Britain skipper Robbie Fergusson: ‘It will be a hell of a journey’
It was Wednesday morning in Hong Kong when the dice rolled for RugbyPass. Bagging a spare seat on a shuttle bus to the stadium across on the Island was the quest, with either Britain or Australia the options heading towards 9am.
The Brits waved us on and the 30 or so minutes that followed were typical of any rugby team bus journey to training.
Pumping tunes. Gossip. A sense of wonder with the commute as it wound its way through the busy Cross Harbour tunnel and then up the elevation towards the stadium, a journey temporarily delayed by a truck with a heavy load negotiating a downhill reverse into a building site.
It was some hours later when RugbyPass caught up with one of the minibus passengers, Robbie Fergusson.
The photo call ahead of this Friday’s start to the Hong Kong 7s had just been completed, the Scot posing for one last snap with GB7s women’s skipper Emma Uren before stopping by for a flash interview and then the commute back across the harbour to the Kerry, the hotel accommodating all 12 men’s teams this week.
“This is my fifth or sixth time now in Hong Kong, so I know it pretty well,” explained Fergusson, the 30-year-old Scot who is back on the 7s circuit full-time this season after another XV stint with Glasgow Warriors.
“It’s always a special event and knowing this will be the last in this amazing stadium is pretty cool and will be an amazing thing to be a part of.”
Britain need to be on it from the off on Friday morning as their three-game pool programme opens against New Zealand, the defending Hong Kong champions, followed by fixtures against the USA and then Argentina.
It was in LA on the last leg when the Brits finally came alive for the first time this season, reaching the final after picking off Australia and Spain in the knockouts.
That has lifted them to ninth in the overall standings with five of the eight tournaments played and Fergusson is now hoping for a repeat of that improved form from five weeks ago.
“Our programme is just sort of developing on the go,” he explained. “We had a bit more time together before the last two events and I guess it’s now push come to shove coming towards the end of the season.
“Everyone is battling hard for that top eight so that work we have been doing and sacrifice back at home is hopefully paying off a little bit on the pitch, but it’s a really tough group again this weekend. We will fly into that and give everything we have got again.
“You can see from the results in the series that everyone is beating everyone. Form has gone out the window when you look at it. New Zealand were in the final in Vancouver and then they drop out of the top eight for LA.
“The consistency is not there other than Argentina. At the moment everyone is beating everyone, so your shot is as good as anyone’s I think.”
Last year, GB7s came very close to success. “We beat USA in the quarter-final and we had a hell of a game against Fiji. I think it ran into extra time and charging down the pitch, the crowd was just absolutely loving it.
"It’s a special place for the Fijians, they get a great following, so the semi-final last year against them was something that will stick in my memory.”
Progress on the HSBC circuit isn’t the only thing on the GB agenda as they have still to qualify for the Paris Olympics. A last-chance tournament in Monaco is coming over the hill in 11 weeks.
“Paris is huge for us. It’s all eyes on the repechage, June 21, 22 and 23, so with ourselves, South Africa, Canada and Spain being on the world series, it’s going to be a hotly contested thing for that last spot.
"It will be a hell of a journey if you book your ticket on the last chance and roll into an Olympics a month later. That is what we have got our big focus on.”
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The extra weight that Fraser put on over the off season is really showing. The word is 7/8 kgs heavier than last year. Feel he is now carrying into contact a lot more powerfully, which makes him a bigger threat playing in the sh position at lineout time. I do feel however that he is still too easily moved off the ball at the breakdown unless he is in really early. Comparing him to the top current guys such as Tommy Refell, and past supremos like Pocock and McCaw, I would hope he will develop more in that area. The rest of his game is way out front. His speed around the field as a support player is top notch, and his defence is very sound, apart from the front on tackle on the bigger men sometimes. I also would see him as a future WB captain. He does a lot of quiet encouraging, and for sure can lead from the front. Of the other three NZ lads on the stats. table, would think it may be Papalli’i who gets in. I do like Lakai. Is Blackadder not more a 6/8 player ? Actually really rated Lachlan Boshier, but he was not ever getting anywhere, so now in Japan. Would love to have seen how he went in a AB jersey. Excellent article, Nick…….most thought provoking
Go to commentsI’ve little doubt that England is comfortably the No 1 team and not only beat other teams but beat them easily. Not so sure about France. They should be No 2 after winning 3 of last 4 matches against NZ and only a straightforward missed kick prevented it from being 4 out of 4. However, then they inexplicably lost to Canada and Wallaroos in WXV. I thought the NZ match was their “cup final” and they took the others lightly, but they were not particularly impressive in 6N except in flashes. I think they have stood still whilst Canada and England have moved forward but I don't think Canada has the depth and their team is ageing. I agree NZ not moving forward. What will be interesting is how the Wallaroos fare against NZ and then again in their September match against Ireland and then in WXV2 against other 6N teams. I was surprised they lost to USA.
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