Ethe su�o of return to some Olympic Games 8 years Then it can become a reality next Sunday for Los Leones. And if anyone knows well what that means, it is National coach, Paco Hernández, which in 2016 was one of the protagonists of a historic moment, the classification for the first time of Spain in the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games.
This time and on the same stage will experience the excitement from the bench, so we take advantage of one of the few free spaces already installed in M�naco to talk to him about the tournament world repechage, what does it mean to dispute some Olympics and the latest news from the competition.
The competition will be held from Friday, June 21 to Sunday, June 23 and can be followed live for free on Rugby Pass TV. The Spaniards will measure themselves Friday at 3:04 p.m. against Brazil, on Saturday at 5:04 p.m. against Hong Kong and on Sunday the quarterfinals, semis and the grand final will be played.
“You have to be clear that this is rugby 7 and anything can happen”
“It may be that Great Britain has the best average, or that Canada beats them and is fourth or fifth… there are many variables. Thinking about what is going to happen before competing is not very useful. We know that in the quarterfinals we will probably face a rival from our group, and then the match we have may be against one of the favorites in the semifinals. He 2� better first He is the one who is supposed to win his quarter and we are supposed to face him, but this old woman’s account is of no use because things are shown on the field. “We have to think about winning everything and be focused.”
Spanish rugby 7 team, Rio 2016 Olympic Game
As for the team form, The answer is resounding “we feel very good. In Madrid You could see the good preparation we had, our state of form and the good rugby we played and these two extra weeks in the CAR of San Cugat They have helped us to continue evolving our level. It is true that the Madrid Series They gave us a boost of confidence, but we are aware that we have to work very well, have a little luck and maintain concentration.”
The difficulty of this tournament in which only one place is at stake for the Olympics It’s really big, and if Paco sees any team with the favorite sign it’s “possibly to South Africa. I don’t think we are favorites, there are four teams that come from the World Series very hard-working. It’s true that people point to us as possible to be in that final and win it, but I don’t think it’s something we have to think about now either.”
Controlling emotions on the pitch will be essential, and Paco does not hide that “this week for Mat�as, Pol and for me it is being very pretty, with very good memories and many emotions. Let’s hope to refresh those memories and create new ones that are almost better than the ones we have from this field and the classification we live in. 2016. We have to ensure that the players who are here today remember Monaco with as much emotion as we do.”
The first objective of the season accomplished, permanence in HSBC SVNS, the classification ol�mpica It would be the culmination of a year to frame, since “staying in the Series was very important, especially for the professional tranquility and journey of each of the players and this would be the icing on the cake. Close the year ratifying our state of form and the ascending evolutionary line. It would be very nice not to end here, but rather to give ourselves the opportunity to compete in some Olympicssomething that I know would be huge for him rugby espa�ol. It is true that in 2016 We included both teams, something totally exceptional, and now we need Spain to once again be a power in the rugby 7s, not only in the circuit of SVNSbut our presence in the Olympics be more and more assiduous and not making mistakes at the last second,” he jokes, referring to the classification R�o. “Let it be something common, because our level continues to increase and we are permanent.”
