• • Facebook
  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • Technorati
  • Reddit
  • Stumble Upon
  • Furl

England coach Ben Ryan will reveal what is expected to be a strong squad on Thursday ahead of the London Sevens on May 22-23.

Premiership players who have represented England Sevens in previous years are training with the squad this week, with last season’s IRB Sevens Player of the Year Ollie Phillips also set for a return.

England currently lie in fourth position on the overall IRB Sevens World Series log with just the London (Twickenham) and Edinburgh (Murrayfield, May 29-30) legs remaining this season.

“It’s our home tournament so we obviously want to do well and defend the title we won last year. We have some of the Premiership boys, who have played before training this week,” said Ryan. 

Ryan had been speaking at the ULR Sevens tournament at Bury St Edmunds on Sunday where his development St.George side were playing.

Included at the weekend was Uche Odouza, who has been missing for the majority of this season due to commitments with University studies. Odouza was a try-scorer in last year’s London Sevens final that saw England turn around a three try deficit to win in front of an ecstatic Twickenham.

“I gave him the heads up about three weeks ago that we wanted to include him here and he looked good. He was physical and quick so I was really happy with him,” added Ryan.

Ryan’s side beat a Welsh Warriors side in the final at Bury, with Wales coach Paul John including a host of this season’s IRB regulars in East Anglia.

“It’s a quick turnaround of games at an event like this but it has been productive heading into London Sevens,” said Paul John.

“We had some experienced guys in the side and we got to try some newer players too, which is what it is all about at this kind of event.”

England have been drawn against Australia, Scotland and Russia at the London Sevens with Wales facing a tough task in Pool B with New Zealand, Kenya, and Portugal.

---

Watch England Sevens in action on May 22 & 23 at the Emirates Airline London Sevens, their only home tournament on the IRB Sevens World Series. Tickets are available from www.rfu.com/tickets