The rugby union myth that the Olympics has dispelled

The Olympics has truly dispelled the myth that rugby fans are sceptical about individual superstars. But no one ever really believed that, did they? Antoine Dupont was already a legend before he won gold in Paris. Siya Kolisi has been lifted to sainthood for his transcendent story. JPR Williams, Jonah Lomu, Emily Scarratt; take your pick from any of the titans who have played this game and there’ll be magic and hyperbole aplenty. Their on-field performances attract attention like black holes. Their personal lives morph into public interest. Their quotes are repeated in pubs. Their snubs are keenly felt by adoring loyalists.

So why then do we still wrestle with the narrative? Why are we told repeatedly that rugby union is engineered to cut down the tallest poppies? Two of rugby’s most endearing traits are at the heart of this.

The game for all shapes and sizes - another myth that needs exploring - has so many unique tasks that wildly different body shapes have to perform together at the same time. When it works it’s like lifting the lid on a prize-winning watch. Big cogs connect with little cogs, wheels turn across multiple layers, gears whir at different speeds in perfect harmony.

And so each position, from the lumbering prop to the jet-heeled winger, gets its flowers. Not only because it's obvious that a functioning scrum can impact a team’s ability to spread the ball out wide, but also because some jobs are less glamorous than others. Casual observers might not recognise this, but those who know, know. This understanding of the game’s machinations is worn like a feather in the cap. Including Richard Loe on your list of greatest All Blacks of all time earns you hipster points.

But that doesn’t mean that all jobs are equal. Or that every practitioner is equally valuable. When Malcolm Marx was injured in the opening game of last year’s World Cup, the Springboks coaches replaced a world-class hooker, possibly the world’s best hooker, with a fly-half. Therefore they’d have to play Deon Fourie, a 37-year-old loose forward, in the front row. Whenever this happened, they’d be gambling their line-out on the pay-off of more gains at the breakdown and collision point. It worked.

In the final against New Zealand, South Africa had four of their 10 line-outs stolen while the All Blacks’ fired at over 90 per cent. But Fourie played his part in the Boks’ frenetic defence, hammering 20 tackles and winning a crucial turnover after his early introduction following an injury to Bongi Mbonambi.

Sharks' Bongi Mbonambi celebrates at Tottenham (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

How important a player is to their team’s cause will depend on a number of factors such as positional depth and on-field strategy. Would Steve Borthwick trade a scrumhalf for an elite tighthead lock to bolster England’s pack? Not if he opted for a seven-one bench split that instantly turns half-backs into indispensable linchpins.

Team owners and directors understand that not every player has equal value. A report last year showed that English Premiership fly-halves earn on average £97,000 a year more than scrum-halves. A fifth of the league’s back rows earn more than £250,000 a year while only nine percent of hookers take home as much.

This is not solely due to what each position brings to the collective but the particular skill-sets required to excel in these positions. Scarcity plays a role, which is why tighthead props are among the best-paid, but versatility, prowess and even artistry tip the scales in certain directions.

Which brings us to a hotly contested battleground on social media. It concerns greatness. More to the point, it concerns greatness across time. It’s the GOAT debate that erupted after Dupont lit up the men’s sevens tournament in his hometown.

Dupont’s ranking on the all-time list is, of course, subjective. Is he as good as Dan Carter? Does he need to win a World Cup like Richie McCaw before he enters the conversation? Does that fact that Sergio Parisse sparkled in an understrength Italian team mean that the case is already closed?

France's President Emmanuel Macron poses with France's Antoine Dupont during the victory ceremony following the men's gold medal rugby sevens match between France and Fiji during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis on July 27, 2024. (Photo by CARL DE SOUZA / AFP) (Photo by CARL DE SOUZA/AFP via Getty Images)

There are no right answers, which is part of the fun. But let’s not confuse matters of taste with objective truths. What is simply not a matter of opinion is that some rugby players are plainly better than others and that some positions, by design, are occupied by players who can do things their teammates cannot.

Is Dupont more valuable to France than Dewi Lake is to Wales? Probably not. Despite a disappointing Six Nations, Maxime Lucu is still a slick operator at the base of the French pack and 22-year-old Nolan Le Garrec is destined for a stunning career. But big boys up front are in short supply for Wales and Lake is perhaps the only member of Warren Gatland’s squad that will earn a British & Irish Lions call-up.

Now does that mean that Lake is the equal of Dupont? Not in a million years. Dupont is a generational talent; an outlier by any measure who could conceivably play any position in the backline and probably earn a professional contract at hooker or flank. No one kicks out of hand like he does. No one his size packs as much of a punch. His running and passing game is otherworldly and he moves teammates around the park to his will as if he were the Night King from Game of Thrones. All rugby players are equal, but some are vastly more equal than others. Pretending otherwise is to live in a lie.

USA’s Ilona Maher enters the game against Japan on day one of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at Stade de France on 28 July, 2024 in Paris. Photo credit: Mike Lee - KLC fotos for World Rugby

Sevens, with its open spaces and reduced numbers, showcases individuals better than other formats of the game. But that only half explains why Dupont and Ilona Maher - now the most followed rugby player across social platforms - have set an example that should be followed.

Sevens does not carry the same baggage as union. There are no so-called traditional values that act as a chokehold. Superstars are revered, not reviled. These Games have helped bring the oval ball to a new audience. It would be a shame if some old hangups turn them away.