The idea of a Great Britain squad to replace England, Scotland and Wales in the HSBC World Sevens Series is an exciting prospect for some – including the likes of former Fiji and England coach Ben Ryan.

However, it is hard to see the Welsh and Scots readily giving up their development programmes to become part of a unified team.

Ryan told planet7s during the Hong Kong Sevens that from a performance perspective, only a Great Britain team are capable of winning the series while also providing a strong foundation for potential Olympic glory.

For Wales and Scotland, however, the sevens programme appears to be merely a pathway for their national 15s team with a hint of resignation that winning any of the 10 tournaments on the annual circuit is beyond them.