US sevens outfit feels the pinch

Ask US national rugby sevens head coach Mike Friday how he feels to be in charge of a nascent sporting superpower, and he winces.

While the United States is seen by some as the key to driving global growth in the Olympic sport, and ultimately unlocking the Chinese market, Friday has more immediate concerns.

"Currently our squad live on the poverty line," the Briton, a former 15s player with Wasps and Harlequins, said ahead of the yearly HSBC London Sevens event at Twickenham.

The London event, the last on the World Rugby Sevens Series calender, started yesterday.

"You wouldn't have thought an international rugby athlete should be living on the poverty line, but that's where we are at the moment.

"I'm not talking about earning what they earn in the NFL [National Football League], I'm talking about being able to take your wife out for a meal or taking your kids for ice cream."

Figures released by the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series this week trumpeted strong growth on the back of the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games, with projected total attendances up 7% last year.

They showed an estimated 18.6million new rugby fans in six markets, with participation levels revealing an 8% increase on 2015 levels.

Sevens had a social media reach of 120million.