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Many England fans will probably remember David Strettle’s England debut in the Six Nations on that historic and emotional afternoon as England visited Croke Park in 2007.

Strettle, replacing the injured Jason Robinson, acquitted himself well and despite an England thrashing scored a try. But the learned amongst you will of course know he first pulled on an England shirt during 05/06 IRB Sevens season, a member of the victorious Hong Kong Sevens winning side who won the event four times in the Noughties. ‘Strets’ is passionate about his Sevens and is the founder of the inaugural Superstars Sevens in La Manga this European summer.

UR7s caught up with the England and Harlequins man to speak all things Sevens…let's be honest, what else were we going to discuss!?

David you feel Sevens has helped you in your development as an international rugby player?

Sevens has helped me to develop as a rugby player in a huge way, both on and off the field. At the time I got selected for England Sevens (after representing Samurai at the Amsterdam 7s) I was playing every weekend in front of around a 1000 at Rotherham in the old division one. When playing for England Sevens I was catapulted into a completely different arena, where you're now taking the field in front of sometimes 40,000 fans. When you play in such an intense environment you have to learn to manage your nerves and many players won't get the chance to play in front of so many people unless they play Test Rugby. Sevens provides an amazing opportunity for players to experience these sort of environments away from the 15-a-side game.

What were the major lessons you learned?

In international rugby, especially in Sevens, mistakes are punished so you learn to become very focused and due to the nature of Sevens, team spirit and how determined you are not to let your teammates down becomes very important. One thing I realised very quickly is that if you didn’t have a solid skill base, especially passing, then you would be found out. Everyone I have played Sevens with dramatically improved their skill set whilst playing sevens and I can still see the benefits of this in all the lads who played through the Sevens circuit in their 15s.

What is your greatest memory in Sevens?

My greatest memory from Sevens has to be when we won the Hong Kong Sevens with the last kick of the game. I would also say it’s was also the most enjoyable memory I have in rugby.

Where does this rank amongst your 15-a-side memories?

When I won my first cap at Croke Park for England it was the proudest I've ever been and my greatest achievement in the sport. But for actual enjoyment and fun not many things come close to the fun I had travelling the world with England Sevens and playing for teams such as Samurai, Rugby Ecosse, and Anti Assassins in places like Trinidad and Tobago and the Cayman Islands.

Are you still able to play much Sevens in the summer?

Due to my commitments to club and summer tours with England I haven't been able to play much Sevens. The last time was when Quins won the Middlesex Sevens two years ago.

Would you like to play more?

I personally think that for a back 3 player such as myself, Sevens is a brilliant way to keep fitness levels high and to enable us to keep ourselves sharp and I wish we were able to play more Sevens

Is that an opinon shared by your contemporaries in the Premiership?

I'd be amazed if any of the guys who I played Sevens with said they didn’t miss it in some way. Whenever any of the younger guys at Quins, like Ollie Lindsay-Hague, head off to places like Dubai you can see the boys are thinking 'you lucky git'!

How do foreign Sevens tournaments rank as Tours compared to 15-a-side trips?

I think all the tours I've ever been on have all been fun in their own way. The higher the standard the less social/down time you have so there is a lot more emphasis on results. Sevens however, due to its format, means that there is usually more down time and due to the locations of most events I'd have to say I would always pick a Sevens tour opposed to 15-a-side.

What has made you start the Superstar Sevens?

Having visited the La Manga Club resort, I was amazed at how good the facilities were and was just really impressed with it all. I've played in so many tournaments all over the world and many times the location of the actual tournament hasn't been the picture postcard location you kind of expect due to the countries you're in. I've played on grotty fields in places renowned for beautiful beaches for example. The idea behind Superstar Sevens is to pair the sport with beautiful places/resorts such as la Manga club.

So what kind of facilities are on offer in La Manga?

La Manga is ideal as the facilities are so good and everything is in one place. There is a 5 star hotel, spa, swimming pools, bars, and restaurants. Logic tells me if you fill it full of rugby and netball teams, it'll make for a brilliant weekend! Part of the La Manga resort is called the Las Lomas village, which are apartments that surround one of the swimming pools and is over looked by the spa and Darma Bar. All the teams will be in these apartments so the whole weekend should have a great buzz throughout.

What’s going to be the difference between Superstars and other European tournaments?

The aim of the La Manga Superstar Sevens like all good sporty weekends is to provide a great platform for sport and a great social scene. This luxury and beautiful resort is a renowned resort for sports teams, catering for the likes of Real Madrid, Liverpool and many international rugby teams. It’s home to three championship golf resorts and is only 10 minutes from the La Manga strip. In my eyes it is the ideal sports weekend.

www.superstarsevens.com