Olympic-rugby.org will bring you a series of expert opinions on our favourite topic. Today we caught up with Tim Lacey, the founder of Ultimate Rugby Sevens, a pioneering entity set up to serve and promote every level of Sevens rugby worldwide.

Tim who signed the petition at number 37590 and his team run UR7s.com – the online home ‘for everything 7s’ and of course have been flying rugby’s Olympic flag.

olympic-rugby.org: Tim, thanks for taking the time. Let's get straight into it: How good do you think the chances are rugby will convince the Olympic decision makers? The bookies odds apparently are 4:1.

Tim Lacey: Listening to speculation, rumours and what’s being said in the press, it sounds like rugby has a decent chance of inclusion. Credit must go to the IRB, who have put a huge amount of effort into making a powerful case, but it’s up to the rest of us now to hammer the message home.

It seems that everyone who is familiar with Sevens thinks it should be a no-brainer for the Olympics. Anyone who has ever been to a Sevens tournament knows exactly what an amazing addition it would be to the Games and will argue its case compellingly and passionately.

The biggest challenge we face, however, is that many voting IOC members have never been to a Sevens tournament. If all 108 voting members had been to an IRB Sevens World Series tournament at least once in their life, I would say with some confidence that Rugby Sevens would have a 99% chance of Olympic inclusion.

Of course it’s too late for that to happen now, which is why we all need to make as much noise about it as possible. Together, the world rugby community needs to make our case heard by all voting members, which is exactly where initiatives such as Olympic-Rugby.org can make a difference.

OR: We couldn't agree more. Where do you see rugby in say 2020, should it get included in the 2016 Olympics? How will things change?

TL: Great question. For starters there are two things I’m pretty sure of: firstly, that the 2020 Olympic podium will throw a few surprises to today’s rugby fan and, secondly, that Sevens will be the most watched non-track Olympic sport.

In short, the Sevens landscape would be transformed. Beyond a whole new level of exposure, we would see shifts in the balance of power, an accelerated emergence of developing rugby nations and of the women’s game, as well as huge advances in the way the game is played.

We have already seen the emergence of Kenya as a contender on the international circuit and we may now be seeing the early days of Russia’s ascent – something that the sport’s Olympic status will only be a catalyst for.

But for me, the biggest Sevens sleeping giant is the USA. Our World Tournament Calendar illustrates just how many 7s events there already are in North America and I would predict Olympic inclusion to catapult the sport firmly into the psyche of the American sports fan.

Another one I’ll be keeping an eye on is Nigeria, whose athletes are made for Sevens and have already made huge impacts on the international circuit, albeit for other countries.

As for the 15-man game, beyond seeing far greater exposure, I can’t see it changing significantly as a result of the Olympics. The popularity of the sport would certainly see growth in developing nations, but it will continue to be dominated by the traditional rugby powerhouses for a long time to come.

OR: What is your take on the UK team / British and Irish Lions for the Olympics issue?

TL: A mouth-watering prospect. There’s no issue in my mind. Just look at the British and Irish Lions and what a special entity that is. The unique prospect of four highly partisan groups of rugby supporters coming together behind one team is what is most special about the Lions. To take that to an Olympics would be awesome for the Games.

As with the Lions, a GB Sevens team would provoke a huge amount of passionate and, of course, informed debate across the UK. We currently have a great discussion on our forum around who would make the 2009 British Lions 7s team – no doubt this would be one of the great pub rugby topics of the next 7 years.

OR: Finally, on a personal note. With Rio de Janeiro, Madrid, Tokyo and Chicago bidding to host 2016, which of the cities would you most like to travel to, to watch Olympic rugby and why?

That’s a real toughie. Tokyo would be amazing, but we’ll all be heading there for RWC 2019 anyway. Chicago would probably have the greatest impact on the sport, for the reasons given above and how it will be showcased in all its glory the heart of the US of A. Madrid is such a beautiful city. But can you imagine the party atmosphere – such a massive element of the Sevens occasion – that Rio would provide? Another mouth-watering prospect, to say the least..!

OR: Great stuff! Come October's IOC decisions we'll definitely know where to book our tickets to. Thanks and see you at the Games!

If you have a comment join the discussion on Facebook - here