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

With the Australian Sevens season due to kick off this weekend at the Central Coast Sevens it will provide a chance for players to stake a claim for inclusion into the national side.

But Michael O’Connor, Australian Sevens Coach, looks set to have to do without the services of 2008/2009 IRB Sevens regular Richard Kingi in the coming months.

Not only has Kingi been given a Queensland Reds Academy contract but he has also been named in a Wallaby training squad that will assemble in Sydney next week to prepare for the end of year tour of Japan, the UK and Ireland.

The sharp-stepping Kingi is one of 10 uncapped players and four scrum halves in the 43-man squad, which will undergo four days of training before being trimmed to a tour party of 35 on October 9.

Kingi burst onto the representative scene this year with the national Sevens and Australian Under 20s, before making his debut for the QR Reds off the bench against the Crusaders in Christchurch, with a follow up cameo against the Hurricanes in Brisbane a week later in this year’s Super 14.

He said playing for Queensland had already achieved one of his goals a year ahead of schedule, so to be now included in a Wallaby training squad was totally unexpected.

"Wow. I'm just very excited and happy. I didn't expect this at all," was Kingi's reaction on hearing the news that he was in the expanded training squad, although he was quick to stress that he was fully aware it was still an audition, not yet a part.

"I can't let myself get over-excited - but at the same time I can't not get excited about it," said the quietly spoken Kingi, originally from Tauranga in New Zealand.

In announcing the squad, Wallaby coach Robbie Deans said the four-day training camp gives an opportunity to bring the group together, assess where the players are at and consider some new options, in case players get injured on tour and require replacement.

“While not all of the players who come into camp with us next week will go on the tour, those who get left behind will still have the knowledge of our processes, and have spent some time in the environment, which will be invaluable should we have injuries and require reinforcements.”

Kingi played for a Brisbane XV against the Hutchinson Builders' Queensland Country Heelers at Ballymore on Saturday and scored a scintillating solo try, showing why Australian Sevens coach Michael O'Connor rates him as a player to watch.

"He's got all the skills; he kicks goals, he's good at kick restarts, he's good at one-on-one evasion, beating a man - he's a very sharp stepper - and he's probably one of the best low tacklers I've seen in a long time. He's absolutely ferocious when it comes to taking players down around the ankles," O'Connor said.

"He's still got a long way to go, but he's come a long way in 12 months and, boy, he brings some things to the table. What he's got is what a lot of other players don't have - that individual brilliance and ability to beat a man. I think he's a good prospect," O'Connor said.

Campese aides Tongan Sevens

Wallaby legend David Campese has agreed to help coach Tonga's national Sevens squad should they qualify for the Wellington, Hong Kong and Adelaide legs of the IRB Sevens World Series in 2010 as part of a new association with the country's rugby scene.

The 1991 World Cup winner travels to the capital Nuku'alofa in October to launch the Campese Tonga Sevens event, the first leg of a new National Seven Series in the country to be played over the next three months.

Campese is no stranger to Sevens, having been a member of Australia's squad that finished runners-up to England at the inaugural Rugby World Cup Sevens in 1993, before going on to win 101 caps and score 64 Test tries for the Wallabies.

He also helped to coach Australia's Sevens team on the World Series two years ago.
"It is a great honour to be part of Tonga rugby and I'm looking forward to being involved with the development of the game in Tonga," admitted Campese.

The Tonga National Sevens Series kicks off with Campese's event in October before further tournaments on 6-7 November, 20-21 November and 4-5 December before the 'Best of the Best' finals tournament on 18-19 December.