The speed of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series is such that it seems we have only just arrived back from Sydney and are now readying ourselves for the rounds in Las Vegas and Vancouver.

The USA Sevens has been kind to Argentine rugby as this tournament is where we have won our only two Cup titles in series history.

In 2004 I sat out the final in Los Angeles as I had a head knock in the opening round, and in 2009, in San Diego, I was fortunate to enjoy it on the field. We have to add Las Vegas to that list!

It is very nice to dream a tournament and then prepare for it, more so in the USA where we have already enjoyed success. 

Yet we can’t forget what we are currently looking for, being down-to-earth and understanding we are currently eighth in the standings after four of the 10 rounds. To be in a position to win many things have to happen but in all honesty, the goal is another one.

Following the Olympic cycle

Of course we want to win tournaments and Vegas is a great tournament, as is Vancouver, but we are looking at different things having set our plans to fit the Olympic cycles.

As we are aiming to find sevens players that can fit our system, we want to strengthen a squad. We want to look at and develop players this season so that from the next one, with a set squad, we can work on continuity of selection and of a team.

In doing this, from that second year we have mayor competitions such as Rugby World Cup Sevens in San Francisco, then the Pan American Games in Lima, Peru, and the qualifying run to Tokyo 2020.

Needless to say, the biggest of all goals is to play again in the Olympic Games.

Last season we worked on details, wanting to reach finals and get the wins. This is a hard season because it demands a big mental change, focusing on individual and team development.

Obviously, the experience we have been picking up since being in the job helps us to not make the same mistakes. As hard as it is, we have to avoid being score-driven and work to find the best players for our game plan. This will allow us to be competitive in the remaining years of the cycle.

Developing players is key

Even if we say this isn’t a competitive season, we want to finish in the top eight in each of the tournaments we play in.

Fortunately, we have managed to keep our core with Gastón Revol, Franco Sábato and the return of Javier Rojas, who was injured at the Olympic Games. Their experience is key to our team.

Sevens has its own life, more so being an Olympic sport, but we also know that the big goal of every one of our players is to play for Los Pumas and we have no intention of stopping them chasing their dream.

We have lost players along the way, but when we started the process rules were very clear. It means developing more and more players with a game plan that is easily understood if we need to include new players.

If a player stands out and the 15s coaches need him, we let him go satisfied in the knowledge that we’ve assisted in his career. We really enjoy it when one of our players gets promoted to the 15s programme.