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Ollie Phillips: Imagine a Lions Sevens team
(IRB.COM) Thursday 9 July 2009
By Ollie Phillips
Ollie Phillips was recently named IRB Sevens Player of the Year, in association with Emirates Airline. In his first column, the England Sevens captain reflects on his award and contemplates the challenge of making it into a 'Lions' Sevens team to compete for team GB at the Olympics.
Surprised and over the moon is how I felt when Gavin Hastings called out my name as IRB Sevens Player of the Year. It was a huge personal accolade for me in my career, a major milestone.
To be voted by all the other coaches and those people around you is flattering and a great compliment because some of the other players put in massive seasons. Renfred Dazel had been outstanding for South Africa, always seemed to come up with the goods when they needed it the most, a bit of magic or some key of decision-making; Emosi Vucago was outstanding for Fiji and then within my own England side there were a couple of players.
If he hadn't got injured, Isoa Damu may well have been in the reckoning and I'd say that undoubtedly our most consistent and best player for the season was Rob Vickerman. He was our gel and that type of player is often the unsung hero, the Richard Hill in the side, doing the things you don't necessarily see.
I would have traded my own Award, though, to win the World Series, and that's got to be our aim with England for next year.
The challenge for me and the rest of the team is to keep the standard going. The biggest disappointment for us was that when we have come up with the goods we haven't continued with the consistency back-to-back and the middle period of the season definitely cost us the Series, and it also cost us the World Cup.
That's where South Africa were much better, they consistenly hit semis or finals.
The Pride of the Lions
Being English and a rugby player, I've obviously taken a big interest in the Lions tour of South Africa. The Lions engender a whole different range of emotions and I think the concept embodies everything that the game of rugby is about: Meeting new people, travelling the world, playing in fantastic environments against amazing teams and fostering new relationships and partnerships. I think the tour of South Africa has been an unbelievable statement in terms of supporting the amateur ethos of the game.
Above all, it's shown that there's no substitute for good old-fashioned teamwork and camaraderie. On paper the Lions, as a scratch side, should have been nowhere near South Africa, the World Champions, with the different amounts of time that the two sides have spent together. But that's why the Lions is such a fabulous thing to be a part of.
You can whip together a team in nine or 10 weeks and play great rugby against the top sides in the world, and the second test was the best game of rugby that I have seen in a very long time.
As a player you have goals, and playing for your country and winning a World Cup is one of those, but playing for the Lions has got to be the pinnacle, it says you're the best player in the whole of the British Isles in your position and you get the opportunity to play with the best players that those four nations have to offer, while meeting new people that you'd never get to meet.
A Lions Seven...
That is why playing for Great Britain in Sevens at the Olympics would be the ultimate for me. Making the Lions 15-a-side team is hard enough, so to potentially make a seven-a-side 'Lions' team - and that is effectively what would be competing for team GB at the Olympics, minus the Republic of Ireland boys - would be unbelievable.
In any sporting environment, the pinnacle is to play at the Olympic Games, it's the biggest stage that sport has to offer and in picking a Sevens squad you're looking at the best of the best.
Obviously, in Sevens the front row boys might not make the cut, although some of them might disagree (!), but after that the competition for places would be so tough and if we do make it into the Olympic Games as a sport people will have to sit down and think it over pretty seriously.
You want your big name players there - they're not big name players for no reason - but we've also seen the rise of the Sevens specialist over the last few years and certain players are definitely more cut out for Sevens and for 15s. Look at my mate Ben Gollings. I've played club rugby with him at Newcastle and he's a really talented professional, but get him on a Sevens pitch and he's a world-beater, up there with the very best.
It's also where good coaches will come to the fore, because they'll pick certain players that they see can do a job.
Paul Treu may say that the best Springboks might not get into his Sevens team for an Olympics, but I do think Paul's telling a bit of a porky pie if he's saying Bryan Habana wouldn't get into his team!
I agree that Sevens is almost a different sport these days, and Paul has had massive success with his full-time contracted players this season, but Habana would surely have to be there because he's a born finisher, lightning quick and would shine in a Sevens environment.
Then again, it's Paul's decision as coach and his decision-making has clearly been pretty good this year, because they won the Series!
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