Reunion show there was a viewer poll asking whether or not people felt the Commonwealth Games sevens should be given a higher priority than the Super 14. The result was that approximately 80 per cent respondents thought the sevens should take precedence.

It is clear where the public stands. I'd imagine a survey of the five New Zealand Super 14 coaches would return a 100 per cent result, the other way.

It is easy to see where the Super 14 coaches are coming from. They have their own jobs to do - namely to get the best results they can in the Super 14 - and having key personnel absent for whatever period makes that job more difficult.

The crux of this issue is that the parties concerned - the NZRU, Gordon Tietjens, the Super 14 coaches and the public - all have different goals and expectations, which has led to the current arrangement (compromise) where each Super 14 team contributes one player to the sevens squad. While this policy reduces the impact on the Super 14 squads, it also reduces the sevens team's chances of winning gold and New Zealand rugby is based on a winning heritage.

If New Zealand win gold, again, it helps to continue the All Blacks' history of, and reputation for, success. I say the All Blacks because that is what the casual overseas media and viewer will recognise and refer to the team as, and they represent a significantly larger market than us in New Zealand.

Indeed the reason we can sustain professional rugby here is because overseas markets want to see games involving our teams because of our legacy. New Zealand, the All Blacks, need to continue that success on the largest stages possible, in any rugby context. If we aren't perennial winners or contenders then who needs us?

While I am aware the possibility of not winning the Commonwealth gold in sevens will not diminish the history and reputation of the All Blacks in New Zealanders' eyes, that will not be the perspective for overseas viewers. Therefore there is a need to sustain that reputation, especially in large potential and current markets.

I also acknowledge that one sevens tournament is not going to convert the entire Commonwealth into rugby fans. However, it may spark an interest or recognition among casual sports fans in the same way that rugby fans in New Zealand, if old enough, recognise names like Nadia Comaneci or Nikki Jenkins, even though we may care not for gymnastics.

Stories of success on the Commonwealth or Olympic stage resonate through a wider audience, and hopefully the Commonwealth Games are a stepping stone for sevens into the Olympics.

The casual overseas viewer represents the future of rugby if it is to be a growing and global sport. With the sevens sure to become more of a blue riband event at the Commonwealth Games as word of the party atmosphere spreads, it is important to secure our legacy as the premier rugby nation by continuing to win gold.

New Zealand should be sending the strongest possible side, within the egalitarian parameters of two players maximum from each Super 14 squad, as the Commonwealth Games are a showcase event that expose rugby to an enormous casual market in populous countries such as England, Canada and India.

That can only help the All Black brand in the long term, even if it might hinder five out of five New Zealand Super 14 coaches in the short term.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY