I love rugby but have no vote, says Rogge

Rugby's chances of making the 2016 Olympics will not benefit from the fact that Games' chief Jacques Rogge was once an openside flanker for Belgium. "I never found the joy in sailing that I did in rugby," Rogge, who competed in sailing at three...

Rugby's chances of making the 2016 Olympics will not benefit from the fact that Games' chief Jacques Rogge was once an openside flanker for Belgium.

"I never found the joy in sailing that I did in rugby," Rogge, who competed in sailing at three Olympics, told reporters yesterday.

"My love for rugby is intact, I have a lot of sympathy but I do not vote."

Rugby sevens, an abbreviated version of the traditional 15-man game, and six other sports - golf, karate, roller sports, squash, baseball and softball - are all lobbying to be one of two sports added to the programme at the 2016 Olympics.

The 2012 Games in London will have 26 sports, which will be expanded four years later to the maximum cap of 28.

Each of the sports are making the trek to the South Island resort town of Queenstown, New Zealand for the Oceania National Olympic Committee General Assembly, which begins today.

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