Picking Australia's Rugby 7's team for the 2012 London Olympics

Obviously this is all hypothetical. It was put to me earlier today to select a Rugby 7's team for the 2012 London Olympics. I used to do this in almost every one of my year nine history classes. While our teacher would moan on about the importance of the Waitangi treaty and what it means for the Maori people of New Zealand, me and a fellow sports nut would be putting together sports teams.

Teams selected could be an English Premier League XI or a Southern Hemisphere Rugby XV. One of the most common teams involved making a fifteen or thirteen man squad comprising both Rugby League and Ruby union players. AFL was mostly an afterthought and never really got considered in any team. Generating such fantasy teams helped considerably in passing the time while being lectured on the inane details of Maori history and culture.

The challenge of selecting a Ruby sevens team is considerably easier. The team could be selected from Australian footballers from league, union or aussie rules. It started out with seven players being selected, until someone went and selected a five man bench as well. I'll list the team I selected, justify my selections, and then proceed to mock everyone else's team.

THE MJ VII

Paul Gallen

David Pocock

Cameron Smith

Johnathan Thurston

Quade Cooper

Digby Ioane

Greg Inglis

Bench: Billy Slater, Kurtley Beale, Robbie Farah, Will Genia, Michael Hooper

Clearly this team is incredible. Paul Gallen and Cameron Smith are tackling machines while also being able ball carriers. Cameron Smith and Robbie Farah are both physical enough to play as sevens props and can assist in playmaking. Michael Hooper and David Pocock would frustrate oppositions with constant pilfering, with Hooper's physicality meaning that he could move to prop if Farah was on at the same time.

The backs have enough creativity, size, and pace to absolutely tear apart any opposition. Inglis and Ioane both have pace to burn and are able defenders. Thurston and Cooper are both capable of taking it to the defence, with Cooper's ability to offload a major asset to the team. Thurston is fast enough to create opportunities for his team mates, and agile enough to jinx his way through the defence.  Slater, Beale and Genia provide plenty of pace, creativity and scoring ability off the bench.

I struggled to think of any AFL players to include in the team. A game like Rugby 7's places a lot of emphasis on one-on-one tackling where the aim is to bring down the man rather than just hold on to him. For this reason I wasn't confident in picking even the more physical players like Chris Judd, Dane Swan or Scott Pendlebury as they have never needed to prove their one-on-one tackling ability. AFL players have also never proven that they could break through a defensive line, with players in AFL getting past their man by slowing down and running in circles. This wouldn't translate at all to Rugby Sevens.

Opposition Team #1: The NK VII

Selected From:

Quade Cooper  Lewis Jetta                          Michael Hooper

Will Genia            Scott Higginbotham        Garry Ablett (C)

Billy Slater           Paul Gallen

Ben Barba           Cameron Smith

Nic Natanui         Kurtley Beale

No surprises at the amount of AFL players selected. This squad's biggest problem is the questionable physicality of the included AFL players. Natanui would be great in the lineout, but hasn't proven to be a very physical player. Lewis Jetta would be a major liability on defence. Even with the Swans at the moment, he does nothing other than score long range goals and run long distances with the ball. He could prove to be valuable in attack, but his defence is too questionable to warrant his inclusion.

I'm guessing the front row would consist of Higginbotham, Gallen and Cameron Smith. Gallen is obviously a solid all round player, Smith is great in defence and adds to the teams playmaking capabilities. Higginbotham may be too slow to have any impact on the game. He would make a great ball carrier, but I doubt he could contribute much at the breakdown. Hooper would be better suited to the team. Barba can create something out of nothing, making him perhaps the ultimate league player in the rugby sevens format. Ablett is an unknown quantity in this game, but is more physical than either Natanui or Jetta. Genia, Cooper and Beale all provide great creativity and flair. If Natanui and Jetta were replaced with more physical players, the team would be vastly improved.

Opposition Team #2: The Spooner VII

Kurtley Beale

Michael Jennings

Cyril Rioli

Will Genia

Anthony Watmough

Cameron Smith

Radike Samo

Bench: Israel Folau, Karmichael Hunt, Billy Slater, Tatafu Polota-Nau, David Pocock

Of the three AFL players, only Cyril Rioli is questionable. Although Rioli has been a strong contributor in attack for Hawthorn, his would be an obvious defensive liability. His tackling ability in AFL is largely restricted to sneaking up on people from behind unseen. This is useless in 7's.  Samo is too slow now, and lacks the agility to make effective one-on-one tackles in open play. Jennings is a solid selection. He is physical enough in defence, while also being agile and powerful enough to break through defensive lines. Watmough and Smith are both consistent contributors.

It's the bench that's the most interesting part of this team. Folau would relish playing rugby again, with Hunt having also proven himself across both codes. I considered putting Polota-Nau in my team just because of the energy he puts into each and every game. He is probably the only front row forward in rugby union who could actually play sevens. Pocock obviously provides great defensive ability and breakdown capabilities. If it wasn't for the two-man advantage, the bench could beat the starting team.

The Cricket Club VII

Greg Inglis

Johnathan Thurston

Billy Slater

Cooper Cronk

David Taylor

Paul Gallen

Brendan Fevola

A front row of Dave Taylor, Paul Gallen and Brendan Fevola would be funny to watch. Except it wouldn't be that effective. Gallen would be fine, but Dave Taylor is less suited for 7's then Brendan Fevola is. Fevola could actually keep up with the game (assuming he got back to AFL fitness) and contribute with the boot. Fevola would actually relish being able to tackle people hard, unlike the rest of the AFL players being selected. The biggest problem with this team would be their lack of experience at the breakdown, compounded by Taylor's lack of pace. The backs would be entertaining, but would find themselves stuck in a ruck while Dave Taylor struggles to get his massive frame around the field.