Olympic Rugby Expert opinions: USA

Reposted from Olympic-rugby.org:

In part two of our Expert Opinions series we caught up with a USA based rugby expert, Wendy Young from Texas who lives and breathes rugby and writes a lively blog called yourscrumhalfconnection.com/

Wendy wanted to contribute to the sport that has given her so much and started out reading as much on rugby as she could, always disappointed that there was very little to read about Women’s Rugby.

So in true rugby fashion she took the initiative and started her blog and was soon joined by her co-contributor and partner, mysteriously called ‘The Girl’. It is no surprise that Wendy – always on top of her game when it comes to the latest in rugby signed our petition as number 20.

Wendy is very close to cracking the USA Eagles women’s team but of course took the time to give us her perspective on the Olympic rugby topic.

olympic-rugby.org: Hi Wendy! Cheers for chatting to us. How good do you think the chances are rugby will crack the Olympics?

Wendy Young: Everyone knows that rugby has some serious competition with other sports to gain admittance into the Olympics. I believe we are doing the right steps and hope with all of my heart that we will be granted the amazing honor of being a part of the Olympics. 7s really is a game that is extremely exciting and would easily be taught to viewers that were unfamiliar with the game. Traveling to San Diego 7s this year was an amazing experience and it really set the stage to what bringing rugby to the Olympics would be like.

Countries like England, France and New Zealand are accustomed to rugby on their home soil, but in the USA high level International rugby is only available to a few. To have high level International rugby available on television during the Olympics would be a dream come true!

WY: If rugby is admitted into the Olympics I think we will see an explosion of rugby across the world. Countries that have had struggling rugby programs will suddenly see a boost as world leaders realize that rugby is an International sport! These leaders will want their country to be the most successful rugby team and this will further grow rugby. The world will see that rugby is truly an amazing sport that can benefit any city, team, or family.

WY: In the USA we are already making a HUGE push to grow youth rugby at all levels and I think the inclusion of rugby in the Olympics would only help this cause. States that were considering youth rugby programs would suddenly be able to see on an International stage that rugby is everything they need. It is dedication, team work, respect and community, everything that sports for youth should be!

WY: Rugby in any of these places would be amazing, but I think realistically that Tokyo and Madrid have the best shots at 2016. Tokyo has been bidding on anything and everything as they love rugby and Madrid already has the facilities in place and could easily handle the responsibility.

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