'He'd be quality': Darcy Graham reveals his Scotland Sevens dream team
Winger credits abbreviated game for huge role in his development
Darcy Graham credits his experiences with the Scotland Sevens team for making him the player he is today and the winger is delighted that the abbreviated game is being revived at national level.
Graham scored 29 tries in nine tournaments representing his country at sevens and it was an important stepping stone for one of Scotland’s modern greats who will win his 50th full cap against Argentina on Sunday.
A full-time Scotland men’s sevens programme has recently been revived after falling into abeyance and Murrayfield is also taking charge of the men’s and women’s Great Britain Sevens teams which will compete in the World Series.
Graham reckons it could provide a significant boost for Scottish rugby, likening it to having a third pro team.
I wouldn’t be setting here if it wasn’t for sevens
“It's class that we are bringing Scotland’s Sevens back,” he said. “The boys have been training at Oriam and it was massive for my development. It was huge for me. I don't think I'd be sitting here right now if it wasn't for sevens. It's good to see them bringing that programme back. We'll see the benefit of that.”
Graham isn’t the only current Scotland player to have come through the sevens route. Blair Kinghorn, George Horne and Magnus Bradbury also played alongside him in the shortened game, developing their talents on the global circuit.
“I learnt so much from it,” added Graham. “You look at the squad now, at how many boys have come through. There’s me, Blair, George Horne, Maggie played a bit. There's a lot of boys in the team that played sevens in the World Series.
My sevens dream team
“So I think it can only be a good thing, especially when we've only got the two pro teams. It can turn into our third pro team and we can just chuck some young boys in there and go and see how they get on because it's a different level out there. The athletes are incredible. You have to defend so much space and you learn a lot about yourself and you do learn a lot out there. Like I said, I wouldn't be anywhere near where I was without that programme.”
Graham was asked to name his ultimate Scotland Sevens team and went for a few old team-mates who would play alongside him in a selection based on all-out speed.
“I'd definitely get George Horne in there,” he said. “I played a few sevens tournaments with him before and he's electric. Smoggy [Blair Kinghorn], Duhi [van der Merwe] - I’d just go all pace. Duhan would play in the forwards. I'd love to see Jack Dempsey up there, he'd be quality. He could be in the forwards then getting him out in the wing.
“Stafford [McDowall] would be good as well in the forwards and then Sione [Tuipitlou] up there. That’s some team!”
While it is unlikely any of Darcy's dream team will be returning to sevens any time soon, a small core group is already operating full-time from Oriam, Scotland’s sports performance centre at Heriot Watt University. The six contracted Scottish players are Damien Hoyland, Finn Callaghan, Matt Davidson, Roan Frostwick, Jacob Henry and Josh Radcliffe.
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