Rookie Sevens star Archie Saunders has sprinted at the chance of a late switch to the shortened format as they hunt for the World Championship.
Saunders and the Aussies took out the Valladolid title, their first since Hong Kong in 2023.
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It came after the Waratahs winger made the switch at the start of the year after re-signing at Daceyville following his Super Rugby debut last year.
“At the start of the year, there was an opportunity from Liam Barry and Scott Bowen asking if I would like to come in to do a bit of a trial run, do some training leading into Vancouver and New York tournaments so I jumped it, thought it’d be a cool opportunity," he told Rugby.com.au last month.
“I had done a little bit of training with the Sevens squad over the past couple of years, just like coming in for two weeks or two or three weeks on and off throughout the year but it’s different becuase you're spending the whole week in a hotel with not just your team, but all the other teams as well are all situated in the same hotel for the entire week.
“It was a pretty awesome experience.”
Saunders has always been earmarked for the Sevens circuit, initially making his name as a sprinter.
He was coached by Olympian Melinda Gainsford-Taylor, with his best time clocked at 11.1 seconds in year nine before his focus turned to Rugby.
"Some sources say [my best time] was 10.3, but that was a bit of a misprint, I think," he said and laughed.
"I started to just do a bit more rugby in years like 11 and 12, still did the school carnivals and those sorts of things, but put a bit more energy and focus into rugby in the later years of high school."
The Warringah product spent time in the Sevens program and whilst he turned it down to begin with to join the Australia U20s, he leapt at the opportunity after the blessing of the Waratahs coaches.
“I think I did the whole pre-season with the Tahs and then the trial games as well, it was just after the trial game period that the Sevens opportunity arose," he said.
“I had a couple of chats with the coaching staff out at Tahs with Dan [McKellar] and ‘Catty’ and I think their assessment was take this opportunity to develop my skills in front of crowds as well with the Sevens.”
While his focus remains on the Sevens as they look to go back-to-back in Bordeaux this week, Saunders believes the experience will only benefit him as he returns to the Waratahs.
“Everything that you do on a Sevens field is like having a microscope on all your skill and your detail; your one-on-one tackles, one-on-one breakdowns, groundwork, passing," he added.
“I think even just in these last couple of months, I've had a lot more exposure at those sort of skills, and I can help.
"They transfer over pretty easily.”
