Friday continued, “It will be Pete’s first time as captain but he has already shown great understanding of the sevens team, and is certainly one who rallies the troops and isn’t fazed by the extra responsibility. I am sure he will thrive and excel at the honour.” 

26 year old Peter, who began his rugby career with Jonny Wilkinson at Farnham Rugby Club, is looking forward to leading the team,  "I am obviously disappointed for Simon but am thrilled to be given this opportunity to captain the side. The whole squad are looking forward to the tournament and we are determined to perform and show everyone what this sevens squad can do." 

England lost to Fiji in the quarter finals of the Wellington Sevens last weekend, and lost to Scotland in the Plate Semi Final.  Friday acknowledges that mistakes were made, “We were disappointed with our performance last week and know that it was ultimately because we didn’t perform during the game and didn’t do what we set out to do when it came to the matches. Damian McGrath (Assistant Coach) and I have really concentrated on the boys this week in terms of making sure they pay more attention to and give greater accuracy to their basic skills, be it passing or communication or their depth in realignment. 

“I am hoping that their performance last week will galvanize them this week and spur them on to play better. We simply underperformed last week, and can’t blame anyone else but ourselves.”

Looking forward to this weekend, Friday acknowledges the loss of Amor is hard to handle but praises Dowson, who he is confident will boost the squad ahead of the tournament, “Simon is a big loss as he is crucial to England Sevens and a fantastic leader, but Phil is a quality player and brings many qualities to the squad.   He has been involved with the sevens squad for the last couple of years and has been brought in specifically because we wanted to give him some game time ahead of the World Cup which he is hoping to be selected for. He brings a wealth of experience and is a very good footballer.  His speed of thought is very good in terms of recognizing when to pass and when to run. So we are expecting Phil to slot in and perform well this weekend.”

England face Tonga and the West Indies in the pool stages on Saturday (12th February) and Friday realizes that any team has the ability to score tries against any opposition in the IRB Sevens.  “We need to stay controlled and disciplined in both defence and attack and pay these sides the respect they deserve. We must concentrate for the full 14 minutes as give them half a chance they are both likely to have quick players who can score tries.”

England’s other pool match is against Fiji, who England have played three times this season (England winning once and Fiji winning twice). “The bottom line is that we have to perform on the pitch at the time and I am confident that if we perform to our best ability we can win that game.” 

Los Angeles is England’s last tournament before the Rugby World Cup Sevens (18th-20th March) but Friday is confident that the players will concentrate on the matter in hand in America, “The players are professional enough to recognize that in order to put their name forward they have to perform in LA.  There are some new guys in the squad who will all be looking to stake their claim.  There are certainly some places up for grabs in England’s World Cup squad and its up to these players to try and do themselves and England justice in this tournament and perform to the best of their ability.”

England play Tonga (20.12), the West Indies (23.18) and Fiji (02.26 – all UK times) on Saturday 12th / Sunday 13th February.

Full match reports can be found on www.rfu.com/sevens