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England’s Ollie Phillips will play no part in this weekend’s London Sevens after a bizarre decision by the player’s club, Stade Francais, to demand his return to Paris.

The episode is the latest twist to the on-going Club versus country row between the French club and the RFU, that was ignited earlier this season in a tug-of-war that involved full international James Haskell.

Phillips, the 2008/9 IRB Sevens Player of the Year, has been training with England in preparation for this weekend’s tournament at Twickenham for the last two weeks.

The RFU’s Elite Rugby Director Rob Andrew has aired his regret at Stade’s decision, which seems especially curious considering the French club’s season has come to a finish.

“We are very disappointed with this decision as Ollie has been part of the England Sevens squad for the last couple of years and was named World Sevens player of the year last season,” said Andrew in a statement. 

“We have worked closely with Stade this season with regard to Ollie's sevens commitments and have not selected Ollie during the season at Stade's request.

“Ollie is very disappointed to miss our home tournament which is fast becoming one of the biggest events in the IRB Sevens Series. We will be asking the IRB to further consider the release of players for the IRB Series under Regulation 9."

Harlequins' Ollie Lindsay-Hague replaces Phillips.

No Lemi but Satala and Dazel play

Another player who has been pulled out of the weekend is Samoa’s David Lemi who plays his rugby for London Wasps. Lemi, who was ready to make a return following a hiatus away from sevens, is replaced Alatasi Tupou.
Joining veteran Seru Rabeni in the Fiji squad is another former legend, Apolosi Satala. Satala will join Rabeni next season at Leeds Carnegie.

South Africa’s injury curse continues with Kyle Brown, the team’s stand-in captain pulling up with a hamstring injury during yesterday’s training match against Portugal.

The injury has ruled him out of action for two weeks. The Springbok management has called on Renfred Dazel to replace Brown and he joined the team at their London hotel this morning after travelling overnight from Cape Town.

The forced withdrawal of Brown is the latest in a serious of injury blows the team has suffered this season. Paul Treu, Springbok Sevens coach, said Dazel will be used sparingly after his long knee injury lay-off.

“The aim with Renfred is to get him ready for the Commonwealth Games in October. He is eager to be back, but we need to be patient and manage his game-time,” said Treu.