Great Britain Men’s Sevens Team Aims High Despite Part-Time Status

Player Harry Glover states that the Great Britain men’s sevens team is capable of “competing at the highest level,” even though it continues to operate as a part-time programme. The GB men’s team did not secure qualification for the upcoming summer Olympics, marking their first absence from the Games since the sport’s introduction in 2016. Only the women’s team will participate in Paris. The World Sevens Series is scheduled to commence on Saturday in Dubai. The GB men’s squad seeks to better their eighth-place standing from the previous season, a position that saw them narrowly escape relegation. Glover, a member of Great Britain’s World Series squad, informed BBC Sport, “With a lack of funding and proximity of players we have made Hazelwood – the old London Irish ground – our home, but it is still a camp-based model at the moment.” He further stated, “We do three-day camps around three times a month – in terms of the preparation it is pretty good but it would be better if it was a full-time programme.” Glover added, “We’ve done the best we can and from last year it has been taken up a notch.” In 2023, England, Scotland, and Wales opted to combine their efforts and compete exclusively as Great Britain, recognizing that this unified team represents the nation at the Olympics. Before this change, Glover participated with England sevens, a team that previously operated a full-time programme and achieved a second-place finish on the World Series on four occasions. Following the Tokyo Games in 2021, Dan Bibby, a former GB sevens player, characterized the programme’s “planned future” as “a joke,” citing a Covid-related funding reduction that led to the provision of only eight full-time contracts. Great Britain encountered difficulties during their initial two seasons on the World Series; however, they secured medals in Singapore and Los Angeles earlier in the current year. Glover further commented, “It has been on an upward trajectory – other than missing out on the Olympics – since the move to GB.” He concluded, “For us it is all about building from that, we know we’ve got a system in place where we can compete at the highest level.” Glover frequently played on the wing for the French Top 14 team Stade Francais. Balancing work or study with the programme has become standard practice within the GB team. Glover, for instance, manages his time by operating CONKA, a company he co-founded with a friend in 2021. This business, established after Covid-19 halted England’s full-time sevens programme and players were reportedly advised to seek alternative employment, is dedicated to “improving brain health.” Glover, who previously played for Wasps XVs, secured a contract with the French Pro D2 team Carcassonne when rugby resumed in 2021. His impressive performance on a short-term agreement led to a transfer to the Top 14 side Stade Francais the subsequent season, all while he maintained a balance between professional sports and his personal business. Following two seasons with Stade, the 28-year-old returned to sevens rugby prior to GB’s qualification attempt for the Paris Games, enabling him to manage both his rugby career and his business. Glover remarked, “It is nice to be doing something that is meaningful within the sport.” He elaborated, “Back when I was with England sevens full time you wouldn’t have had time to do things to this scale outside of rugby.” Great Britain is scheduled to compete against Ireland, Argentina, and Uruguay on Saturday, the opening day of the Dubai sevens men’s tournament. During this event, the new kit and logo for both the men’s and women’s teams will be revealed as part of a broader rebrand. Subsequently, both teams are set to journey to Cape Town, Perth, Vancouver, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Los Angeles over the course of the season. The squads for the upcoming season are as follows: Men’s squad: Kaleem Barreto (club captain), Ethan Waddleton (captain), Tom Emery (vice captain), Ryan Apps, Jamie Barden, Api Bavadra, Tom Burton, Callum Carson, Matt Davidson, Ollie Dawkins, Harry Glover, Will Homer, Sunnie Jardine, Charlton Kerr, Marcus Kershaw, Luke Mehson, James Pavey, Freddie Roddick, Harri Williams, Morgan Williams, Tom Williams. Women’s squad: Emma Uren (captain), Isla Norman-Bell (vice captain), Ellie Boatman, Reneeqa Bonner, Abbie Brown, Shona Campbell, Heather Cowell, Grace Crompton, Meg Davies, Eloise Hayward, Vicky Laflin, Georgie Lingham, Alicia Maude, Chantelle Miell, Emma Mundy, Catherine Richards, Jade Shekells, Katie Shillaker, Lauren Torley, Charlie Woodman, Amy Wilson-Hardy.