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England Sevens coach Ben Ryan feels his side must front up physically to get their IRB Sevens World Series campaign back on track in Adelaide this weekend.

England were knocked out of the quarter-finals at the last leg in Las Vegas, before capitulating against South Africa in the Plate semi-finals. 

Currently lying in fourth place in overall Series standings, England face USA, Niue, and hosts Australia in the group stages on Friday and Saturday with the knockouts set for Sunday.

Ryan has also made it clear to his young side that they are playing for their Commonwealth Games places over crucial period of the season.

“We’ve been pretty honest with the boys. In an ideal world I’d love for them all to be involved but it is all about results and the boys know that,” said Ryan.

“The boys know this a key few legs as our preparation for Commonwealth Games really kicks in after Hong Kong.”
The coach has admitted that he is finding it difficult to pick his starting VII and has put an emphasis on his forwards to show big improvement after a disappointing USA campaign.

“It is a combination of competition and guys not putting their hands up. In our forwards there is no-one who is a definite shoe-in. You look back at our last match on the Series against South Africa and we were schooled, dominated physically and it was an embarrassing 14 minutes really.”

Ryan also welcomes back Fijian born Josh Drauniniu to the side and feels his star quality will give England a big boost. Drauniniu has had a mixed start to his Premiership career with Harlequins, rarely starting following his move from Exeter Chiefs.

“It will be good for Josh to get out there and have some freedom. He is a quality player who adds some size to our backs and can also play in the forwards like he did as a youngster in Fiji.”

England flew early Down Under to prepare for what is a gruelling couple of weeks on the Series. The squad flew into Sydney and were able to use the Waratahs training facilities at Sydney University. 

Following three days of competition in Adelaide the side must travel to Hong Kong for another three days ofcompetition at Hong Kong – regarded as the biggest event of the season. Ryan has highlighted the impact that the quick turnaround will have on the European teams. 

“It was nice to get here early and try and get acclimatisated, but it is a fair bit hotter here than in Sydney,” added Ryan.

“It’s a bit of a shame as its three days of tournament here then a really short turn around for the big one at Hong Kong. We are all in it together though.

“It‘s not sour grapes but it is a bit easier for the Southern Hemisphere guys. You only have to see ourselves, Wales, Scotland, and France who have been pretty bleary eyed this week. To travel all this way and then with another long flight for another three days of competition can be a killer.” 

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