Bibby Hopes Sevens Success Creates Legacy

Aug 15 • General News, International, Sevens Rugby • 1600 Views • Comments Off on Bibby Hopes Sevens Success Creates Legacy

Team GB sevens star Dan Bibby says he hopes their performances at the Rio Olympics will inspire people to play the sport.

Bibby and his team mates won a silver medal after losing in the Rio final to Fiji in the sport’s debut at the Olympic Games.

And Bibby believes the sport has justified its inclusion at the games.

“I have every single emotion right now,” Bibby told BBC Sport. “Unfortunately we didn’t make it to gold but I’m so proud of all the boys and what they put into this was outstanding.”

GOLD-MEDAL ATTITUDE

He added: “We had 10 weeks to do this and I knew it would be a tough challenge. We had umpteen meetings about having a gold-medal attitude. We’ve beaten the hell out of each other in training so it was nice to do it to other teams.

“I think the sport deserves to be here and it’s here to stay. If it can inspire women and boys out there to be sevens players, that makes it for me. It’s awesome.”

Team GB’s silver medal in Rio on Thursday comes on the back of a season of achievement for England rugby, which included a RBS 6 Nations grand slam, 3-0 Test series win over Australia and winning the World Rugby U20 Championship.

INSPIRATION TO KIDS

Steve Grainger, RFU Rugby Development Director, said he believes success at the top level will inspire more young people and adults to play rugby.

“What we have seen over the last six days has been a brilliant showcase for the sport,” he said.

“The performance of the Team GB men and women will have been inspirational to young people and adults around the country and we hope that they will be excited to get involved in rugby with the season about to start.”

GROWING THE GAME

Last month the first final of a new community rugby sevens series, 24/ Sevens, was played with the aim of increasing the profile of the game and getting more people playing

O2 Touch passed 17,500 registered players this summer – a 34% growth since the Rugby World Cup last year

The Women and Girl’s Strategy is in full swing after launching in 2014 with the aim of taking the game to 100,000 females. The target was set to see 25,000 women and girls take part in contact rugby by 2017

Hundreds of new teams are scheduled to start the new 15 a side season including over 150 new adult male teams. Thousands of former players will also be encouraged to re-engage with the game through “Return to Rugby” at 100 sites across the country

100 additional state secondary schools will begin playing rugby at the start of the new school term, taking the total number involved in CBRE All Schools to 500

Women and girls around the country have been encouraged to give rugby a try with Spirit of Rugby ambassador Maggie Alphonsi. As part of England Rugby’s ‘play to your strengths’ programme, the former England international was in Liverpool on the day of the Olympic final testing out the rugby skills of local women and girls

With the season just around the corner there are many ways to get involved in rugby, through O2 Touch, sevens, 15s and veterans or as a volunteer at a local club. Find a rugby activity near you and enjoy your rugby playing experience: www.findrugby.com