England Sevens unchanged again

Cape Town - England Sevens have named an unchanged squad for a fifth-successive tournament ahead of the World Rugby Sevens Series in Las Vegas from March 3 to 5. 

Currently second in the standings, behind South Africa, England are drawn in pool B along with hosts USA as well as Samoa and Chile.

“Having this level of consistency is a big plus for us," said head coach Simon Amor. 

"The hard work of Dan Howells, our strength and conditioning coach, and the medical team has helped to develop a robust and resilient group of players.  

“When you combine this with experience right across the squad, it becomes a genuine 12-man effort.  This allows us to manage game time and load more effectively and the benefit showed in Sydney through the impact that every player made.”

Following a bronze medal in Dubai and gold in Cape Town, England came seventh in Wellington before collecting silver in Sydney, losing to South Africa in the final. 

“Second in Sydney was pleasing,” added Amor.  “But we were disappointed with how we played in the final and also with our performances in Wellington - this has been a big focus and motivation for us as we continue to work hard to improve."

Las Vegas, the fifth leg of the circuit, has a unique format with two matches played per day, across three days, with competition not starting until later in the afternoon.  

Amor added: “The format provides a slightly different mental challenge that all teams have to deal with but a key consideration for us is the narrow artificial pitch. 

"It creates a much more confrontational game which tends to favour the bigger physical teams.  We’ve factored this into our preparations and need to be smart in our approach and how we adapt our play.”

Charlton Kerr once again travels with the squad as the 13th man having held this role at the previous three tournaments. 

England Sevens squad for Las Vegas:

Dan Bibby, Tom Bowen, Phil Burgess, Alex Davis, Richard de Carpentier, Ollie Lindsay-Hague, Charlie Hayter, Ruaridh McConnochie, Tom Mitchell (c), Dan Norton, James Rodwell, Ethan Waddleton