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Sport | Fiji

Hayne sets sights on Olympics

New Zealand Sevens legend, Eric Rush believes Jarryd Hayne's surprise transition to Sevens will be somewhat testing. This comes after the former San Francisco 49ers running back was today cleared by World Rugby to play for Fiji in this weekend's London Sevens, if selected.

It's official. The Hayne Plane is set to land, on the biggest stage of World Sevens.

Rush says, “The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence they reckon. Sometimes that green grass is artificial turf.”

Hayne is again in the scope of the sporting world and the media. He's joined the Fijian sevens side in London, in preparation for this weekend's London Sevens tournament.

“All good things must end and I've been given an opportunity to trial out for the Fijian team and I've got a lot of hard work in front of me”, says Hayne.

Hayne's first sojourn for Fiji came at the 2008 Rugby League World Cup, where he was in fine form. He only just renewed his Fijian residency status last Friday.

“Where I am now I need to be a lot further on and I will be, and I've got the most confidence in myself that I'll do the best of my ability and hopefully that's enough for Ben (Ryan) to give me the nod, and if not - so be it”, says Hayne.

However, Fijian coaching staff is not buying into the hype around Hayne. He will have to earn his Olympic spot just like everybody else.

“If someone misses out on the Olympics, it's because he is not as good as Jarryd Hayne is. If Jarryd Hayne misses out on the Olympics, it's because there's someone better in the village than him”, says Fijian Sevens coach Ben Ryan.

Hayne played eight games with one start for the 49ers, in 12 months. His addition to the already top-of-the-table HSBC World Sevens side is a blow to the already weakened All Blacks Sevens.

Rush says, “It's not about any of the other sides at the moment, it's about getting our best team to the tournament.”