Newspaper reports suggest that the International Rugby Board ( IRB ) is to appoint a professional lobbyist to press the case for rugby's return to the Olympic Games.


According to Britain's Daily Telegraph, International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge's rugby connections - Rogge was capped seven times by Belgium at flank after learning the game at university in France - may have worked against rugby's hoped-for return to the Games in the Sevens format.


The IRB will now

"play the voting game much more effectively and not simply rely on the 'rights' of their case," said the newspaper.
"To that end the IRB will soon take a leaf out of the successful London 2012 bid and appoint a professional lobbyist to target those countries - and those votes - that will be needed when the question next comes up for debate next year, when the schedule for the 2016 Games will be decided."

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A worldwide push by the International Rugby Board to have rugby accepted into the Olympic Games still faces an uphill battle, according to leading Games official Jacques Rogge, who criticised the recent World Cup for failing to make an overwhelming case.



Rugby last featured in the Olympics in 1924, when the USA won the event, and was one of five sports suggested for inclusion at London 2012, but all failed to win enough support at the vote in 2005. Rogge played rugby for Belgium and sailed for his native country in the Olympics, but he insisted that the World Cup had not helped the campaign for rugby to become a Games sport. He said:

"It was a good World Cup in terms of the public attention, but I'm not happy about the quality of play. I am passionate about rugby but I think the game has to evolve to keep its appeal."

However, Rogge did not rule it out for post-2012 Games. He added:

"It couldn't be 15-a-side. You cannot play rugby every third day.so 15s are not an option. But sevens could be. It is definitely a candidate."

Source: The Scotsman