The England Sevens squad, announced by coach Mike Friday today, is looking forward to an exciting season in which they will be aiming to wrestle the IRB Sevens crown from New Zealand for the first time, but also secure gold at the Commonwealth Games in March.
Friday has named two squads - a core squad of nine players who are available to play in all eight IRB Sevens tournaments and to be put forward for selection for the Commonwealth Games, and a wider squad of 29 players who are available to play in a minimum of four tournaments during the season.
The core squad includes the current IRB Sevens Player of the Year Simon Amor, who has captained the side for the last three years. The squad has the experience of Tony Roques, who moved from London Irish to Exeter Chiefs this summer, and Ben Gollings who is currently playing for Sunnybank in Australia. Also in the core squad are several players who made their England Sevens debuts last season and have impressed with their ability to step up and perform on the international stage.
James Bailey and Will Matthews, both of Gloucester, and Andy Vilk of Northampton Saints all earned their first caps last season and Mike Friday believes they are exciting youngsters to watch for the future, "We blooded a lot of young new players last season and I was very impressed at how they handled the pressure of playing international sevens. Not only are they having to cope with playing in front of often the biggest and sometimes, in the case of Wellington, most hostile crowds they have ever faced, but they are playing against some of the world's best players. These youngsters are very talented, and I am excited about watching them develop further in what is a very special sevens season."
18 year old Danny Care, who has played England Under 19s, is the only uncapped player in the core squad and has impressed Mike Friday while playing for his club Leeds Tykes. Care is also a member of the Junior National Academy - one of 18 players selected by National Academy Coach Brian Ashton. Friday said, "Danny burst onto the scene via the JNA and has an immense amount of potential. He is a great footballer and very exciting to watch. We feel that he will benefit from being involved in the intense environment of the sevens. Not only will he learn more about life on the pitch and whats expected of him as a player, but by being in unfamiliar environments we will see how he copes mentally off the pitch as well."
The wider squad is a combination of England Sevens regulars, including Leicester Tigers' Danny Hipkiss, James Brooks of London Wasps and Ugo Monye of NEC Harlequins, and young players who Friday believes will benefit from being involved in the England Sevens squad, including Thom Evans from London Wasps and Anthony Allen from Gloucester, both of whom were impressive at this year's Compass Middlesex Sevens.
England Sevens Core Squad:
Simon Amor, Gloucester
James Bailey, Gloucester
Danny Care, Leeds Tykes
Will Matthews, Gloucester
Anthony Roques, Exeter Chiefs
Ben Russell, Saracens
Mathew Tait, Newcastle Falcons
Andy Vilk, Northampton Saints
Ben Gollings, Sunnybank (Australia)
England Sevens Wider Squad:
Bath: Nick Abendanon; Chris Goodman
Bristol: Danny Gray; Sean Marsden
Gloucester: Anthony Allen*; Luke Narroway, Henry Paul*
Leeds Tykes: Rob Vickerman; Simon Worrell
Leicester Tigers: Dan Hipkiss; Tom Varndell; Tom Youngs
London Irish: Ross Laidlaw; Nils Mordt
London Wasps: James Brooks; Thom Evans
NEC Harlequins: Ugo Monye
Newcastle Falcons: Ollie Phillips; Ed Williamson
Northampton Saints: Mark Easter; Ben Lewitt; Neil Starling
Rotherham: David Strettle
Sale Sharks: Ben Foden; Magnus Lund*
Saracens: Richard Haughton*; David Seymour
Worcester Warriors: Chris Hallam; Jon Hylton
* EPS Sevens players
IRB Sevens 2005/06:
1st & 2nd December - Dubai
9th & 10th December - George
3rd & 4th February - Wellington
11th & 12th February - Los Angeles
31st March, 1st & 2nd April - Hong Kong
8th & 9th April - Singapore (TBC)
27th & 28th May - Paris (TBC)
3rd & 4th June - Twickenham
16th & 17th March - Commonwealth Games, Melbourne