Scotland 7s internationalist Rory Hutton

Scotland 7s internationalist, Rory Hutton, believes a Great Britain sevens team could present the UK with a golden opportunity.

The home nations will form a Great Britain sevens team for the 2016 Olympic Games if the abbreviated game is accepted by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Copenhagen in a week’s time (Friday 9 October). 

Hutton, who has experience of the IRB World Sevens Series and this year’s World Cup in Dubai, was part of the impromptu GB select side ‘Help for Heroes’ that took part in the Middlesex sevens in August.

He said: “Rugby sevens is a global sport now, it’s a great event; it’s good to watch and would suit the Games very well.

“If you can get the best players from each of the home nations and have good solid preparation then I think Great Britain would be knocking on the door of winning it – Wales won the World Cup, England’s been up there and Scotland came good towards the end of last season’s IRB Sevens World Series. There are a lot of good players to choose from and I think it’d be brilliant to play along side them for team GB.

“The world Cup was a great spectacle in itself but to be involved in what is the biggest sporting event in the world would be superb.”

Scotland sevens head coach, Stephen Gemmell, was also part of the ‘Help for Heroes’ select alongside England sevens coach Ben Ryan and Wales team manager Dai Jenkins.

He said: “The way in which the coaches and players of the home nations worked together for the mutual benefit of rugby is testimony to the strong bond encouraged through the game of rugby sevens and the support shown for the game’s induction to Olympic arena.”