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Rising star Payton Spencer sets sights on Olympics after 'special' final

(Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)

After winning his first World Series event with the All Blacks Sevens in Sydney, rising star Payton Spencer reaffirmed his desire to represent New Zealand on the biggest sporting stage of all.

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Heralded as a future superstar of the sport, as he begins to follow in the footsteps of his legendary father Carlos Spencer, the 18-year-old has lived up to any and all expectations so far.

Spencer signed a two-year deal with the All Blacks Sevens earlier this month; with this news dominating rugby headlines in New Zealand for days.

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The hype was very real, as the son of Carlos looked to embark on his own journey in the black jersey.

Spencer was named to make the trip across the Tasman for the Sydney Sevens – which was also his first trip across the ditch to neighbouring country Australia.

While every New Zealand rugby team plays under immense pressure and scrutiny whenever they take the field, the teenager wasn’t feeling the heat.

Showcasing attacking flair, dominant defence and an abundance of pace, the prodigy did the black jersey justice every time he ran out to the hallowed turf of Allianz Stadium.

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The All Blacks Sevens won two of their three pool matches; having lost to fierce rivals South Africa in a thriller.

But Spencer continued to reap the rewards of his teammates’ scintillating attack, as the New Zealanders found their mojo once again in the knockout rounds.

New Zealand avenged their loss to South Africa in the Cup Final, which they won 38-nil. To say they were dominant is an understatement.

Spencer had played his first tournament on the Sevens World Series, and was already a champion.

With his gold medal draped around his neck, the generational talent was in-demand after the match – even filming a quick video for World Rugby to preview the LA Sevens.

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But you couldn’t wipe the smile off his face, as Spencer began to reflect on his first event in the black jersey, and what he wants to accomplish in the future.

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“To play my first tournament, I’ve only been in the team for what three weeks? Then getting called up to play in Sydney, it’s pretty surreal at the moment,” Spencer told RugbyPass.

“What a first trip to Aussie I’d say. To win this tournament is special.

“I want to strive for the Olympics which is next year, but smaller than that just focus on making more tournaments,” he added.

“Just keep improving, keep working hard, and hopefully make some more tournaments.

“Obviously (the) Olympics is one of the biggest sporting tournaments in the world, if not the biggest.

“So to make that and see individual athletes that are the best at what they do would be unbelievable, and obviously to try and get a gold Olympic medal would be unbelievable.”

The All Blacks Sevens fell painfully short of Cup Final glory in front of their home fans in Hamilton last weekend, having lost to Argentina 14-12.

But as captain Sam Dickson told RugbyPass during the Sydney event, the agony and disappointment of that defeat “added fuel to the fire” ahead of their trip across the ditch.

While Spencer wasn’t part of the playing squad at FMG Stadium Waikato, he was there – and experienced the feeling of defeat alongside his teammates.

“Yeah walking onto that field was pretty low last week, the boys were pretty down.

“But we knew we had it in us this week, we’ve done everything we could to be the best at what we do so I think to get this win here, and to finally finish off a Final, is pretty special.

“I wouldn’t say we talked about it I’d just say the boys didn’t want to feel that way again.

“This is our third Final in a row, and we’ve lost two out of three of them. This one, finally, we got over the line so it’s pretty special to win.”

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Flankly 15 minutes ago
Rassie Erasmus defends controversial innovation with accusation directed at Italy

Esterhuizen was about a metre offside when Libbok took the kick.

It may feel that way, but it depends on the specifics of how the Laws are interpreted, in particular the question of when Open Play begins.


Offside is very specifically defined for other set pieces and structured situations (scrum, lineout, ruck, maul). Not sure why, but there is no kickoff-specific definition for offside in the Laws. So if offside exists during kickoff then it must be covered by a more general law.


There is an offside definition for Open Play, but there is a question of whether or not this is an Open Play situation. Prior to Open Play starting there is no offside. Part of the Open Play definition is that it is after the kickoff, but what does “after the kickoff” mean?


You can say that Open Play starts the moment that the ball is kicked, and it seems this is the assumption by many people. But a reasonable alternative reading is that the kickoff is not complete, and Open Play has not started, until the whole kickoff sequence is complete, including the ball going 10m, landing/being-caught in field, etc.

One reason that this is a credible interpretation is that there would be no need for Law 12.5 (that players on the kickers side must be behind the kicker) if Open Play starts when the ball is kicked. In that case players in front of the kicker would be instantly offside and subject to the usual offside rules and sanctions. Law 12.5 is only needed because there is no Open Play (and therefore no offside) until the kickoff sequence is completed.


My guess is that Rassie and team went through this in-depth, possibly with advice from WR, concluding that this is not an offside situation and is entirely governed by the Law 12.5 sanction. That sanction requires a scrum and provides no alternative choices for the opposition (such as would have been the case if they simply kicked it short, kicked it into touch etc).


Smarter folk than me can figure out whether the above interpretation is definitive, but it is certainly not obvious to me that Esterhuizen was offside. On balance I would suggest that the game was not in Open Play and that there were therefore no offside rules in place. In that case it all comes down to the Law 12.5 sanction of opposition scrum, for not being behind the kicker.


BTW - WR can fix this by simply adding that the opposition can have a choice of a retake or a scrum, as they can for other kickoff situations. Italy would have picked the retake, no doubt.

18 Go to comments
H
Hammer Head 55 minutes ago
Bok rule-benders are changing the game. They deserve respect

You’re right in that it’s hard to tell what the implications are to having the lift in open play (unless it’s for a lineout or tacking a kick-off).


I think few teams would be brave enough to do this on a regular basis.


But in the event that it does become a practiced and regularly executed move by various teams, I’d like to see how it plays out before calling it a no-go and changing the rules. See how much it becomes a regular feature in matches and see how teams counter the move.


Your argument about removing the contest in open play is a valid one. I agree, that is the intention. But on kick-offs and restarts that’s exactly the current situation. The lifted jumper can’t be touched by the opposing team creating the very scenario of eliminating the contest for the ball.


So if preserving the contest is a reason for changing the law - then lifting jumpers on kick-offs should be stopped too at the same time. Kickoffs and restarts happen numerous times in every game. Compared to this move which might feature once in a blue moon.


Perhaps having more contestable kick-offs in every game will make for a positive outcome? Deep restarts, aggressive kick chasers by speedy wings.


Admittedly, The lift in open play is a bizarre move and it’s clearly about testing the limits of the laws whilst giving teams an edge over the competition. If it gets banned for good reasons, no issue.


But thank you Paul Roos u14B and Rassie Erasmus for making my life a little less dull these past few days.

131 Go to comments
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