Rugby: Sevens wannabes need commitment

Israel Folau

Australian Sevens coach Michael O'Connor would love to see Israel Folau at the Olympics, but says he won't be chasing the Wallabies star.

The country's rugby elite would have to shelve 15-a-side ambitions for a year and commit to touring with the Sevens side if they wanted to be considered for Brazil in 2016.

Australia will also compete at the Commonwealth Games this year, but O'Connor has virtually ruled out looking beyond his current squad, given Glasgow is sandwiched in between the Wallabies' international season.

The dual-international coach is hoping the lure of winning rugby's first Olympic gold medal will be enough to convince some stars to take the plunge the next year after the 2015 Rugby World Cup, and predicts Folau would be a sensation in the shortened format. "He'd be just awesome on the restarts," said O'Connor. "The teams that invariably win are the teams that have more possession time and restarts are one of the best opportunities for some unstructured play to attack from if you get restart ball. I guarantee he'd get nine out of 10."

But not even Folau's star power will be enough for O'Connor to pick up the phone and recruit talent - especially not from league.

He called in Lachie Turner for the 2010 Delhi Commonwealths and the Wallabies winger struggled to adapt.

O'Connor says Sevens has developed so much you have to play it to learn it. "If ... somebody put their hand up and said, 'yes I want to have a year of Sevens' ... I'd be delighted.

"But you'd need to play all the tournaments that year to really prepare for the Olympics.

"There's so much technique. It's such a specialised game now, Sevens - the breakdown, the tackle and the rules. I think it would be unrealistic to try and get a rugby league player.

"But certainly rugby players, who understand the game ... and are prepared to commit for a year ... we'd definitely be interested."

Australia are fifth in the IRB Sevens rankings before the fourth round, starting in the US on January 24.

- AAP