mens
Sevens
Henry Pollock has said that representing Great Britain Sevens at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics is “definitely something I’m aiming for”.
The Northampton Saints and England the back row has been linked with a place in the promising Great Britain squad alongside Marcus Smith, Tommy Freeman, Henry Arundel and Noah Kaluori. RugbyPass reported in July that the quintet was being targeted with LA28 in mind.
Pollock’s immediate priority remains next year Rugby World Cup in Australia but, speaking during a Q&A on his YouTube channelThe 21-year-old has made no secret of his appeal to follow in the footsteps of Antoine Dupont, who shifted his focus to seven before helping France win Olympic gold on home soil in Paris in 2024.
There is no guarantee, however, that Pollock will even have an Olympic spot to strive for. The British were eliminated from the SVNS main round Bordeaux earlier this year and will be competing in SVNS 2 this season rather than the eight-team top tier.
The qualification process starts this seasonwith four spots available in the 2027 SVNS World Championship standings, six through regional qualifiers and a final playoff spot in June 2028, the United States automatically qualifies as host.
“Obviously we’ve got the World Cup next year, so that’s going to be big. We’re hoping to do really well in that tournament,” Pollock said.
“After that, see how it goes, see how my career goes and just keep enjoying rugby. That’s the most important thing for me, I love playing this game, I love doing this sport.”
When asked about a potential move to seven, he said: “Hopefully, I don’t know how it’s going to work yet. But it’s definitely something I want to do in my career.”
“Seeing what Antoine Dupont did at the last Olympics, it definitely gave me some kind of motivation to play, but I just have to take it one step at a time and hope it all falls into place and happens naturally.
“But it’s definitely something I strive for.”