England Sevens coach Ben Ryan has named a squad packed full of experience for the opening leg of the HSBC World Series.
Eight members of the Dubai title-winning squad called up
England Sevens coach Ben Ryan has named a squad packed full of experience for the opening leg of the HSBC World Series in Australia.
Eight of the 12-man squad were victorious in Dubai 12 months ago - with new signings Rob Vickerman, Chris Brightwell and Nick Royle, plus Marcus Watson brought in for the Gold Coast event on November 25-26.
Vickerman and Brightwell have joined the full-time set-up from Newcastle and Sale respectively, while Royle has been rewarded for his try-scoring exploits in the four FIRA-AER European Grand Prix tournaments.
Former England Under-20 wing Watson is currently contracted to Saracens but he has been freed to take part.
The British Army's Isoa Damudamu also returns to the squad after being sidelined since February through injury, while Ryan has named six players on standby.
Ollie Lindsay-Hague and Christian Lewis-Pratt are currently completing their rehabilitation from injury, while fellow full-timer Simon Hunt, former captain Andy Vilk (Rugby Lions), ex-England U18 wing Sam Edgerley (Esher) and UWIC student Dan Bibby will cover the squad.
Excited
"Selection for the start of the HSBC Sevens World Series has been different because there are three tournaments in a row but it is important to get off to a flying start in Australia and I'm delighted we've been able to pick our best available 12," said Ryan.
"They've all been capped at international sevens level before and they're all used to the twists and turns of the tournaments and the travel involved.
"We've certainly worked very hard off the field - as all our opponents will have done- and we're excited about the start of the series. We're looking forward to playing some entertaining rugby and taking our performance levels forward throughout the season.
"We face some difficult games with our local rivals in our group. We all know how hard they'll be to beat and Tonga have beaten us in Australia in the past too. It's a tough draw but we know what we have to do."
England Sevens: Greg Barden, John Brake, Chris Brightwell, Chris Cracknell, Isoa Damudamu (British Army), Dan Norton, Tom Powell, James Rodwell, Nick Royle, Mathew Turner, Rob Vickerman, Marcus Watson (Saracens).
