Aussie men’s Sevens coach Tim Walsh doesn’t expect any new faces to come into the mix for the Tokyo Olympics, with just two World Series tournaments left before the major event.
Walsh has welcomed ex-Sevens players Sean McMahon and Luke Morahan into the squad for one-off World Series events this season and hoped they could feature in further tournaments.
Initially the duo, and Waratahs winger Jack Maddocks, were in line to feature in the Hong Kong and Singapore legs but those Asian tournaments have been postponed
“Sean would be very good, he's got a ruthlessness and a power running competitiveness that is valued and the experience that he has,” Walsh said.
“There's all different stuff going on with the coronavirus in Japan and all that so not sure what's going to happen there.
“We'll plan without him and then if it eventuates then we'll get him in, see how he can go, push forward for his selection.”
May’s London and Paris World Series legs are now the final competitive chance for the XVs players to push their cases.
With the Sevens programs needing to reach an agreement with clubs to acquire those players under World Rugby’s regulation 9, there is no guarantee that they would be available to play.
Walsh said it wasn’t necessarily a deal breaker if the ex-Sevens pair did not play in the final two World Series legs with a nine-week Olympic preparation block for them to be part of.
“It'd be nice to (have them in London and Paris),” he said.
“I'd still probably leave the door open and see how we go because there is a nine-week campaign to the Olympics post-London and both of them have a vast experience in Sevens but it'd make it a lot tougher for them to actually push and take anyone’s spot that’s on a squad now..
“I’m not going to shut the door on ex-Aussie Sevens players that know the game and are proving themselves at the top level and carry a bit of maturity and offer a real point of difference.”
Walsh was fairly confident that there would be no other former Sevens players putting their hands up for an opportunity this late in the piece.
Walsh said the team had put out the feelers for any ex-Aussie Sevens players who might be interested in pushing for a spot but didn’t expect any fresh names to put their hands up.
“Most ex-players have commitments with different things,” he said.
“We have spoken or put an expression of interest to see who's around but the closer it gets, the harder it gets but the guys who have managed to put themselves forward and get some game time and understand what we're doing have given themselves the best chance.”
With two months until that London World Series tournament, the men are set to take on Fiji in an Olympic-format tournament in place of the Hong Kong Sevens.
The Aussie Sevens will return to Australia this week after playing in back-to-back semi-finals for the first time in 2018.
