- England enter Wellington Sevens as defending champions
- Ben Ryan’s side looking to improve on their third place standing in the IRB World Series
England Sevens will run out at the New Zealand Sevens this weekend as defending champions.
Last year they won the title with a last gasp try against the hosts and 2010 promises to be just as challenging as England face Tonga, USA and Kenya in the pool matches.
But England Sevens Coach Ben Ryan is glad to be back at the Cake Tin, “The Cake Tin, as ever it’s going to be a brilliant atmosphere. Whether it’s the PA system playing the Coronation Street theme tune as we run out or bars of soap getting thrown at us as we warm up more memories will be made out here over the next two days.
“We have a new look squad with us this year and as we get closer to Commonwealth Games selection players will be putting their hands up. So far we've won 10 of the 12 games we've played and it's a fresh chance for this current crop to impress.”
England are currently third in the IRB World Series behind Fiji and New Zealand respectively after reaching the Dubai cup semi final and winning the George plate last December.
After Wellington the players head to Las Vegas where they face Wales, Japan and Argentina in the pool matches.
England Sevens squad for New Zealand and Las Vegas
Jake Abbott (Worcester Warriors)
Donald Barrell (Saracens)
Kevin Barrett (Saracens)
Chris Brightwell (Bedford)
Dan Caprice (Blackheath)
Isoa Damudamu (British Army)
Ben Gollings (Gold Coast, Australia)
Dan Norton (Bristol Rugby)
James Rodwell (Moseley)
Nick Royle (Fylde)
Matt Turner (Bristol Rugby)
Christian Wade (London Wasps)
New Zealand Sevens fixtures:
February 5, England v USA, kick off 1.44pm local time (GMT+12)
February 5, England v Tonga, kick off 4.40pm local time (GMT+12)
February 5, England v Kenya, kick off 9.12pm local time (GMT+12)
USA Sevens fixtures:
February 13, England v Wales, kick off 1.13pm local time (GMT-8)
February 13, England v Japan, kick off 4.18pm local time (GMT-8)
February 13, England v Argentina, kick off 7.58pm local time (GMT-8)
Watch England Sevens in action on May 22 & 23 at the Emirates Airline London Sevens, their only home tournament on the IRB Series. Tickets are available from www.rfu.com/tickets.