Friday 7th April 2006
The England Sevens squad are now in the fifth week of their sevens tour which began in Melbourne with the Commonwealth Games, and will finish this weekend with the sixth leg of the IRB Sevens in Singapore. With just a couple of changes, the 12 man squad has remained the same since the Games, and England Sevens Coach Mike Friday is delighted with the way the team have bonded.  "This is a long trip away from home for all of us, but I deliberately wanted to try and keep the same players for all three tournaments (Commonwealth Games, Hong Kong Sevens and Singapore). This is a relatively young group of players with the average age only about 22, and each day they are away they are learning something new.  Its not just about what they will have learned from playing in front of the crowds of Melbourne and Hong Kong, but every day that we train we concentrate on their core skills. These are very talented young players with bright England futures, but they are still very much developing as players on and off the pitch, and I am confident their clubs will notice a difference when they return next week."
 
He continued, "Sevens has changed in recent years and is much more intense and competitive than before. For several of the squad this will be their last season of international sevens.  The role of sevens is to develop players and help them progress and regularly start for their club first team, or to play for the senior England team.  At the beginning of each season we identify, in conjunction with their club directors of rugby, which players will benefit both physically and mentally from playing England Sevens.  For some it will mean spending a couple of seasons with the England squad and for others, like Mathew Tait, this will be his last season of sevens.  I was thrilled that so many people back home (and around the world) witnessed what a confident, skilful player Mathew has become in the past 12 months, and playing sevens (especially at the Commonwealth Games) has contributed and provided him with an important world stage on which to impress.  Much as I would love him to remain with the squad for several years, Rob (Andrew) and I have discussed Mathew's development and it is right for Mathew to focus on Newcastle and his XVs game from next season.  All of the directors of rugby have been extremely supportive of the role sevens can have on the development of a player and will be reaping the benefits in coming seasons."
 
The squad face a tough pool in Singapore this weekend against Kenya, Korea and Samoa. England have played Samoa several times already this season with matches always being close, and physical.  Friday is grateful to the premiership clubs for allowing him to keep a consistent squad for the five weeks. "The squad have really bonded over the last few weeks.  For many it has been a bit of a roller coaster of emotions with the disappointment of missing out on gold at the Commonwealth Games, and then the extreme highs of winning in Hong Kong last weekend. I have been so impressed with how the youngsters in particular have dealt with the whole experience. They have trained incredibly well this week and have worked hard to remain  fresh in their minds as they approach this last tournament.  Sevens is unique in the way that you have to physically and mentally prepare and recover from six games in two days, and these guys have done that three times in five weeks.  For those fortunate enough to be selected for either of England's summer tours, this could be their last IRB Sevens and there is a real hunger for success within the whole squad."
 
The squad arrive back in the UK on Tuesday morning but Friday explains that players who are requested for club duty are being flown back directly from Singapore on Sunday night to give the players as much time to prepare for next weekend's premiership matches as possible. "The tournament travel arrangements mean that the majority of players will not be back in England until early Tuesday morning, but to try and help those players who are urgently needed back at their clubs, we are flying several players including the two Saracens players, Nils Mordt, Tait and Varndell, back directly from Singapore straight after the tournament finishes on Sunday night."
 
England are currently second in the IRB Sevens table, six points behind Fiji. After Singapore there are two tournaments remaining - Paris (27th & 28th May) and London (3rd & 4th June).