HE has played in a Rugby World Cup in a career that has brought him 20 full international caps, but Richie Vernon still reckons he is facing one of the most exciting experiences of his career when he takes to the field at Ibrox for the Commonwealth Games sevens, an event where he can prove the day of the rugby all-rounder has arrived.
He is the perfect case study. A back row since he emerged from school, he is proving with Glasgow Warriors that the skills he learned there can be transferred to the three-quarter line as part of the project to convert him into a centre.
He came through the sevens network years ago but has been concentrating on 15s for five years before switching back; a demonstration that the demands of the more crowded form of the sport can benefit sevens while the skills and decision-making under pressure that are core to sevens are also vital in 15s.
With rugby sevens about to become part of the Olympic movement, Vernon could also become an answer to a question that is increasingly going to occupy the minds of leading players and the coaches who will have to decide whether to pick them for potential stardom in Rio de Janeiro in two years: do you really need specialists or is a top player just that regardless of how many people there are on the field?
"As a player, this is a great sport to be involved with at this level," he says. "In those big, open spaces all your skills are tested to the max. It has been really enjoyable, and I'm confident I'll go back to Glasgow for the new season a better player and a better centre for the experience."
Which is really the point. If hookers and back-rows can be swapped round; the same for back-rows and centres; ditto for centres and wings, then you are looking only about half-a-dozen specialists in any XV. The rest are simply the best players you can find slotted into shirts and numbers that mean nothing once the game breaks up. If that is the case in 15-a-side, it is doubly true of sevens.
Which is why it is the approach Scotland have taken to the Commonwealth Games sevens with Vernon being joined by Sean Lamont and Stuart Hogg from the national 15s camp while James Eddie, Roddy Grant, Lee Jones and Mark Bennett have all been plying their trade in club 15s in Glasgow and Edinburgh before being drafted into the sevens squad.
It is not hard to see why Vernon is so excited by the result. There is another opportunity to play in front of a passionate home support, the unique chance to feature in a major global sporting event and the squad have taken a good look at each other and are confident they have the ability to make history.
The last one is the key. Vernon represents among the players the conviction that this is the strongest and most competitive squad Scotland have managed to assemble for a major tournament in recent years and as a result, medals are on the cards. With a decent run of fortune they can even dream of reaching the final to play for gold or silver. "There's always pressure being the home nation and we don't shy away from that," he said.
"We're confident if we play to the best of our ability there's a great chance to do well. We have a lot of experience in our ranks; Sean Lamont has 87 caps for Scotland and it's great to have players like that to turn to, as they have played in such huge occasions in the past.
"In the grand scheme of things, we've got a short period of time to gel, but the spine of the squad has been together for a couple of years now. If we gel and get used to the structures that will make the difference. If we make ourselves hard to beat then hopefully we have the quality in other areas that can give us an edge.
"I'm not worried about the colour of medal but a medalling is certainly something I dream about. We'd be happy with any sort of medal but if we can hit the heights of which we're capable, and with the support of a home crowd, anything is possible. This is one of the strongest sevens squads we've assembled."
That is despite their first fixture being against New Zealand who have won every Commonwealth Games sevens tournament since it was introduced to the Games; they are the reigning World Series champions and represent a country Scotland have never beaten at rugby at any level.
"We have confidence that if we go out and do well we have as good a chance as anyone we come up against, starting with New Zealand," Vernon added. "The All Blacks are always a great challenge. Some people don't like to be reminded of the fact we've never beaten them but the thought of taking on one of the form sevens teams in the world only inspires me. Someone has to break that run without a victory at some point - why not us?"
Add the excitement of being part of the overall sporting jamboree - "I've been part of sevens and Scotland national rugby squads before but the involvement with the Commonwealth Games lets you know you're part of something bigger," he says - and it is not hard to see why anticipation is running so high.
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