Premiership clubs are missing out on a gold-mine of talent in sevens, according to Olympic gold-medal winning coach Ben Ryan.

Rugby’s short-form mavericks have descended on Hong Kong this weekend for the maddest leg of the HSBC Sevens World Series.

And Ryan, the most well-respected mind in sevens, the man who coached England for six years before leading Fiji to their first ever Olympic title in 2016, thinks club scouts should be in town too.

Ben Ryan reckons there should be more cross-over between union’s two forms

‘I see a dozen players playing this weekend that could be playing Premiership rugby, given the right preparation,’ said the 46-year-old.

‘And then a half or a third of those would be pushing for top Test honours.

‘There are some permit issues, so you often need Test caps which a lot of them do. I used to occasionally see one or two Premiership scouts come across – Dusty Hare used to when he was at Leicester – but he was about the only one.

‘I am not saying there are hundreds of them, but there are some that are far better than lots of Premiership squad players.

‘Perhaps their knowledge isn’t as great of sevens, but if they came they would pick up some bargains.’

And Ryan reckons there should be more cross-over between union’s two forms – but still believes sevens players are some of the most incredible athletes in the world.

The former Fiji and England coach thinks Premiership scouts should be at tournament

‘Sonny Bill Williams before the Olympics said that he could deal with the games and the fitness, but warming down and warming up six times in two days was what got him.

‘He just could not do it – he felt wrecked after that. That is something you get used to feeling, like you have been hit by a car, and getting on with it and knowing what to do.

‘I don’t subscribe to the fact that we have almost got two different games and it is impossible to move across.

‘I think it requires intelligent preparation and planning for those players to go to XVs. I think it is very easy for a sevens player to go to XVs.

Rugby’s short-form mavericks have descended on Hong Kong this weekend

‘A classic example was the Barbarians v All Blacks game recently – the South African Kwagga Smith was man of the match. He had come straight from sevens into a back-row position that any coach would tell you is a pretty technical position to be in.

‘He has gone in and smashed it against the best team in the world.

‘So I think to deride sevens players and to see them as second-class citizens is unfair and lacks anything behind it.

‘The only reason people say that is salaries are higher in XVs so better players will go there – it does not mean you have bad players in sevens, they might have missed the system or been picked up late.

South African Kwagga Smith is one of the players who has successfully made the transition

‘Nick Malouf was an alright player in sevens and went straight into Leicester Tigers’ first team and does a job on the wing. He is doing pretty well. That was a decent, not a world-class sevens player.’

Brian O’Driscoll is equally amazed with the ability – mental and physical – of sevens players.

‘It is that really horrible tranche of getting yourself into a massive place of discomfort and working hard there,’ said the Ireland and Lions legend.

‘That takes a lot of mental strength. Physiologically you need to be very well conditioned and the body needs to be able to do it but so much of it is mind over matter – you become very mentally tough.

‘How much games change in the last minute or two is incredible. When fatigue sets in it is about who can tough it out.

‘It is really interesting – who can still deliver when the chips are down, when you need a score? Who is the one that will step up and create for your team.

‘It is not just running, it is throwing good passes, making good quality decisions, to see an opportunity; it is that that differentiates the really top players from everyone else.’

Ryan also bemoaned the fact that many teams have not brought their best squad to Hong Kong – traditionally the annual highlight of the circuit – instead preferring to target the Commonwealth Games tournament, which is played next weekend.

‘It is a shame so many teams have gone half-hearted into Hong Kong,’ he added.

‘I know I am not directly coaching so it is easier for me to say, but almost all of them are admitting that they are not as strong in week two. If you look at your programmes you know you play back to back tournaments, so you need to perhaps look at how your prepare your athletes.

‘For me winning Hong Kong is more important than a Commonwealth Games medal. There is no Commonwealth any more, part one, and we have the Olympic Games which supersedes that.

‘The series has got so much better of the last few years, so lots of the legs are better than the Commonwealth Games.

‘We also have good emerging teams like USA and France who are not in the Commonwealth Games, so you are not playing the best of the best.

‘I remember in Delhi in 2010 when I was coaching England we lost to New Zealand in the semi-final – they had Zac Guilford, Hosea Gear, Ben Smith, Liam Messam all in that team, and they had all come in from the All Blacks because they saw that as a development opportunity.

‘Now it is the Olympics, they won’t come in for the Commonwealth Games. It has dropped in so many levels I am surprised teams haven’t gone like Fiji have – they are going hard for both.

‘I hope the teams that have gone full-bore, like Fiji, Scotland, Canada are the ones that do really well in the Commonwealths.’

As a long-term supporter of Rugby Sevens, HSBC is committed to working alongside World Rugby to achieve their shared goal of growing the sport worldwide. The creation of the film ‘The Mind’ is the latest attempts by Series partner HSBC to reach new fans all over the world by highlighting the incredible athletes and stories only found in this unique sport. You can view the film here: https://youtu.be/Tnr-t7JKQ9A