‘GB men’s young squad has X-Factor promise again’

When World Rugby ratified England, Scotland and Wales’ merger as a Great Britain squad on the World Series in the summer of 2022, it prompted a range of opinions ... A sense of mourning at the loss of the old sides; a sense of optimism about could be achieved as a collective in the run up to an Olympics after Rio and Tokyo; and even a sense of injustice… was it fair that three nations – England, Scotland and Wales – could combine to take on the rest of the SVNS universe, one nation at a time?

To the rugby layman, the act of pooling the talents and resources of three  unions seemed a no-brainer, but the reality hasn’t yet lived up to the dream. The GB7s programme, instead of being elevated by the combined powers of the RFU, WRU and SRU, found itself slipping between their cracks.

The Rio silver medallists missed out on Paris, after their defeat to South Africa in the Monaco Repechage – to the astonishment of those not regularly dialled in to SVNS. In truth, against a hugely difficult backdrop, they fell by a whisker with odds stacked against them higher than a Casino Royale chip tower.

Kaleem Barreto – the squad’s currently injured captain – was there, as he has been for nigh on every step of Great Britain’s sevens revolution: “All the other countries were full time, whereas our training pattern was fractured,” he said. 

“Between HSBC SVNS legs we’d train at home, on our own, to maintain fitness, come together in Largs [their training base in the West of Scotland] for a three-day camp, then home for a week and a bit more solo training, and finally back to Largs for a couple of days before flying to a Series leg.”

Given the essential rest interspersed between the gruelling sessions, Barreto estimates the net result equated to roughly three full sessions in between legs. But, in highlighting the challenges, Barreto doesn’t lay the non-qualification blame entirely at their door.

“The expectation was for us to be amazing because we were GB, but the reality was we had our backs to the wall. We tapped into that chip on our shoulder and put all our eggs into the Olympic basket for 24 months.

“Those do-or-die tournaments are completely different to any other. We came in with decent momentum, having gone well at Singapore and Madrid. We got rattled by China in the first game a bit! But we grew and just fell short in the final – it was heartbreaking.”

One of the unique beauties of our sport is the truly intertwined and invested nature of both men and women, with GB like many nations training as one. 

Barreto admits he, “watched the girls in Paris with mixed feelings – a combination of immense pride but so too jealousy.”

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Paris is the past though. A new era includes a new training base at London Irish’s Hazelwood facility under the eye of revered performance specialists Areté. 

Change has come on-field, too. With the likes of Robbie Ferguson, AJ Davis, Jamie Farndale and Max McFarland retiring, new leaders are coming to the fore.

Barreto is out long-term with a ruptured Achilles sustained in training and vice-captain Tom Emery is also on the physio’s table, leading Ethan Waddleton to thrive in his elevated role of seniority: “Our absence has been a blessing in disguise in some ways,” Barreto said. 

“I think Beef [as Waddleton is known] after so many years on the Series was maybe searching for his ‘why’ and the captaincy has reinvigorated him. He leads by his deeds and it was clear he was firing in Dubai.”

And then there’s Harry Glover who Barreto describes as, “almost perfect for this squad.”

He said: “When you have as little time together as we do, to have someone like Harry with ultimate confidence in himself, who brings a winning attitude and speaks with such authority, it’s infectious, particularly for the youngsters coming in. 

“Some may confuse it with arrogance, but I think it’s exactly what this squad needs.”

Glover is key to GB’s fortunes, with genuine on-field X-factor. The performances of four HSBC SVNS debutants in Dubai was testament to the contagious quality of his swagger. 

Luke Mehson and Sunni Jardine helped themselves to three tries each, whilst youngsters Ryan Apps and Tom Burton – who’s combining HSBC SVNS rugby with studying at Exeter University – didn’t look overawed on the big stage.

“We’ve finally got some wheels on the wing!” Barreto said. “It’s tough to gauge when you’re only playing against each other in pre-season, but Luke and Ryan are proper athletes. 

“Those guys in those positions require a bit of spark and magic to instil confidence in them so to see them unlock the legs and score tries was awesome. I’m not sure about the celebrations, but it was cool to see them get after it and enjoy the occasion!

“Tom Burton is super young and probably didn’t expect to be involved so early, but I told him: ‘back yourself’ and he did – he’s got massive potential for the future. 

“Sunni shone and maybe surprised a few people. He’s a chilled, understated character whose spot on the plane wasn’t necessarily guaranteed, but he had some really positive impacts off the bench and fully earned his right to start those big, latter games.”

When we caught up, Barreto was en route to the UK Muslim Sports Foundation Awards where he was nominated for Male Elite Sports Athlete of the Year. While reserved on his chances of picking up a gong, he was “pleasantly surprised” by GB’s showing in Dubai and has a cautious bullishness about the season to come.

“It’s almost a blessing day two in Dubai didn’t quite go the way we wanted it, because it shows us just what we can achieve. 

“Fiji and Uruguay on paper is a bit of a win as far as the pools are concerned in Cape Town. We went well against Uruguay last week, and so too last year versus Fiji. But, then again, they’ll be flying after winning Dubai, so who knows?”

After the despair of missing Paris, Great Britain have plenty of work to do if they’re to climb back to the SVNS zenith, but seemingly reinvigorated foundations are being laid on which to build their climb. 

The second step awaits this weekend in the home of Table Mountain, as they bid to conquer Cape Town for Christmas.