Worcester Warriors back row Jake Abbott has been named in the England Sevens squad for the next two legs of the IRB Sevens World Series in Adelaide and Hong Kong (March 20-21 & 26-28).
England, who will be captained by former Warrior Ben Gollings, are currently in fourth place in the IRB standings behind Fiji, Samoa and New Zealand respectively and go to Adelaide and Hong Kong to try to boost their tally before their home event in May.
England Sevens Head Coach, Ben Ryan said: “It will take a big effort for us to get ahead of the three teams in front but anything is possible. We are travelling to Sydney for a training camp before the next two tournaments and the real hard work starts in Adelaide.”
England Sevens squad for Adelaide and Hong Kong:
Jake Abbott (Worcester Warriors)
Donald Barrell (Saracens)
Chris Brightwell (Bedford)
Dan Caprice (Blackheath)
Josh Drauniniu (Royal Navy & Harlequins)
Ben Gollings (capt, Gold Coast, Australia)
Ollie Phillips (Stade Francais)
Tom Powell (Cambridge)
James Rodwell (Moseley)
Nick Royle (Fylde)
Mat Turner (Bristol Rugby)
Christian Wade (London Wasps)
Adelaide Sevens fixtures:
March 19, England v USA, kick off 12.20pm local time (GMT+10.5)
March 20, England v Niue, kick off 4.27pm local time (GMT+10.5)
March 20, England v Australia, kick off 9.10pm local time (GMT+10.5)
Hong Kong Sevens fixtures:
March 26, England v Hong Kong, kick off 5.58pm local time (GMT+8)
March 27, England v Japan, kick off 2.10pm local time (GMT+8)
March 27, England v Wales, kick off 6.34pm local time (GMT+8)