Player power boosts IPL-styled Carlton sevens
View(s):Throughout his calling, George Simpkin has been nothing but an innovator. The man who took Fiji to the quarterfinals at the first World Cup in 1987 has also made his mark on global rugby with several useful suggestions, many of which have changed the game for the better.
Perhaps his best idea was to tell the International Rugby Board to ditch place-kicking at sevens and instead use drop-kicks for conversions. This speeded up the game, and instead of teams using several seconds, sometimes almost a minute, to take a conversion the game flowed.
That idea was born at the Hong Kong Sevens when New Zealander Simpkin used to be the technical director of the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union back in the late 80s-early 90s – he was persuaded to leave Fiji and join Hong Kong in 1988.
So it comes as no surprise that his latest brainchild, the Carlton Super Sevens, has proved to be a huge hit amongst the local rugby community. The international segment played in Galle and Colombo has been a massive success in that it has raised the profile of rugby in Sri Lanka to unprecedented heights.
The presence of the World Cup-winning coach Sir Gordon Tietjens and captain DJ Forbes provided the tournament with huge cachet. The All Blacks Sevens pair was the marquee names in this third year of the tournament which has put Sri Lanka on the world map, at least as far as the players are concerned.
To attract the cream of world rugby sevens to town is no small feat. We had the best from New Zealand, Fiji, Kenya, Samoa, the United States and even Spain. If not for domestic and international commitments, the Carlton Sevens might have also attracted players from South Africa and Australia.
More than 50 foreign players were spread among the 10 teams. Of course they didn’t come for nothing with a daily allowance of between US$500 and US$1,000. It is believed that the likes of DJ Forbes received US$10,000 for the 10-day stint, a nice payout considering that everything else from flights to five-star accommodation was gratis.
All this wouldn’t have been possible without the financial muscle of first son Namal Rajapakse. His influential presence played a vital role in the success of the tournament – with corporates and individuals lining up to back each team. It is understood that the going rate to acquire a franchise was US$100,000.
If India can lay claim to transforming cricket with its IPL, then Sri Lanka – Simpkin and the Rajapaksas – can proudly claim creating an event which might yet turn the world order upside down.
At a press conference earlier this week, Simpkin called on the international players to become ambassadors for the tournament. “Spread the message when you go back home” he urged. And they are likely to comply for there was nothing but praise for this novel tournament.
If the money they got was attractive, in addition to their allowances there was also prize money of US$100,000 up for grabs with the winning team – decided over the two legs on a points scheme getting US$50,000, runner-up US$30,000 and third-placed team US$20,000 – most players felt they had a personal mission to help lift the game locally.
This feeling of being able to impart knowledge would have left a feel-good factor among the overseas stars. The knowledge that you are doing good always leaves an after-glow.
So as far as spreading the word is concerned, have no fears. It will be nothing but good “press” from the horses’ mouths.
If this tournament is meant to raise the profile of Sri Lanka rugby and provide a catalyst to raise the standards of the game – the local players are bound to have learned something from rubbing shoulders with the elite – then both goals will have been achieved.
But many challenges lie in store for this brazen upstart, not least what is expected to be an avuncular attitude from the world establishment. According to Simpkin, the biggest challenge will be to find a slot in a crowded calendar so that the overseas stars are guaranteed of turning up every year.
Last year we had a bevy of players from England including the likes of Dan Norton etcetera. This year they didn’t turn up, whether it was due to playing commitments or whether the RFU (English rugby governing body) frowned on the players moonlighting (similar to the English and Wales Cricket Board’s attitude to the IPL) is unclear.
Yet, every player who featured at the picturesque Galle Stadium and Racecourse Stadium – “probably the most beautiful stadium in the world” according to Simpkin – had been released by their respective unions.
One thing going for the Carlton Sevens is the close links it seems to have with the New Zealand Rugby Union as underlined by the presence of Tietjens and Forbes.
“If the world’s best turns up we will have no problems,” said Simpkin when asked to look into the crystal ball. That might be so, but it is all tenuous and the whole façade might simply collapse one day if steps are not put in place to make for a firmer foundation.
The IRB might have cast a benevolent eye on this tournament for now – its chairman Bernard Lapasset was in town a few weeks ago on the invitation of the organisers – but it would be better to get it all cast in stone.
An annual slot in the world calendar for this event would be superb. The IRB has its World Series from October to June. This year it also had the World Cup (in Moscow at the end of last month). To guarantee it future, the Carlton Sevens needs to book a permanent place in July.
Right now it seems that everything hinges on one or two individuals – Simpkin and Namal Rajapakse – but for the longevity of this tournament there needs to be an official seal of approval from the world governing body similar to what the ICC has given the IPL.
The Carlton Sevens has raised many an eyebrow among the establishment, both in Asia and across the world. It has got the best ambassadors – the players themselves – on their side. Now it needs to cement itself against the vagaries of the future by getting fully onside with rugby officialdom.
Follow @timesonlinelk
comments powered by Disqus