Olympic rugby sevens gold tops agenda at RFU conference

GREAT Britain's bid to win the first ever rugby sevens Olympic gold will be top of the agenda at a high-powered meeting at Twickenham tomorrow.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Phil Greening, who appeared for England during the sevens event at the 2002 Commonwealth Games, will talk about the importance of the code at an RFU conference tomorrow (Getty Images)

More than 70 key stakeholders have been invited to the Sevens Future Landscape conference, which follows the International Olympic Committee's decision to add rugby sevens to the programme for the 2016 Games in Rio.

Delegates from the International Rugby Board will be joined by club representatives from Premier Rugby Limited and officials from the players' union, the Rugby Players' Association.

England and Great Britain Hockey performance director David Faulkner will be a keynote speaker while former England captain Phil Greening, who actively campaigned for sevens to be adopted by the IOC, will also address delegates.

"As the national governing body for rugby in England it is essential that we take the lead on the development of sevens," said RFU chief executive Francis Baron. 

"The inclusion of the game in the Olympics offers a massive opportunity to grow the game of rugby still further, both in England and globally but this needs to happen in a managed and structured fashion so that it does not conflict with or undermine the wider development of the professional and amateur game." 

Terry Burwell, the RFU's Director of Tournaments and Competitions, who is leading the conference, added: "This is not just an opportunity for the elite game although the success of the IRB World Series has given us a fantastic shop window. 

"From a participation perspective there is a huge amount going on at all levels of the game and rugby sevens is played across England most of the year. 

"For many players playing sevens is the way they come into the game and part of how they stay in the game. 

"So making sure we have the right structures in place to grow sevens in a way that complements and benefits the XV a side game and vice versa is crucial. Nobody is better placed than the RFU to do that but the input of stakeholders across the sevens game is vital."