When the International Olympic Committee accepted rugby back into its movement in 2009, it immediately provided a variety of nations, whose Olympic medal collection to date has been bare, with a new route to the podium.
Rugby sevens is one sport in which small nations, such as Fiji and Samoa, neither of whom has ever won an Olympic medal, can realistically target gold.
That is if the Olympics were to take place today. It is still five years until sevens makes its bow, at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, and nations previously regarded as rugby also-rans are closing the gap on the established powers.
The likes of Russia, the US and China may be rugby minnows, but they are Olympic behemoths.
Since the 2009 vote, rugby has made its way onto the school curriculum in Russia and China. Meanwhile, US Sevens will earn a slice of their country's Olympic funding pie for the first time when the next four-year cycle starts after the 2012 Games in London.
Even the International Rugby Board (IRB) say the prospect of China, who are ranked 63rd in the world for rugby, challenging for a sevens medal in Brazil would represent a triumph for them.
"Success for us would be having China in the medals in the Olympics, and having Russia and Brazil up there," Mark Egan, the IRB's head of development and performance, said.
Egan cited Kenya's march to the 2009 Rugby World Cup Sevens semi-final in Dubai as a marker of how nations with a minimal rugby pedigree can close the gap on the best in rugby's abridged version.
With the HSBC World Series set to expand from eight tournaments to 10, taking in extra events in Asia and South American, there are plenty who could be about to follow Kenya's lead, he said.
"We are already seeing an explosion in sevens in China," Egan said. "The challenge for us is to help their federation manage that growth, and make sure they put in competition programmes.
"We see countries, such as Portugal and Russia, doing well, and Spain have been getting much stronger over the past two years."
Rugby remains a relatively niche sport in football-dominated Brazil but Egan is sure the sevens event will fill the 26,000-capacity ground for its debut Olympic tournament. "We are very confident the sevens event at the Games will be very popular," he said.
pradley@thenational.ae
The Written World: How Literature Shaped History
Martin Puchner
Granta
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
Abramovich London
A Kensington Palace Gardens house with 15 bedrooms is valued at more than £150 million.
A three-storey penthouse at Chelsea Waterfront bought for £22 million.
Steel company Evraz drops more than 10 per cent in trading after UK officials said it was potentially supplying the Russian military.
Sale of Chelsea Football Club is now impossible.
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
About Takalam
Date started: early 2020
Founders: Khawla Hammad and Inas Abu Shashieh
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech and wellness
Number of staff: 4
Funding to date: Bootstrapped
The Greatest Royal Rumble card as it stands
The Greatest Royal Rumble card as it stands
50-man Royal Rumble - names entered so far include Braun Strowman, Daniel Bryan, Kurt Angle, Big Show, Kane, Chris Jericho, The New Day and Elias
Universal Championship Brock Lesnar (champion) v Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
WWE World Heavyweight ChampionshipAJ Styles (champion) v Shinsuke Nakamura
Intercontinental Championship Seth Rollins (champion) v The Miz v Finn Balor v Samoa Joe
United States Championship Jeff Hardy (champion) v Jinder Mahal
SmackDown Tag Team Championship The Bludgeon Brothers (champions) v The Usos
Raw Tag Team Championship (currently vacant) Cesaro and Sheamus v Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt
Casket match The Undertaker v Chris Jericho
Singles match John Cena v Triple H
Cruiserweight Championship Cedric Alexander v tba
KLOPP%20AT%20LIVERPOOL
%3Cp%3EYears%3A%20October%202015%20-%20June%202024%3Cbr%3ETotal%20games%3A%20491%3Cbr%3EWin%20percentage%3A%2060.9%25%3Cbr%3EMajor%20trophies%3A%206%20(Premier%20League%20x%201%2C%20Champions%20League%20x%201%2C%20FA%20Cup%20x%201%2C%20League%20Cup%20x%202%2C%20Fifa%20Club%20World%20Cup%20x1)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
