Paris dreams: Trio on sevens radar, but they reveal why Brumbies come first

Tom Wright, Ben O'Donnell and Corey Toole are among players who have been earmarked as potential Olympians pending Super Rugby results and Wallabies selection.

It adds another incentive to the run to the play-offs over the next three weeks as the Brumbies chase a top-two spot to boost their hopes of securing a drought-breaking title.

Wright, the only member of the Brumbies' back line to play every game this season, and O'Donnell, who has just returned from a major knee injury, brushed aside Olympic talk to focus on the Brumbies on Tuesday.

They said the lure of a gold medal had taken a back seat until the Brumbies had completed their championship mission and were unfazed by the Olympic speculation.

O'Donnell and Toole are former sevens stars who made the transition to the Brumbies last year, while Wright hasn't played the abbreviated format since school.

Any sevens decisions will be made after the Super Rugby season and after new Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt picks his squads.

"[The Olympics] is there in the back of your head. The [Australian sevens team] is doing really well at the moment, John Manenti is running a good program," O'Donnell said.

"There is a short list of players who have been in contact with the sevens ... but our focus is completely on the Brumbies. Hopefully we win the comp and I don't even need to worry about it.

"The last time I did my knee was just before the Tokyo [Olympics in 2021], so I was ruled out of that. So [this time] would be a little revenge Olympics."

Paris selection decisions won't be made until after the Super Rugby season and after new Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt selects his squad. Players hoping to go to Paris need to play at least one lead-up tournament to qualify.

Former Wallabies skipper Michael Hooper is already in the sevens squad after stepping back from Super Rugby and Test duty to test himself in a new challenge this year, while Toole is a former rookie of the year on the sevens circuit.

Wright hasn't played sevens since schoolboys where he was, coincidentally, a teammate of O'Donnell's at the Clovelly Eagles.

"I haven't heard too much about it. Maybe some guys are eyeing it off more than others," Wright said of the sevens shortlist.

The Brumbies have bigger things to play for, and bigger headaches to deal with, as they eye the last three games of the regular season and launching a charge into the finals.

They sit third on the ladder and face the Canterbury Crusaders this week, who pose a dangerous threat despite winning just two games this year.

Coach Stephen Larkham has plenty to mull over before naming his team on Wednesday. O'Donnell is itching for more game time after missing the past 12 months after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament.

Toole is back in selection contention this week after overcoming an ankle problem, and James Slipper and Billy Pollard are set to bolster the front-row stocks.

"I think [Larkham] and the coaches have the toughest job at the moment in picking the teams," O'Donnell said.

"We've only got one or two injured players at the moment, so when you're fighting for spots every week, just competing against each other, it's improving the quality of all the boys out there who are getting picked."

O'Donnell and Toole are competing with Ollie Sapsford and Andy Muirhead for starting wing spots.

Larkham has rotated his back-line weapons either due to injuries, or the need to spread game time, with Wright the only one to play all nine games.

"The depth we've got is a blessing, but these are the rounds now where it does get a little bit sad because someone misses out, and that's the reality," Wright said.

"In my time here since 2019, the guys who miss out are upset but they never drop their lip and drag the rest of the group down. It's disappointing, but [the mentality] turns to what am I going to do to get back in the team.

"I've been in that position, too. And you've got to learn the hard way that good teams, which for a long period now we've been, that's built on that sort of stuff."

The Brumbies will be trying to beat the Crusaders for the first time since 2009 when the teams meet on Saturday afternoon.

Snapping the losing streak would be a fitting way to celebrate the Brumbies' 20^th anniversary of the grand final win against the Crusaders in 2004.

The bulk of the players from 2004 will be in attendance for the game.

That group of Brumbies were the last to taste Super Rugby success for the club, but Wright says the new generation is driven to create fresh history.

"Obviously it's a special part [of the club]. They're on the walls everywhere and they're some of the most players from Australia, not just the Brumbies," Wright said.

"The opportunity to connect to them, and pay homage with the jersey we're wearing ... it's awesome because they laid the foundations.

"I saw Darcy [Swain] talking about it the other week and it sort of lights a fire when someone speaks quite realistically [about winning a title].

"That's what we're chasing. We all want to leave our marks on the place here."