7s RWC 18-20 Mar 05

 

Friday announces strong Rugby World Cup Sevens Squad

 by RFU Press

Friday, who captained England in the last Rugby World Cup Sevens in Argentina in 2001, is pleased to be in a position where he had to make some tough selection decisions, "The World Cup is a great opportunity not only for England to become World Champions but for the players to gain a once in a lifetime experience. The squad of 15, which will be reduced further to 12 ahead of the tournament, includes some very experienced sevens players, although only Rob Thirlby (Penzance & Newlyn) has played in a World Cup before. I am delighted that Henry Paul and Mathew Tait are part of the squad and am looking forward to watching them train with the regular sevens players. Henry is an awesome sevens player who possesses great agility and speed, whilst Mathew is an exciting and talented youngster who impressed us when he was in Dubai and George."

Simon Amor  24 year old of Gloucester will captain the squad, having recovered from a shoulder injury he suffered in the Emirates Airline Dubai Sevens in December, which England won. England have won the IRB World Sevens in Hong Kong for the past three years and enjoy playing in front of the largely ex-pat crowd. However, Friday knows that the World Cup will be extremely tough, given the improving standard of all of the participating nations, "We saw in Dubai just how tough a series this was going to be, and there are no easy wins. England face a tough pool which includes Samoa, France and Italy, and we will have to play our socks off if we want to top our pool. The England squad includes some real game winners such as Ugo Monye (NEC Harlequins) and Richard Haughton (Saracens), both of whom have the ability to make things happen when they get on the pitch - something the Hong Kong crowd always enjoys. I am pleased that a couple of the youngsters (Andy Vilk and Neil Starling of Northampton Saints and Ben Russell of Saracens) have also made it into the squad as this gives them a great opportunity to really prove themselves worthy of selection for the final tournament squad.

"The tournament clashes with a number of other international fixtures which has made selection even more of a challenge, and I am grateful to both the senior England Management and the Zurich Premiership Directors of Rugby for agreeing to release players. "

19 year old Mathew Tait is the youngest member of the squad and made his England Sevens debut in Dubai. He is excited about the prospect of being part of a World Cup squad, "I really enjoyed the whole experience of being with the England Sevens squad and enjoy playing sevens. To play in a World Cup would be a dream. This England squad includes such talented players that it has the real potential to go to Hong Kong and make England the World Champions at both sevens and 15s. I can't wait to get out there and persuade the coaches to select me for the tournament."

The squad travel to a pre-World Cup training camp on Monday 7th March. They arrive in Hong Kong on Monday 14th, ahead of the three day tournament which begins on Friday 18th March.

England won the inaugural Rugby World Cup Sevens in Scotland in 1993 with a squad led by 'Prince' Andrew Harriman which included senior Rugby World Cup winners Lawrence Dallaglio and Matt Dawson. Since then, England have not progressed past the quarter final stage and Friday knows there is great expectation on England's shoulders as they head to Hong Kong, "Having such a successful track record in Hong Kong means that England are one of the favourites for the tournament. However, we are taking nothing for granted and must play consistently to the best of our ability if we are to have a real chance of success. The All Blacks are in formidable form and are the current World Champions but any number of sides could take the title."

The squad of 15 who will travel to the pre-World Cup training camp is:

Simon Amor (Captain) Gloucester

Geoff Appleford London Irish

Phil Dowson Newcastle Falcons

Ben Gollings Unattached

Richard Haughton Saracens

Ugo Monye NEC Harlequins

Henry Paul Gloucester

Peter Richards London Wasps

Anthony Roques London Irish

Ben T Russell Saracens

Pat Sanderson Worcester Warriors

Neil Starling Northampton Saints

Mathew Tait Newcastle Falcons

Rob Thirlby Penzance & Newlyn

Andrew Vilk Northampton Saints

The final squad of 12 who will participate in the tournament will be announced in the week beginning 14th March.

 

 

 

View a Printer Friendly version of this Story.

Bookmark or share this story with:

• Digg
• Delicious
• Facebook
• Reddit
• Stumbleupon