As the Netherlands prepare to chase glory at the European Trophy at the end of this month, we caught up with the country's national 15s and 7s coaches Gareth Gilbert and Yvonne Bourman. Netherlands are putting a major emphasis on their 7s game and are hoping to fund 20 players later this year to becoem semi-professional players.
The Netherlands have been making serious inroads in the 7s game of late, travelling to international events in Las Vegas and Hong Kong and finishing in the top three in both competitions.
Gilbert explains that there may not be much crossover between the squads at this point as the Netherlands attempt to carve out a serious and professional pathway for the country’s top 7s players.
“We have recently started a 7s project which focuses fulltime on that form of the game. We have 17 players that are involved in this programme – 12 Elite and 5 Development. The Development players are allowed to play for the 15s side in the upcoming European Cup but not the Elite players. Nonetheless this is a great opportunity for a lot of new players to get some valuable experience and it will help create depth in the women’s game here in the Netherlands.”
Later this year the Netherlands will attempt to become one of the first nations to pay women’s players to solely concentrate on the 7s game – with the ultimate aim being Olympic glory in 2016.
“Sevens is priority number one at the moment with the goal to compete and win a medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics. We are currently training four times a week with the idea of going fulltime in September. The players are extremely committed and dedicated to launch a big offensive effort on 7s international rugby and having done very well so far this year, we have a few more tournaments this season. One that sticks out for us is The Amsterdam 7’s where we will be facing a whole host of top international teams taking part.”
But for the coming weeks at least, the focus will be on the longer version of the game, with Spain set to play Russia, Italy and England at the European Trophy competition which starts at the end of the month.
Women’s head coach Yvonne Bouman said that her side face a tough pool but there is confidence in the squad.
“I think we have a good chance of winning against Russia, and the games against Italy and England will be interesting. There are some uncapped players in the squad and they are young and very talented and I see this as a great opportunity for them to experience rugby at international level. Since the start of the 7s programme, we are building a new 15s team, including a new staff, and I therefore see this season as a building season.”
While there is no doubt that the Netherlands see the 7s game as the most important area at the moment, Bouman believes that despite the focus on this programme, the 15s game will benefit from an all round investment in the game.
“I think because the professional set-up of the 7s programme, there will be a positive effect on the 15s game. Girls who aspire to enter the 7ss programme can use the 15s programme as a step up. And this will certainly lead to an increase of the level of play in the 15s game. Besides the link with the 7s program, there are players who are more suited for the 15s game than for the 7s game, and they will be the core of the national women's XV squad. A two-way focus is therefore our plan for the coming years.”
