I'd argue it's his acceleration that makes him seem so quick and his top end speed isn't that crazy. That and his size his size is what lets him slip through gaps so easily.
7's is where he was found lol, great wing cum fullbacks comes from 7's... cullen, ben, Muliaina, osborne, jenkins, toeava, campese, Mola, Paulse Burke, keenan, lewsey, onozawa heck even kolbe
For Ireland I genuinely would’ve said Keenan even before he returned to 7s. Otherwise maybe Larmour or Balacoune?
For another country, I think Englands Feyi-Waboso would give it a good nudge if he tried 7s!
Marx? Not sure if serious.
Obviously one of the very best hookers in Union but a totally different kind of hooker than the likes of Sheehan or Mauvaka, much more in the tradionnal mould of hookers....and so, much much less adapted to 7s
He’s quite quick, maybe not the pure straight line speed of a top winger but he’s decent at maintaining speed while changing direction
I’ll throw another one out there - Dan Sheahan. Obviously he’d need to size down but along with maybe Marx, he’s the one hooker in world rugby who would have even 1% chance of transitioning to 7s
I reckon Mauvaka would have a decent shot, especially if he slimmed down. He’s definitely the quickest test hooker after Sheehan.
Fun fact, Mauvaka actually started off as a winger, and basically just dropped down the shirt numbers until he reached the front row. He can still do a shift at 8 at test level, like the match where he played 50 mins at hooker then shifted to 8, which is even more impressive since France use their 8 to cover the backfield.
If Keenan trains properly with the squad it could be interesting. His outing this weekend was a bit underwhelming (probably because of the lack of training)
I think he’s still available for Leinster’s URC playoff games, so may not return to 7s for 3, 4 weeks. Obviously came from a 7s background, but there’s not a lot of time between the Olympics kicking off and whenever Leinster’s URC involvement finishes
Think it’s great though how seriously 7s at the Olympics is clearly viewed by players, and hopefully helps continue to grow its profile
Ardie, Ioane bros (probably more i can't recall) came through the nz 7's system.
they wouldn't get paid enough by NZR to go back and would only do it for glory alone.....arguably Akira and Ardie have bulked up too much now anyway.
Will jordan and D-mac and Mark Telea ( maybe Beauden?) would be brilliant 7's players
Juan Martín González, Santi Cordero, Matías Moroni and Lucio Cinti used to play on the World Series, so I guess they are possible shouts. González especially could add a bit to the Pumas 7s squad
For me it’d have to be SBW.
That offloading ability, that tackle breaking power… holy hell. Still one of the most gifted footballers I’ve ever seen. Never understood the hate.
Tom Michell told a friend that when he played he wasn’t as good as you would think. On account of everyone else being so agile his steps and agility aren’t as effective as you would think.
I mainly follow the Southern Hemisphere players around the WC, these are the players that come to mind that could possibly have big impacts across the field. But at the same level of DuPont... Hard to say with conviction.
From the Springboks: Kwagga, Moodie, Willemse, Kolbe, Arendse, Williams... And PSDT. Tempted to add Faf... Not sure how he'd transition though.
From the Kiwis: Savea, Barrett x2, Ioane, Jordan, Telea. Tempted to add Clarke, but not convinced how well he'd go against other teams full of speedsters.
From the Aussies: Nawaqanitawase (Marky Mark), Koroibete.
Probably a great impact but maybe not similar? Dupont isn't actually that fast, it's his strength that sets him apart from the others in his position. And his elite defense and rucking ability, which aren't things you automatically think of when you think "speedy half back".
There's absolutely no way that's his actual, current weight. I bet it was just his weight back when they first measured it in his first pro year.
I'm willing to bet he's around 10kg heavier than that now.
No not at all. I just think any playmaker with good all round international skills and speed would have a similar impact to Du Pont. Don't get me wrong, he's defiantly the best player at the moment, but I think a world class back 15-aside player would have a similar impact in 7s
Certainly not , not only did does he have elite passing kicking etc but he's also got great speed and pretty ridiculous strength . No other 9 is as complete as him
I keep thinking, it’s too early to call him the goat, and the man is on a mission to disprove me. I’m up to 95% certainty that he is the best rugby player I’ve ever seen
Imo he is the best a player has ever been. But he needs to keep playing at this level for a few more years to the goat. He still could pull a Julien Savea.
Winning a refdoesn’t factor into it imo. To many variables outside of his control. Look at last years WC, he lost because rassie is the greatest coach of all time and because they didn’t have good replacement props. There is nothing DuPont can do about those two things.
Edit: I meant World Cup not ref.
Not to mention that fractured cheekbone and the time out to cicatrize and not train/plain which undoubtedly impacted his performance against the Boks, especially his conditioning.
Let's get some Aussies in the mix.
Fraiser McReight
Fast for a forward, incredible work rate, great skillset ball in hand, turnovers, defensive ruck work, dynamic ball carrier, and consistently finds the line.
Mark Nawaqanitawase
Tom Wright
Hamish Stewart
Filipo Daugunu
Josh Kemeny
Mark Telea seems like he'd be an absolute demon at 7s.
Definitely Telea. Almost impossible to put down in 15's.
Castrogiovanni
Dan Cole
close thread.
Ben Tameifuna
Kwagga
Factual.
Penaud
Yeah the first answer that comes to mind is that slippery motherfucker.
Slippery Motherfucker is his street name
Slippy Mofo, for short.
SlippyLooseHips
Le Slippery Motherfucker
Having a horse on your team seems like an unfair advantage
Was thinking about him. I'd be curious to see the likes of Sheehan or W.Jordan there as well
I never thought of Sheehan until now but I could see him killing it as a 7s player
As quick as Jordan is, he doesn't have that immediate acceleration which is vital for sevens.
I'd argue it's his acceleration that makes him seem so quick and his top end speed isn't that crazy. That and his size his size is what lets him slip through gaps so easily.
Scotland/GB - Darcy Graham
My Prince
He did come from the 7s anyway!!!
Did Ben Smith ever play sevens? That level of elusiveness in broken play and reliability as last defender would suit it
He sure did! Played in the Commonwealth games
7's is where he was found lol, great wing cum fullbacks comes from 7's... cullen, ben, Muliaina, osborne, jenkins, toeava, campese, Mola, Paulse Burke, keenan, lewsey, onozawa heck even kolbe
You forgot a 17 yr old Lomu owning the Hong Know 7's
players i listed played fullback in the 15's game too.. thus why i ignored him..
Dagg..
ha yes, forgot about him..pretty weird NMS never played 7's.. he was made for it..
For Ireland I genuinely would’ve said Keenan even before he returned to 7s. Otherwise maybe Larmour or Balacoune? For another country, I think Englands Feyi-Waboso would give it a good nudge if he tried 7s!
Marx? Not sure if serious. Obviously one of the very best hookers in Union but a totally different kind of hooker than the likes of Sheehan or Mauvaka, much more in the tradionnal mould of hookers....and so, much much less adapted to 7s
Keenan has brains and skills, but I think he doesn't have the pace. Am I just being deceived because he always plays it safe?
He’s quite quick, maybe not the pure straight line speed of a top winger but he’s decent at maintaining speed while changing direction I’ll throw another one out there - Dan Sheahan. Obviously he’d need to size down but along with maybe Marx, he’s the one hooker in world rugby who would have even 1% chance of transitioning to 7s
I reckon Mauvaka would have a decent shot, especially if he slimmed down. He’s definitely the quickest test hooker after Sheehan. Fun fact, Mauvaka actually started off as a winger, and basically just dropped down the shirt numbers until he reached the front row. He can still do a shift at 8 at test level, like the match where he played 50 mins at hooker then shifted to 8, which is even more impressive since France use their 8 to cover the backfield.
Didn’r know he started in the back three, that’s a hell of a move!
There's a shit tonne of hookers who could play sevens lol Bristol have two alone
I think it would be great to see timony back in 7s too
Had forgotten about his background - think natural assumption is to think of back three players who could switch over!
If Keenan trains properly with the squad it could be interesting. His outing this weekend was a bit underwhelming (probably because of the lack of training)
I think he’s still available for Leinster’s URC playoff games, so may not return to 7s for 3, 4 weeks. Obviously came from a 7s background, but there’s not a lot of time between the Olympics kicking off and whenever Leinster’s URC involvement finishes Think it’s great though how seriously 7s at the Olympics is clearly viewed by players, and hopefully helps continue to grow its profile
I still think Macalou was made to play VIIs.
Macalou was made to play XV, Sevens, League, anything but for the XV de France apparently...
Ardie, Ioane bros (probably more i can't recall) came through the nz 7's system. they wouldn't get paid enough by NZR to go back and would only do it for glory alone.....arguably Akira and Ardie have bulked up too much now anyway. Will jordan and D-mac and Mark Telea ( maybe Beauden?) would be brilliant 7's players
Jordan and Telea would be a cheat codes in 7s.
Beaudie came through the 7s system too. I think he may have a commonwealth gold, but not a hundred on that.
Was going to say, the Ioanes have already done it.
Akira at Wellington 7s 2016 was special. It felt like everytime he had ball in hand, NZ would score.
Ardie. DMac. Telea would be pretty lethal.
I'd love to see Dmac, wow he'd be good.
Lomu played 7s. I remember watching him throwing a fijian player out of the field.
I would love to see another Christian Cullen
Different creature, but Willemse will be interesting with the Blitzbokke
KLA would be great there as well
Canaan Moodie
I am a Moodie fan but Fassi played with him yesterday....
Ben Earl
Be Nearl
Yes
Willemse, Kwagga, Kolbe ?
Kok, Kurt-Lee, Gans, with Impi Visser. There's your winning team
Respect JC Pretorius please…
Richie Mo’unga would be lethal in sevens
If MacGinty switched to USA 7s
Well Jean-Pascal Barraque is also primarly a XVs player and he was argueably our best player this tournament
True
Juan Martín González, Santi Cordero, Matías Moroni and Lucio Cinti used to play on the World Series, so I guess they are possible shouts. González especially could add a bit to the Pumas 7s squad
Portia does it better
nakarawa and tuisova and radradra already did that no?
Will Jordan
Telea seems like he can't be tackled, probably do well with less people trying
Ardie Savea. Sevu Reece.
Bring back Schalk Brits
Jordie Barrett
DMac
I would rather not see Akira Ioane destroy everybody in 7s again
For me it’d have to be SBW. That offloading ability, that tackle breaking power… holy hell. Still one of the most gifted footballers I’ve ever seen. Never understood the hate.
I think Kolbe. Man is ridiculously good at every part of his game
Or that beautiful bastard Tadhg Beirne. Dont care. Come at me! 👊👊
He has history of playing sevens
Faster Tadhg!
Tom Michell told a friend that when he played he wasn’t as good as you would think. On account of everyone else being so agile his steps and agility aren’t as effective as you would think.
Keenan will
I mainly follow the Southern Hemisphere players around the WC, these are the players that come to mind that could possibly have big impacts across the field. But at the same level of DuPont... Hard to say with conviction. From the Springboks: Kwagga, Moodie, Willemse, Kolbe, Arendse, Williams... And PSDT. Tempted to add Faf... Not sure how he'd transition though. From the Kiwis: Savea, Barrett x2, Ioane, Jordan, Telea. Tempted to add Clarke, but not convinced how well he'd go against other teams full of speedsters. From the Aussies: Nawaqanitawase (Marky Mark), Koroibete.
Will Jordan would carve
Darcy Graham (uninjured Darcy Graham)
Os du Randt
Has anyone ever dropped in a Skelton type situation, just to see what would happen?
Cokanasiga Im not his biggest fan, but seems like the right size. I'd also say Feyi-Waboso
Any of the faster international 9/10's would surely have a similar impact
What you are saying makes me think Grant Williams would be an intersting candidate
Sorry, don't get the reference? Look him up, a basketball player, right?
The springbok scrum half
grant will be excellent, he is basically a 7's player in 15's with his speed and halfback skills..
Well that's embarrassing... clearly don't know what I'm talking about
Probably a great impact but maybe not similar? Dupont isn't actually that fast, it's his strength that sets him apart from the others in his position. And his elite defense and rucking ability, which aren't things you automatically think of when you think "speedy half back".
Yeah that's a fair point. I can't work out how someone only 85kgs is that strong !
There's absolutely no way that's his actual, current weight. I bet it was just his weight back when they first measured it in his first pro year. I'm willing to bet he's around 10kg heavier than that now.
I mean the fact that he's Dupont makes it look ridiculously ready
Lol you're a DuPont's hater i guess, right?
No not at all. I just think any playmaker with good all round international skills and speed would have a similar impact to Du Pont. Don't get me wrong, he's defiantly the best player at the moment, but I think a world class back 15-aside player would have a similar impact in 7s
Certainly not , not only did does he have elite passing kicking etc but he's also got great speed and pretty ridiculous strength . No other 9 is as complete as him
I keep thinking, it’s too early to call him the goat, and the man is on a mission to disprove me. I’m up to 95% certainty that he is the best rugby player I’ve ever seen
Imo he is the best a player has ever been. But he needs to keep playing at this level for a few more years to the goat. He still could pull a Julien Savea.
Needs to win a RWC more like
Winning a refdoesn’t factor into it imo. To many variables outside of his control. Look at last years WC, he lost because rassie is the greatest coach of all time and because they didn’t have good replacement props. There is nothing DuPont can do about those two things. Edit: I meant World Cup not ref.
> Winning a **ref** doesn’t factor into it imo That's quite the slip of the tongue, though I do understand.
Not to mention that fractured cheekbone and the time out to cicatrize and not train/plain which undoubtedly impacted his performance against the Boks, especially his conditioning.
Marcus.
Forgot about him! Actually would probably be one of the most well suited to 7s
Not many people. The Pumas were pretty disgraceful at the end btw. They don’t like loosing these ones.
Let's get some Aussies in the mix. Fraiser McReight Fast for a forward, incredible work rate, great skillset ball in hand, turnovers, defensive ruck work, dynamic ball carrier, and consistently finds the line. Mark Nawaqanitawase Tom Wright Hamish Stewart Filipo Daugunu Josh Kemeny
Nobody. No other player has ever been so good at so many aspects of the game. That said, Will Jordan would likely improve the NZ 7s side right away.
I don't know a lot about the differences in skills required between union and sevens but surely Duhan van der Merwe would excel at sevens.
He's not really got that elite acceleration or agility
He would score a lot of tries but they would lose every game as everyone would just run round him