Aussies hope to clinch home 7s series March 18, 2010
Australia Sevens captain Patrick McCutcheon is determined to give a career-best performance at the IRB Adelaide 7s after revealing the event on 19-21 March will be the last time he will compete in the IRB Sevens World Series on home soil.
McCutcheon has been rewarded for a brilliant 2009/10 campaign by becoming the latest player from Michael O'Connor's young squad to earn an Investec Bank Super 14 contract.
The Sydney University back rower, who addressed the media at his team's Captain's Run at Adelaide Oval on Wednesday, said he has penned a two-year deal with the NSW Waratahs and is set to join them at the completion of the current Sevens Series.
McCutcheon, 22, follows in the footsteps of former Sevens teammates Luke Morahan and Richard Kingi, who both won Super contracts with the Queensland Reds after excellent performances during the 2008/09 World Series.
The pair also won selection on last year's Qantas Wallabies Spring Tour, joining fellow Sevens graduate James O'Connor who made the leap the season earlier.
McCutcheon credits Rugby Sevens as being an important pathway in his development as a player over the past three years.
McCutcheon: "The Value of Sevens"
"You can't underestimate the value of the Sevens programme," he said.
"You spend a lot of time on the road with the Sevens squad and certainly your game and body adapt to the fitness requirements of the game.
"I feel I've been able to do adapt to both forms of the game and securing a contract with the Waratahs is a great reward for that.
"Shawn Mackay played Sevens for many years and also made it to the Super 14 so I never lost hope that I'd be able to do the same.
"My short term goal at the moment is to finish the season off strongly with the Sevens team, and in particular we're looking for a really strong performance in Adelaide in front of our home fans.
"We're having our best season in quite a while and knowing I may not get the chance to be back again I'm going to make the most of it."
Australia will again be competing in Adelaide in front of Wallaby coach Robbie Deans, who is a strong supporter of the Sevens programme.
"He'll be down here again on Sunday and is still very much in support," said O'Connor.
"He's seen the programme in New Zealand and how successful it's been over there in producing All Blacks.
"You can always put on weight (to covert to 15s from Sevens), it's that running volume, the back-to-back effort and all the things you have to do in a Sevens game: compete at the break-down, make tackles, make decisions under fatigue, they are the things that are really helpful to 15s players.
"15s players do need a different body shape but it's pretty easy to put weight on it they want to go back to 15s."
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