1924 Olympics: USA claimed gold
We're a little excited about the Olympics officially kick-off this weekend, although we're not quite sure what we're excited about. Which is more or less how it goes with the Olympics - for athletics fans it is the ultimate sporting event, but for those of us who prefer ball sports the Games are no more than a curiosity.
And yet it was not always thus, and it will not always be thus. If we delve into the history books we will find that rugby and the Olympics have been intertwined before. And if we look into the future, it is not inconceivable that their coming together in Brazil in four years' time could have an effect on the 15-man rugby union game over the coming years.
Let's look back first though, because we recently came across a lovely quote by Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the Modern Olympics. De Coubertin was 25 when he visited Rugby School on a tour of English public schools and universities in 1888 and found himself inspired by the school's headmaster, Thomas Arnold, and his approach to athletics in education. In rugby, De Coubertin saw an ideal sport for infusing children with important characteristics through sport.
"What is admirable in football (rugby), is the perpetual mix of individualism and discipline, the necessity for each man to think, anticipate, take a decision and at the same time subordinate one's reasoning, thoughts and decisions to those of the captain," he wrote in an essay called 'Notes about Foot-ball' eight years later. "And even the referee's whistle stopping a player for a 'fault' one team mate has made and he hasn't seen, tests his character and patience. For all that, football is truly the reflection of life, a lesson experimenting in the real world, a first-rate educational tool."
De Coubertin would introduce rugby into a host of Parisian schools, and although the sport was not included in the first Olympics in Athens, they were added to the programme for the second Olympiad and featured in the Games held in Paris in 1900. It was so well received that the game between Great Britain and France, who won 27-8 and would go on to take the gold medal, was watched by 6,000 people - the largest crowd at the Games.
Rugby would feature again in London in 1908, Antwerp in 1920, and Paris again in 1924, with the United States winning the last two installments. Earlier this month, no doubt in an effort to promote the game in the States, the IRB inducted those American sides into their Hall of Fame.
However when De Coubertin stepped down as the President of the IOC in 1925, the organisation fell into the hands of Count Baillet-Latour, who was no rugby enthusiast. A number of team sports were scrapped at the 1925 Olympic Congress, with rugby amongst them in spite of its pulling power - more tickets were sold for rugby matches at the 1924 Games than for track and field.
It took more than 80 years, and plenty of lobbying by the IRB in the 1990s, for the decision to be reversed. It also required the expanding popularity of the Sevens game, and the IRB's promise to drop the Rugby World Cup Sevens so that the Olympics would be the premier event in international Sevens.
Sevens is already on the rise in many countries, and although it's still mostly seen as a bit of fun, the prospect of an Olympic medal is about to make it a whole lot sexier. It will be fascinating to see what impact that has on the 15-man game.
John Kirwan, the new Blues coach, recently told The Guardian: "What I'd be saying to myself if I was a young man would be: 'I want to win a World Cup and I want to win an Olympic gold medal.' The real superstar in 20 years' time will be the player who can do both but there won't be many of them. They'll be the equivalents of Ronaldo or Messi but, in the main, there'll be two distinct types of athlete. America will be the interesting one. I don't think America will concentrate at all on fifteens. They have all these athletes, men and women, who, if they don't get drafted after leaving college, don't do anything. They will be a big tool for Sevens."
One can't help but wonder what someone like Sonny Bill Williams would make of the idea. A large portion of rugby players in the 15-man game couldn't cut it in Sevens, but Williams' incredible athleticism means he would be capable of accomplishing the 'superstar' status that Kirwan expects in 20 years. If it's not about the money, as Williams has claimed, then why wouldn't he want to target an Olympic gold medal in 2016?
For those of us watching, the Olympics might upgrade our interest levels in four years. The resulting lift will give Sevens a boost in all areas, including income, and make it a more attractive proposition to players. As Kirwan has noted, the Sevens game is also the likeliest to spread rugby union to new territories, and its involvement in the Olympics will accelerate that. It's unlikely that we'll see the same effect as cricket, where the Twenty20 game has had an obvious adverse impact on the more traditional forms, but this will certainly be the last Olympics that we treat as a passing curiosity without any consequence for the game we love most.
By Tristan Holme
This article is an extract from Planet Rugby's weekly newsletter, The Crooked Feed. To sign up to receive our free weekly email click here.
Comments
tha_mai says...
melkdave - high schools - boys and girls - have sevens teams and compete in regional playoffs. This year my old province ran five weekly sessions of skills training for interested teenagers followed by a tournament. Winners go on to a regional (lower North Island) tournament this weekend - selectors are looking for possible candidates for the 'Go4Gold programme' set up to identify potential talent ahead of the Rio Olympics in 2016.
Apart from the Olympics angle, not at all new - I was reffing high school sevens over summer about 15 years ago, it's a good sport esp for smaller people less suited to 15s.
Posted 11:55 10th August 2012
melkdave says...
@tha_mai
Thank you for the information ,and yes i was speaking from a UK,euope perpective.It does explain why NZ are so good at 7s though lol,Is it a league or just a series of one day competions ,as one day competions would work ,and again would be good days out for fans .A league i just cant see how it would work
Posted 12:36 09th August 2012
tha_mai says...
melkdave - presuming you're speaking re UK?
Sevens in NZ would be vastly different then - club comps, provincial comp and the top 16 from that play off in four pools of 4 teams for the national title each year, this tournament the one coach Tietjins makes his selections from for the wider training squad. He made it plain early in the year his preference for the top players - incl captain DJ Forbes - not to play 15s at all and this is maybe the way of the future where players commit to 7s and no longer front for their provinces in ITM Cup etc. A separate career stream to 15s rugby.
Not saying i agree, but that's the way it is.
Posted 13:38 08th August 2012
melkdave says...
Personnally i think 7s being an olympic sport is a boost for the game in general.It also wont realy affect the 15 man game much either as has been pointed out at club leval 7s isnt played much,and theres no national competions.Which would be pointless imho as whos going to go traval to watch a game lasting a couple of minutes ,you could miss it by just not being able to park close by ..7s is though a very good day out ,and a spectacle for the fans ,and is really a great sport for the olympics.The benifits for the 15 man game are obvious better skilled players ,able to make off the cuff decisions ,hopefully giving us more line breaks ect.I just wonder how long it will be before we have Kenyan or other small in rugby terms countries players gracing the Avia ,Top14 or S15 teams .As to the return of the 15 man game to the olympics i just dont see it happening unless its an U20s competion .
Posted 23:51 02nd August 2012
GoWalesGo says...
APV1
OK you are the lord of the planet rugby comments sections after all lol
Posted 13:01 02nd August 2012
APV1 says...
@ kybone - I think we're losing the battle with our Welsh chum, by trying to apply logic, facts and reality to the debate. He does seem to be intent on being miserable about the Olympics and is, no doubt, one of those who thinks it's all a complete waste of tax payers' money. Bah humbug!
I'll bow out now and look forward to Bath lifting the Trophy on Friday night!
Posted 17:25 31st July 2012
kybone says...
GoWalesGo-There are 204 nations competing in the olympics, 32 at the World Cup. Of course they wouldn't have given the olympics to Brazil 10 years ago. They could barely afford to feed their people. Look at the most recent World Cup. Held in SA, 10 new stadiums built one of which was almost an exact replica of Wembley which cost around £800 million to build. So its anyones guess what the total cost of hosting the WC was to SA but it will definitely have been in the multi billions. For nations where 60/70% of people live in poverty. It left a bitter taste in my mouth. So thats why the olympics haven't been to all areas of the globe, because they try to give it to nations that can afford it!
Also, im not sure about the Olympics in Antarctica! Bit cold and i don't reckon many people would make the trip. What are the hotels like down their? Not sure the womens volleyball would be quite the same with the competitors wearing seal skin coats!
Posted 09:05 31st July 2012
GoWalesGo says...
APV1
Yea they've finally given the Olympics to Brazil because they are a growing economic power. They wouldn't have done that 10 years ago.
Soccer's more global than the bloody Olympics
Posted 17:35 30th July 2012
APV1 says...
@ GoWalesGo - I'll concede the professional athletes competing in an amateur competion point, as it does fly in the face of the Olympics. But otherwise, I can't agree.
Rio has the next Olympics, so there's your South America theory out. India recently hosted the Commonwealth Games, surrounded by controversies beyond belief. So perhaps it's more about the faith that the authorities have that the potential host will succeed, than any prejudice or conspiricy.
I agree that there is speculation (proof, perhaps) of corruption at an administrative level, but not at the athletes' level (doping aside).
And show me a sport which doesn't have players / competitors competing for a country they weren't born in. Go on. Either a country or a sport (not every country, in every sport). Wales and England (and the rest of GB) can't claim that in Rugby, let alone others. And what's your point? If they're eligible, they're available. Simple as that.
Posted 16:03 30th July 2012
kybone says...
APV1- Exactly! What stage of the season are we at currently? Pre-season. I have been watching the Premiership 7's and its nothing more than a pre-season throw about. The point i was making was that the 7's world series is a major international competition, but at club level 7's is not widely played and is not really taken seriously.
Posted 15:45 30th July 2012
GoWalesGo says...
APV1
Oh come off it,
The whole idea of the modern Olympics is a sham. From start to finish, each Olympiad is wrought with controversy. Years before the competition even begins, the Olympic Committee faces allegations similar to FIFA surrounding the choice of host cities.
Look at the Summer Olympics host cities since the beginning of the modern games, only 4 of 30 games have been held outside of North America and Europe. Are you telling me that no country in South America, Africa, the Middle East, India, Asia, the Caribbean or Antarctica have ever been worthy of hosting the ¿world¿s games?¿.
The many ¿international¿ athletes training in countries they aren¿t competing for, or competing for countries they aren¿t natives of. Many athletes got to countries to train and live in a western society that they come to love, then represent a flag that they either don¿t want or are obligated ¿ simply to make The Olympics.
The even greater contradiction is the fact that professional athletes are competing in an amateur competition. What is the point?!
Posted 15:18 30th July 2012
APV1 says...
The Olypics are here and they're great! And I do think the inclusion of 7s in Rio and beyond will have a very positive impact on the sport as a whole. I enjoy 7s as a spectacle and a fun weekend, but my heart lies with 15s. But think of some of the greats who have transferred.
@ GoWalesGo - what do you mean by, "...the Olympics are a sham."? Genuinely, I have no idea. A sham is defined as, "a thing that is not what it is purported to be" and I have no idea what you are on about. Or are you just being your usual objectionable self?
@ kybone - I agree with most of your post, but we are currently in the midsts of the Aviva Premiership 7s Tournament - the finals are being played at The Rec on Friday. Worth looking out for, if you can (especially as Bath are through!!).
Posted 11:18 30th July 2012
Jmanngod says...
... a trophy to NZ that is....
Posted 20:03 29th July 2012
Jmanngod says...
... nothing will change. Men will run around and smash into each other for a few days and in the end someone will award a trophy... as always.
Posted 20:02 29th July 2012
ArmchairGeneral says...
A 5 day cricket test means some prefer the shorter game. I've never heard people saying they love the 15 man game of rugby but if only it were less than 80 minutes. It's more like comparing chess to draughts. Would adding draughts to the Olympics effect the world chess game? NO.
Posted 19:44 29th July 2012
kybone says...
I think 7's inclusion in the olympics can only be good for rugby in general. It will increase the profile of the game in countries that have taken little if any notice of the sport up to now. I also agree with the article that there will not be any adverse affects on the 15 man game. The reason that test match cricket is struggling in the modern era imo is because no-one can spare the time to follow a match which can potentially last for 5 days! People want to go to a game of an evening or afternoon and come away a couple of hours later knowing the result. Obviously this is what you still get with 15' rugby so its completely different to the cricket situation. Secondly, 7's, at the moment, is only really played at international level and i don't really see that changing much. Thirdly, the club game in rugby is in rude health in terms of fan base and finacial strength. In crickets county championship quite often there are less than 100 fans in attendance. I can't ever envisage a time when the best players would rather play 7's all year than be competing for Premiership, Top 14, Heinneken Cup, or Super Rugby trophies. At international level the 15 man World Cup will always be the pinnacle of the sport. The olympics will be a real shot in the arm for 7's, and there will be those countries that put everything into 7's and don't bother with 15's, but the current superpowers of rugby will always prioritise 15's.
Posted 09:41 29th July 2012
ShamanSheep says...
though for the record I do think 7s is a great game, especially to play
Posted 16:02 28th July 2012
philipjfry says...
What, more rugby? What we see at the moment is already watered down and you want it diluted even further by adding more matches to the calender? For the sake of another accolade?
Posted 13:16 28th July 2012
ShamanSheep says...
'It's unlikely that we'll see the same effect as cricket, where the Twenty20 game has had an obvious adverse impact on the more traditional forms' - why? The difference between 7s and 15s is greater than that between 2020 and test cricket. Will Kenya have a competitive 15 a side team in 10 years? Maybe, probably not, but the spread of 7s to countries that don't traditionally play rugby by no means guarantees anyone in these countries will suddenly become excited by the scrum or lineout.
The model is essentially the same as that of 2020 cricket - shorter, more exciting, more 'fan friendly'. If the model succeeds and draws more fans than 15s does then there will be more money and players will jettison 15s for 7s. True, easier in cricket as the sub continent market is already addicted to the game and jumped on 2020 in a flash but to say it wouldn't happen in rugby is silly.
Posted 12:24 28th July 2012
GoWalesGo says...
"If it's not about the money, as Williams has claimed, then why wouldn't he want to target an Olympic gold medal in 2016?"
Perhaps because he's not a 7's player? and the Olympics are a sham.
I have a feeling that 7's being in the Olympics could really separate the sports. We could see professional private (non IRB) grand prix type events popping up across the world. 7's could even become bigger than 15's.
Posted 10:54 28th July 2012