DAN Norton is concerned England Sevens may not be around for long after he was denied a contract extension due to a lack of funding and was forced into retirement last weekend.
The 34-year-old speedster bowed out at the end of the event in Vancouver last Sunday as the all-time leading try scorer in the World Series with 358 – 79 ahead of his closest challenger Collins Injera from Kenya.
After his last game – England's 19-12 victory over Kenya – Norton said: “I've loved every minute of it but it's time to hang up the boots.”
Norton later revealed to The Rugby Paper the real reason for his retirement was that he wasn't given a contract after the RFU made a U-turn on a previous offer.
Norton said: “The true answer is I wasn't given a contract by the RFU, they've cut a lot of their funding which is frustrating. Financially it wasn't viable to continue playing unfortunately, which is why I called it a day.
“It's a conversation I've been having with the England guys for a number of months. During the Olympics I was told I wasn't being given a shortterm contract, so I was happy to hang up my boots then. I felt I was still able to support in some role and that's how the conversation of coming back into the picture came into play in October time.
“Unfortunately, my little one hasn't been well and was is in hospital, so I wasn't able to accept a contract on first look but since then things have changed.
I've tried to come back into the fold but they couldn't offer a contract because they'd cut the funding.
What they initially thought they could do, they couldn't do in the end.”
Norton is critical of the the RFU for taking a shortterm view on the game and believes a lack of planning has caused England to underperform in recent years.
He said: “When I was involved in 7s I didn't feel that we got a fair opportunity against some of our peers and other teams.
That's down to the politics and the finances, and that's a contributing factor when you're trying to run a programme for males and females that leads to exposure in the sport.
“If you're not there to build a good long-term programme then you're never going to be able to bare the fruits long-term as well.
There's always a shortterm view, a year to year look rather than having a long-term plan.
“There should be more onus around on the longterm. All the unions should work together, whether that be through GB or the young guys coming through.”
England are currently eighth in this season's standings after disappointing 13th and seventh place finishes in their last two tournaments.
Norton worries if there will still be an England 7s team in years to come.
He said: “England's recent 7s performances have been up and down.
It's been frustrating for all involved in the essence of how the programme was thrown together after GB finished in December in Dubai, and then having just a handful of weeks to put together a squad and not being able to get all the players they would have liked.
“The support from the RFU isn't as much as before which is frustrating to see from someone who has seen the rise of the programme to where it is now. The players are still fully committed and they're all young guys with an incredible opportunity to play in amazing tournaments like the Olympics and Commonwealth Games, as well as playing on the World Series.
“I hope that there will still be an England team involved in the same capacity in the next couple years but if I'm honest, I don't think that's going to happen. I hope I'm wrong.”
Gloucester-born Norton made his England debut in 2009 and appeared in 91 competitions.
He was part of the Great Britain side that won Olympic silver at the 2016 Rio Games and also represented Team GB at last summer's delayed Tokyo Olympics.
Norton describes the Olympics as the highlight of his career.
“It was one of the best times I've ever had,” he said. “To be able to share it with my dad, who got me involved in the sport and to come away with a medal is one amazing memory.
“When it was announced the sport was going to the Olympics in 2010, it was a huge opportunity for me. Beforehand when I played rugby, nobody noticed me too much but then you go and play in the Olympics and it's on primetime on BBC, suddenly my neighbours wanted to speak to me about it and see my medal. It's special it's shared with more than just rugby fans.”
The winger became the World Series all-time top try scorer when he touched down against South Korea in the Hong Kong Sevens in 2017 and Norton is immensely proud of the landmark.
He said: “It's a far cry from where I am sat in the garden now, but it was an amazing time. I love having my name at the top and it would be quite nice if I could stay there for a long time, show the kids and continue to have the bragging rights.”
