England Men Sevens squad named for Dubai


Head of England Sevens Simon Amor has announced his squad for the HSBC World Sevens Series opener in Dubai [5 December-7 December 2019, live on Sky Sports Arena].

Olympic and commonwealth medallist Dan Bibby is set to make his 50th appearance at the Sevens Stadium as the UAE nation celebrates its 50th anniversary year.

Meanwhile, Phil Burgess captains the side in the absence of Tom Mitchell who has remained in England to continue his rehabilitation from injury.

Drawn in Pool D, England open up against Spain on Thursday before taking on Kenya and South Africa on Friday.

The event is also the first combined men’s and women’s tournament of the season and all matches will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Arena.

Amor said: “We’re looking forward to getting our World Series campaign underway.

“At the back end of last season, we had virtually all of the squad out injured and our medical and strength and conditioning team have done an unbelievable job in getting almost everyone back fit in time for the start of the World Series.

“This is arguably the most talented squad I’ve ever had with England 7s which is incredibly exciting for the year ahead.

“We’ll have some great players out there. However, with the lack of seven-v-seven training we’ve been able to do throughout pre-season due to the number of players coming back from injury, it’s unlikely we’ll be at our best.

“With Tokyo being the goal at the end of the year, this will be a great first step for us to start on this journey.

“I’d also like to give a special mention to Dan Bibby who is in line to make his 50th appearance.

“It’s a fantastic achievement for a world class player and he deserves to enjoy his moment.”

Squad list

Dan Bibby
Tom Bowen
Phil Burgess (C)
Richard de Carpentier
Mike Ellery
Tom Emery
Harry Glover
Ben Harris
Charlton Kerr
Ollie Lindsay-Hague
Will Muir
Dan Norton
Ethan Waddleton

Schedule

Thursday 5 December
v Spain [Pool D - 19.32 local time/15.32 GMT]

Friday 6 December
v Kenya [Pool D - 13.26pm Local time/9.26am GMT]
v South Africa [Pool D - 19.54 local time/15.54pm GMT]