Snippets from Scotland flyer Sofolarin
We sat down with Scotland 7s’ Femi Sofolarin to ask him seven quickfire questions as he prepares for the HSBC World Sevens Series event in London this weekend.
Who was your rugby icon growing up? Jason Robinson for sure. Growing up, he was always one of the quickest guys and I just wanted to do what he did! I’d watch clips and videos of him before school games and he’s got Scottish descent as well so yeah, I’ve always been inspired by him.
What’s your favourite sport outside of rugby? That would be football, or hockey. I was hockey captain at school and got to South East England trials for that. I always loved football – I’m a big Manchester United fan – and I was in the Crystal Palace academy for a while and played with [Arsenal’s] Emile Smith Rowe who’s going great.
You’re quite rapid; what sort of times have you achieved in sprinting? The last time I ran 100m would have been at school as an 18-year-old. That was officially timed at 11.2 seconds but the quickest I’ve been hand-timed was 10.8. I trained in athletics a bit back then and was in the same training squad as Dina Asher-Smith at Blackheath and Bromley Harriers under John Blackie, and it’s been cool to see her do so well.
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Femi is competing in his seventh HSBC World Sevens Series event this weekend, having made his debut in 2019 in Dubai.
If you could take one player from another HSBC World Sevens Series squad to play for Scotland, who would you opt for? I’d have to say Maurice Longbottom [Australia 7s]. He’s had me running around in circles quite a few times and he’s one of these guys who, when he’s running at you, you have no idea what he’s about to do!
Do you have a favourite location on the circuit? I’ve never played in Hong Kong but I went as a fan and experienced it from the crowd, so a real goal is to actually play there. In terms of locations I’ve played then I’d say Cape Town. They’re just rugby mad and the stadium is always packed out. You also get to do some community work in townships in South Africa and that makes it really special too.
Give us an insight into what music you play on a 7s weekend? I’m a big fan of Disney songs and often play them on the bus or in the gym… ‘You’re Welcome’ from Moana is a squad favourite and songs from the High School Musical are a personal favourite!
Finally, you dyed your hair blue in Singapore; what made you do that? Well, Ross McCann has dyed his pink for his fantastic charity pledge and he essentially dared me to do it after I suggested I could do mine blue, I had to do it for my own pride. It came off straight after the tournament!
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Blues Brothers: Femi embraces Jamie Farndale complete with his temporary look up top.
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