England Sevens name squad for Moscow
England have named their squad for the opening round of the 2017 Rugby Europe Sevens Grand Prix Series which takes place in Moscow this weekend (3-4 June).
The side contains a mix of players from the senior England Sevens set-up, England Sevens academy, Premiership academy and the universities programme, with coaches Simon Amor, Warren Abrahams and Tony Roques accounting for a number of factors in their selection.
Commenting ahead of Moscow, England Sevens head coach Simon Amor, said: “Off the back of a successful HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series with the team achieving second place overall, the Rugby Europe Sevens Grand Prix Series provides us with a great opportunity to identify the next generation of talent that will come through the England Sevens pathway.
“This tournament also holds a great opportunity for our academy coach, Warren Abrahams to lead this programme and further develop his coaching skills, and for Tony Roques who will be in Moscow to support him.
“The squad for Moscow is made up primarily of our young England sevens academy players and players identified through our relationships with the universities and Premiership academies, which demonstrates the good connections that the programme is building with different partners.”
England will face Belgium, Portugal and France in the pool stages on Saturday 3 June, all of which will be live streamed on RugbyEurope.tv.
Amor added: “The standard of the European competition is exceptionally high and you only have to see that with both finalists for the World Series qualifiers – Germany and Spain – both being European, just how tough the competition is. The Rugby Europe Sevens Grand Prix Series is going to be a really big challenge for this young team but will be an excellent development opportunity for them as players as they push on for recognition on next year’s HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series.”
The Rugby Europe Sevens Grand Prix Series carries added significance this year in that it will form part of the qualification process for Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018. Two European teams that haven’t already qualified will earn their spot in the 11 remaining places that will be filled by teams competing in regional competitions from June 2017 to April 2018. As one of the eight quarter-finalists from Moscow 2013, England are pre-qualified for Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018.
England Sevens squad for Moscow:
Alex Davis
Cameron Cowell
Calum Sirker
Jordan Ainslie
Henry Martin
Tom Ffitch
Will Glover
Fergus Guiry
Will Wilson (University of Oxford)
Yaree Fanitini (Northumbria University)
Mason Tonks (Gloucester)
Ryan Olowofela (Leicester Tigers)
Fixtures (all times in BST with a live stream available via www.rugbyeurope.tv)
- 08.44 v Belgium
- 11.29 v Portugal
- 14.14 v France
Stages two to four of the Rugby Europe Sevens Grand Prix Series will take place as follows:
- Stage 2: Lodz (Poland), 10-11 June
- Stage 3: Clermont-Ferrand (France – Comité d’Auvergne), 1-2 July
- Stage 4: Mitsubishi Motors Exeter 7s (England), 15-16 July
– ENDS –
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