New Zealand's complete domination of Sevens rugby proves that a strong core of players is the key for success, Australia's Commonwealth Games captain, Ed Jenkins, says.
Popular opinion holds that Australia should inject Israel Folau and other Wallabies stars into Sevens ahead of the sport's Olympics debut in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, but Jenkins insists that assumption is an insult to the unique physical and technical demands of the fast-paced sport.
New Zealand have never been defeated in Commonwealth Games competition, dating back to Kuala Lumpur in 1998, as they have mostly avoided the temptation to bring across All Blacks or use Sevens as a mere pit-stop for up-and-coming 15s stars. Australia's Sevens set-up, conversely, has long resembled a transit lounge before the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) this year followed New Zealand's lead and moved to a central contract system.
"New Zealand have had the same group of key, core players for five or six years which has really helped them," Jenkins said. "I think [the ARU] did use it as a stepping stone ... but I think that's completely changed now. The ARU knows it's a separate entity. You can't really use it for that tool otherwise you're just not going to compete against those big nations."
Jenkins said Folau might be a once-in-a-generation talent, but he insisted the Wallabies star wouldn't go straight in to a major Sevens tournament and excel.
"Izzy would have the skills and all that, but I think he'd have to come across early just to get that conditioning level. We bring people in all the time who are great athletes and great football players, but they do one week and pull up with torn hammies and back problems. It takes time to adapt."