Will Envies Young Guns At The JP Morgan 7s
WILL Greenwood is a World Cup winner and it shouldn't come any better than that.
But a decade on from England rugby's finest hour, the former Harlequins and Leicester centre admits he's a touch envious of the young players making their breakthrough in the game this year.
As in past years many Premiership clubs will use the prestigious JP Morgan 7s in August to showcase their emerging talent. And Greenwood believes, with rugby sevens making its debut at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil, there has never been a better time to be young, gifted and on track for a career in the sport.
"Fifteens rugby was my game," he told Talking Rugby Union at the media launch of the JP Morgan event at Saracens' new Allianz Park stadium. "Winning a World Cup was the pinnacle of my career. But what an opportunity these lads have now. And the guys we'll see in the JP Morgan series in 2013 will be in Rio in 2016. How cool is that?
"What an opportunity for a 19 or 20-year-old kid to be able to make a decision in the year 2013: Shall I win an Olympic gold medal in Rio or should I put my hand up for Stuart Lancaster's World Cup squad in 2015? It's a cracking place for these boys to be."
Greenwood, now 40, is as passionate about sevens as he is the 15-a-side version he graced until his retirement in 2006. And he admits the JP Morgan competition, now in its fourth year, is one he would loved to have played in.
"You bet I would," he said. "I loved open space, I loved opportunities to attack from deep. OK, my flat-chested lack of lung capacity might have come back to kick me on the backside. There's no hiding place in this game. Most sevens players these days can run the 100-metres in 11 seconds. But it takes more than just speed. I think I would have been pretty good . . . for the first two minutes!
"The beauty of it is different Premiership managers take different views on what to use the JP Morgan 7s for, he said. "Some, like Quins, will throw their kids in and use it as part of their development. We've seen how they threw those same kids into a final (LV=Cup) recently and picked up a trophy.
"You go to the other side and look at Gloucester who had a proper first choice squad last year. They used it differently as a really good run-out before the Premiership started.
"That's why I love this competition and why I bring my kids. It doesn't matter about the draw, they are all cracking fixtures. The form book goes out of the window. And you never know what you're going to get. Sure, we can't guarantee the weather - we're in England. But you can guarantee a quality evening's entertainment."
The competition, split into three pools of four, kicks off at Gloucester's Kingsholm Stadium on August 1 in a round robin format featuring Bath, Exeter, Worcester and the hosts. The following evening (Aug 2) Northampton, Leicester, London Welsh and Sale do battle at Franklin's Gardens. And 24 hours later Saracens, Harlequins, London Irish and London Wasps play their group games on the artificial pitch at Allianz Park.
The top two from each pool go through to a high-octane finals night at Bath's Recreation Ground on Friday August 9.
Greenwood, capped 55 times by England and selected for three Lions tours, is excited about the pre-season chance to talent-spot, which the JP Morgan series offers rugby fans in abundance.
"The first time I saw Luke Wallace was in the JP Morgan 7s for Quins down at Bath," he recalled. "When we turn up at Gloucester for Pool A, is Henry Slade going to be playing, or will they play Sireli Naqelevuki?
"Wouldn't it have been great in football to have been at George Best's first game? Well at this tournament there's the possibility of being in at the start as some of the stars of the future are blooded.
"In 10 years time, when some of these boys have 70-odd caps, have picked up the William Webb Ellis Trophy or won a gold medal in the Olympics, we can say we were at Allianz Park or The Rec in 2013 and saw them play for the first time."
The JP Morgan 7s will be the first rugby union covered live on the new BT Sport channels, with former England Sevens World Cup winner Lawrence Dallaglio providing the expert opinion.
Tickets and more information from: www.jpmorgan7s.com or follow on Twitter @jpmorganrugby7s
The J.P Morgan Premiership Rugby 7s kicks off on 1st August at Kingsholm with rounds at Franklin's Gardens and Allianz Park and the Final at The Recreation Ground. For tickets and more information visit: www.jpmorgan7s.com or follow @jpmorganrugby7s
