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

England will have to do without Isoa Damudamu for the next two legs of the IRB Sevens World Series in Wellington (5-6 Feb) and Las Vegas (13-14 Feb).

Damu, who scored England's post-hooter winning try in the final of last year's NZI Sevens in Wellington, will miss this year's tournament through injury.

The Fijian born soldier sustained a shoulder injury playing for his Royal Logistics Corps team last week.

It is not know if the injury is an aggravation of the dislocated shoulder Damu suffered at the Hong Kong Sevens last year.

With Chris Cracknell also unavailable for coach Ben Ryan, England’s starting forwards will have a different look to it when the side lines-up at the Westpac stadium next week.

Tom Powell (Cambridge) has been called into the squad in place of Damu and has some solid experience on the elite invitational circuit.

Powell was educated at Rugby Sevens hotbed Millfield and has competed for their old boys at Amsterdam in previous years. He has recently been involved with Samurai International, Samurai Barracudas, and was also part of the Middlesex Sevens Help for Heroes VII last August.

Revised England Squad for Wellington and Las Vegas:

Jake Abbott (Worcester Warriors) Donald Barrell (Saracens), Kevin Barrett (Saracens), Chris Brightwell (Bedford), Dan Caprice (Blackheath), Ben Gollings (Gold Coast, Australia), Dan Norton (Bristol Rugby), Tom Powell (Cambridge), James Rodwell (Moseley), Nick Royle (Fylde), Matt Turner (Bristol Rugby), Christian Wade (London Wasps)