Lewis Holland says he is still taking an active role in the Australian men’s Sevens leadership plans despite no longer being the team’s captain.
The 27-year-old, who is a vice-captain now, said the move hadn’t affected his mentality at all when it came to the team.
“'ll play at the centre of the park so I call most of the plays in regards to the backs and just the general tempo of the game, that's what I'm there to control so my game doesn't really change a whole lot, my personality doesn't change a lot,” he said.
“I stick true to who I am, deliver what Walshy needs and what I need to do and if that's vocal off the field and around training, having communication around different game plans, well that's my role I step up into.”
Walsh said at the time of the announcement that he hoped the move would allow Holland to focus entirely on rugby and the playmaker said he was still trying to make a big contribution to the side on and off the field.
“I guess it's what (responsibility) you put on your own shoulders,” he said.
“I like to keep busy, I'm not one who likes to chill out, I like to have things always moving and always be active, so you can look at it in a way as that little bit of stress and how you want to deal with that or however you take that or conceive it might be stress but not a whole lot changes.
“I'm still very passionate about this team, still want this team to be very successful so I'm not going to sit back and not do anything.”
The Aussie Sevens were dealt a blow this week with news that star Ben O’Donnell suffered an ACL injury in the Hamilton Sevens, ruling him out of the rest of the season.
Holland said he was confident that they had the cattle to fill O’Donnell’s roles, though he would be missed.
The Aussie Sevens playmaker said players like Henry Hutchison, Lachie Miller and even the returning Luke Morahan could potentially help fill the void.
“Benny was just starting to get back into his true form and he was performing really well so it's a massive disappointment for the team and Benny but we know he'll still support the team as he can,” he said.
“There’s other players that might put their hand up for that position that has kind of become a little bit vacant but we've got plenty of arsenal out there, whether they've been on the wing that can slide in or blokes who are in the halves and centres might even slide out.”
The Aussie Sevens men kick off their Sydney 7s campaign against Japan at 12;19pm AEDT, LIVE on FOX SPORTS.
The 2020 Sydney 7s kicks off at Bankwest Stadium on Saturday February 1, running until Sunday February 2, LIVE on FOX SPORTS. Buy tickets here.
FIXTURES
Saturday February 1
12:19pm – Australia vs Japan
5:46pm – Australia vs Scotland
Sunday February 2
11:29am - Australia vs USA
