England Men Sevens squad named for Malaga

Jan 17 • General News, International, Sevens Rugby, Sevens World Series • 1027 Views • Comments Off on England Men Sevens squad named for Malaga

England men’s Sevens head coach Tony Roques has named his squad for the forthcoming Malaga Sevens (21-23 January, broadcast live on
www.world.rugby).

Drawn in Pool A, England take on Fiji, Scotland and Dubai winners South Africa in Spain where Malaga will host the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series for the first time.

The squad is formed from a mix of Premiership, university and core contracted sevens players as the England Sevens programme relaunches in 2022.

2021 Olympian and 2018 Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Alex Davis is named as captain for the upcoming season while Tom Bowen is set to earn his 50th cap for England having reached the World Series milestone with GB Sevens last year.

In exciting new partnerships Joe Browning (Leicester Tigers) and Harlequins duo Hayden Hyde and Will Trenholm are selected for their England Sevens debuts.

Ed Coulson and Will Homer have been awarded core contract status, and join fellow contracted players Jamie Adamson, Jamie Barden, Max Clementson and Freddie Roddick.

Also named are Blake Boyland, Calum Randle, who impressed head coach Roques at recent camp opportunities

Roques said: “This is a new team with a lot of young players. We’ve got 10 players making their debut in an England Sevens shirt which is an exciting opportunity for this group to perform on the World Series.

“We’d like to thank wider stakeholders who have shown support and collaboration to give players the chance to show what they can do in this environment and hopefully develop them as people and players.

“The links with Premiership clubs, national league clubs and universities is a really positive step forward. These players, combined with the experience of some of the core group have formed a really exciting group in the last few weeks and come together in such a positive way in a short period of time.”

On Alex Davis becoming England Sevens captain, Roques added: “Alex Davis has been on an amazing journey, overcome so much, played in the Olympics and now is captain of England Sevens.

“I’d also like to congratulate Tom Bowen on his 50th England cap. It’s a huge achievement and one we’re looking forward to marking with him.

“We’re really looking forward to getting out to Spain and beginning this new journey as England Sevens.”

Davis said: “First of all I’d like to congratulate all of our new caps who will be representing England for the first time. I remember the feeling very well and so I hope they’re proud of their achievement.

“I’m honoured to have been asked by Rocky (Tony Roques) to captain the side.

“Having been involved in a strong sevens programme prior to the pandemic, it’s apparent to us that starting new will have its challenges but we’re aiming to create a great environment that allows everyone to thrive at every opportunity.

“We’re really excited to play in Spain and enjoy ourselves on and off the pitch.”

England Men 7s squad for Malaga

Jamie Adamson*
Jamie Barden
Blake Boyland*
Tom Bowen
Joe Browning*
Max Clementson*
Ed Coulson*
Alex Davis (C)
Will Homer*
Hayden Hyde*
Calum Randle*
Freddie Roddick*
Will Trenholm*

*Denotes England Sevens World Series debut

Pool A schedule

Friday 21 January
England 7s v Fiji 7s – 12.50 local time/11.50 UK time
England 7s v Scotland 7s – 17.34 local time/16.34 UK time

Saturday 22 January
South Africa 7s v England 7s – 13.17 local time/12.17 UK time