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In the eighth of our series of exclusive interviews with some of the world’s best athletes, the All Blacks sevens captain looks forward to his sport’s return to the Olympic Games
Scott Curry, with the ball, will lead the All Blacks at the Rio 2016 Games (Marc Weakley/Cereal TV/New Zealand Rugby Union)
New Zealand will grind to a halt on Sunday (20 September) to watch the All Blacks take on Argentina at Wembley Stadium in London, the first match in their defence of the Rugby World Cup crown. And according to Scott Curry, who will captain the All Blacks’ seven-a-side team at the Rio 2016 Games, the same will be true when the sport returns to the Olympic fold next year.
“Rugby is our national game in New Zealand and whenever the All Blacks play, the whole country stops to watch,” Curry told rio2016.com in an exclusive interview. “Every kid growing up in New Zealand wants to be an All Black, just like I'm sure every kid growing up in Brazil wants to play football for Brazil. There is already plenty of talk in New Zealand about the Olympics in Rio. Everyone is excited about it.”
The traditional 15-a-side version of rugby, which is contested at the World Cup, was part of the 1900, 1908, 1920 and 1924 Olympic Games. However, after a 92-year absence, the sport will return to the Games in Rio in the seven-a-side form. The shortened version of the game is renowned for exciting play, a carnival-like atmosphere in the stands and providing smaller nations a chance to upset some of the sport’s superpowers.
“It is huge for rugby sevens to be a part of the Olympic Games,” said Curry. “It shows how much our game is growing on an international level and it gives some smaller nations a real chance of coming away with a medal. There are only seven players on each team on a full-sized rugby field. This means plenty of points are scored and every game is thrilling.”
New Zealand confirmed their place in Rio by finishing third in the 2014-2015 Sevens World Series, behind winners Fiji and runners-up South Africa, with England winning an Olympic berth for Great Britain in fourth place. Brazil, Argentina, the USA and France are the other teams confirmed so far for the 12-team tournament.
The All Blacks will arrive among the medal favourites, but Curry said they were taking nothing for granted. “It is about finding the best combination of players to do the job in Rio,” he said. “Everyone will be competing for the 12 spots in the Olympic team. Then it will be about how we can use those players to come away with the result we want.
“Rugby sevens is so unpredictable because the games are so short and there are many competitive teams. But I think we have a good chance if we get the right combination of players and put out the right game plan to beat each team we play.”
Curry confirmed the Olympic All Blacks would perform the Haka, a traditional Maori war dance the 15-a-side team performs before each match, to celebrate if they win gold medals in Rio. But win or lose, he is expecting a fantastic experience in the Cidade Maravilhosa.
“Plenty of my friends are planning to head over for a once in a lifetime experience and I’m sure the people of Brazil will put on an impressive show,” he said. “If Brazilians are anywhere near as passionate about the Olympics as they are about football I’m sure the Rio Games will be unforgettable.”
Check out the first seven interviews in this series, with Chad le Clos, Jessica Ennis-Hill, Sardar Singh, Carli Lloyd, Serginho, Anna Meares and Lin Dan.
