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Globe-trotter Gollings warms up for elusive gold medal
For globetrotting England rugby 7s skipper Ben Gollings, the Commonwealth Games was never meant to be a whistle-stop journey, unlike most of his other assignments. Know Ben
For globetrotting England rugby 7s skipper Ben Gollings, the Commonwealth Games was never meant to be a whistle-stop journey, unlike most of his other assignments. Lone survivor of the silver medal winning squad of the Melbourne edition four years ago, this might well be the last time the Commonwealths get to see the 30-year-old fly-half and all-time leading scorer in action.
"Can't be sure about that but I would love to return in four years," said Gollings after completing a comprehensive win over Sri Lanka here on Monday.
Gollings has surpassed Fiji's Waisale Serevi, and his 202 tries put him in second place behind Argentina's Santiago Gomez Cora (230).
To the uninitiated, Gollings has played 11 years of international rugby and is the most renowned face of the sevens format. He has also played XV for clubs in England, Australia, New Zealand and even Japan. With rugby sevens has being granted Olympic sport status for the 2016 Rio Games, Gollings said that the shorter format is here to stay. "Many new countries like India, China and Russia have taken to rugby sevens where it's rapidly gaining popularity. Once the Olympic funding starts coming, I don't see why it shouldn't be popular," he said.
Gollings knows winning gold here won't be easy. But after winning a nail-biter against Australia 21-19, he sounded optimistic. "It was really a morale booster and now we don't really care who we face tomorrow," he said. Still, they have to contend with three-time gold medallists New Zealand and Samoa, the reigning World Series champions. Know Ben
