Remote control bus unexpected hit of the Olympic Sevens

It has proved the surprise hit of the Olympic Sevens competition on day one of action – an automated bus that drives on the Tokyo Stadium pitch to deliver the match ball, propelling it over some rugby posts on the side of the mini bus.

Related: Olympic Men’s Sevens – updates

Check this out.

Regular viewers of the Sevens World Series will have seen remote control cars delivering match balls to the field before, but nothing like this Tokyo 2020 special. Of course, things don’t always go completely to plan.

However, the novelty factor was enough to get viewers excited. Including one of our very own staff members.

Do you agree with Victoria above the the “little car bringing the (ball) onto the pitch for the 7s games id the best part of the Olympics thus far”?

Steve McCaskill also tweeted: “Fans of tiny cars delivering balls to sporting events, rejoice. The #Olympics Rugby 7s has you covered.”

No doubt this will go on well into the medal matches, so the tiny automated bus with the flashing green lights and the over-the-posts rugby ball catapult will get more screen time over the coming days. A novelty? For sure, but this is sevens rugby: it’s all about the spectacle and the sense of fun. We wonder if the Tokyo 2020 mini bus can deliver the medals at the end, too? Maybe that would be a bit too much…

Either way, it brings new meaning to the phrase ‘Fun Bus’!

What do you make of the tiny automated bus? Let us know your thoughts via email on rugbyworldletters@futurenet.com or via our social media channels.

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