The great players seize their opportunity.
Bond University alumnus Hayden Sargeant’s selection in the Australian Rugby 7s side for the Paris Olympics is proof of that.
A little over a year ago Sargeant was a bolter on the Aussie tour of LA after being a late injury cover call-up out of the Bull Sharks premier rugby 15 side, as a cover call-up into to the national squad.
He set off with little expectations of getting a game, but he had a plan to learn as much as he could and impress the coaches with his efforts on the training track.
When he got called into the side for the tournament opener against Kenya, he was determined to take his chance.
His performances convinced Rugby Australia to offer him a full-time contract and he was on the field at Twickenham in May last year when the Aussies qualified for the games.
Still, in sport the rule of thumb with selection is often last in, first out and Sargeant has had to make every post a winner in the World Rugby 7s series over the past 12 months, especially with the potential of Super Rugby players making themselves available for Olympic selection.
The playmaker became such an integral part of the side the selectors had no hesitation in handing him the oversized airline ticket when the squad was announced on Wednesday.
“I’m quite speechless,” he said.
“Being proud to make the team is the easy way to express my wave of emotions at the moment.
“I think that sums it all up.’’
Sargeant will be one of four Bull Sharks representing Australia on the rugby pitch in Paris from July 24-30.
The others include one of Bond’s most formidable duos, sister act Maddison and Teagan Levi, who will be taking their sister act to the Olympic stage.
The pair aided their teammates to win the world 7s series in Madrid last month, with Maddi being the one to push them over the winning edge with three tries in the second half of their final against New Zealand.
With 150 tries in her career so far and 69 this season alone, Maddi Levi is considered one of the most dangerous players in the world.
Gold Commonwealth Game medals sit on the sisters’ dressers at home, but the new room decor they are chasing is that featuring an Olympic gold medal.
“We are definitely going for a gold medal,” Teagan said.
“We’ve been doing all the hard work at training, on and off the field, physically and mentally.
“We’ve definitely got the team to get the job done.”
Captain of the women’s team and Rio gold medallist Charlotte Caslick was a foundation member of the Bull Sharks 7s program.
Australia’s women’s team will be in pool B for the Olympic tournament, against Ireland, Great Britain and South Africa.
The green and gold men are also in pool B, alongside Argentina, Samoa and Kenya.