England, Wales and Scotland are about to receive the shock news that only one of them will be allowed to 'qualify' the Great Britain sevens team for the Rio Olympics in 2016 after an IOC intervention to make the qualification as equitable as possible.
Hitherto, GB have been working under the impression that as long as one of the three British teams competing regularly on the HSBC World Series finished in the top four in the 2014-15 season that would automatically qualify a GB Olympic team which can then be picked from all three countries.
But not so. That system has caused much disquiet among other nations in that it effectively gives GB three shots at securing that desirable automatic Olympic qualification to every other team's one.
Teams that don't secure one of those four automatic slots will then have to compete in a continental tournament with one last route into the 12 team Olympics via a repechage tournament.
"We understand that the IOC will be asking the GB – the Home Unions concerned and the BOA – to nominate one of their national teams to act as Great Britain's qualifying side," said the IRB's new chief executive Brett Gosper.
"It would seem intrinsically unfair and undermine the integrity of the World Series for it to be otherwise. If that nominated GB nation does finish in the top four in the 2014-15 HSBC series, that side will have to qualify by another route. This will be the case even if one of the Home Union teams that wasn't nominated finishes in the top four."
Even the system outlined by Gosper is not without its weaknesses – the potential for collusion in some games wif the Home nations were drawn against each other would be there – but at least it doesn't start from a premis that is fundamentally unfair.
Such a system will heighten the interest in the HSBC World series for 2013-14 with the Home Union sides battling to become the domestic 'top dog' and assume the driving seat for the GB programme heading towards Rio.
GB would be free to select players from England, Wales and Scotland but the qualifying side would expect to form the rump of the squad.
It is understood that Ulster players who are contracted to the IRFU will not be considered although they would be free to contest that decision legally if they felt strongly enough about it. Olympic eligibility is passport based and a number of Ulster players who represent Ireland are UK passport holders.
If GB safely qualify via a top four in the 2014-15 World Series from their nominated team, Gosper has confirmed that there is no way that GB team can be accommodated in the HSBC 2015-2016 World series in order to clock up invaluable match-time together. "Again that would affect the integrity of the competition and would not be allowed. The three nations would of course still be eligible to compete in competition individually."
Which again is not a great deal of use to an embryo GB team who will have to consider organising a number of Invitation tournaments to get their game time together.
Potentially GB should be able to field a Sevens team capable of winning gold but actually building a mechanism to put that squad together is proving fiendishly difficult.
Meanwhile, Sir Clive Woodward, who has recently stepped down from the BOA, has urged the Home Unions and Great Britain to move with much more urgency.
He said: "It's not going to be easy for GB because of some of the unique issues around the formation of the side but what I do know is the Home unions need to get something in place pretty quickly and approved by the BOA.
"We need one of our Sevens experts guiding this project. Other nations have got their funding, structures and programmes in place already, they have started their Olympic cycles – and if GB think they can throw something together in the last 6-12 months we will be gravely mistaken.
"I just know that in a few years time when rugby looks back at the 2016 Olympics its going to be seen as one of the most important ever moments in the sport's evolution.
"Rio will offer an incredible stage for the sport and target for those chasing gold medals. I know for example that there is nothing higher on the NZRFU agenda than coming back with two golds. GB need to be matching that commitment and vision."
By Brendan Gallagher
Source: www.telelgraph.com