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England Sevens coach Ben Ryan is hoping experience and continuity of selection will help get his side off to the best possible start when the IRB Sevens World Series kicks off at Dubai next week.

England tackle USA, Russia and Kenya on day one of the Emirates Airline Dubai Sevens (Dec 4-5) before heading to South Africa the following week for the George Sevens (Dec 11-12). There they will come up against Scotland, Argentina and Tunisia in the opening day’s pool matches.

Ryan will once again have the services of Ben Gollings (Gold Coast, Australia), Kevin Barrett (Saracens), Isoa Damudamu (British Army), and Chris Cracknell (Unattached) as the campaign for their first overall season begins once again.

“We’ve tried to retain as many as we could for this year, because the guys from last year did really well. Comparing last year’s side in Dubai to the one we are taking this time, we have an additional 90 matches between them, it makes a big difference,” said Ryan speaking to UR7s.

“When we did chop and change it didn’t really work. I don’t want it to be like an invitational side which effectively what it was when I first took over. We got a new group of players each time and just flew them out.

“We have closely monitored these guys here with our physical programmes and we want them here for most of the World Series.”

Defending Series Champions, South Africa, got off to a flying start last season winning both the Dubai and George legs and Ryan feels it gave Paul Treu’s side the required momentum and belief for the remainder of their campaign.

“It’s important to start well, if you don’t win the first two it’s not going to kill your season but as South Africa showed it can give you that impetus and confidence. For Paul last year he would have been thinking he’d got things right and winning there gave him a lot of encouragement.”

“It’s going to be an even contest and I feel the trophies could be spread out amongst more teams this year. It’s going to be exciting once again and we want to be part of that and in the mix.”

Ryan is also hoping the new members of the squad, such as Christian Wade and Nick Royle will blossom in the abbreviated code on the world stage.

“They’ve got an opportunity to shine, they’ve been showing it in training and they can step up and get the side to the latter stages in these tournaments.”

Although the coach is hoping his side can continue to express themselves on the pitch, one aspect he feels could make a difference is an improvement in his sides kicking. This has seen him drafting in England kicking coach John Callard for a session this week.

“Kicking will more prevalent this year and you’ve seen South Africa in particular use this. They kick a huge amount from their exits, as they call them, but we believe we’ve got struck a winning formula and keep playing the way we play.”

Chris Cracknell is quick to praise the England coaching staff and believes the side possess enough quality to challenge for what has become a hugely competitive competition.

“Ben and Russell (Earnshaw, Assistant Coach) are the best coaches I’ve worked with. They back and encourage us to try things new. He left the training session to us with 10 minutes to go yesterday and by giving us that responsibility if just means we can learn to deal with tough situations we will face when we’re on the pitch alone.”

“The Argentines, Kenyans, South Africans, and Kiwis all posses fantastic players but it’s all about working together and how teams gel. Looking at our squad we have someone like Kevin Barrett, one of the most outstanding Sevens players in the world and one of the most outstanding guys I’ve played with.”

Cracknell is also looking forward to travelling the world again with England and is particularly excited about the first two legs of the series whilst staying focused on the job in hand.

“I love the first two legs of the series, the way they contrast. I can’t wait to get to Dubai, with its glitz and glamour, but then you hit George and it’s this little coastal town!

“I’m not thinking of anything apart from our pool matches; USA, Russia, and Kenya. We’ve got to win those first.”