This year’s J.P. Morgan Premiership Rugby 7s Series will kick off the Road to Rio for England’s top Sevens players.
That’s according to England Sevens coach Ben Ryan who will be glued to the Sevens Series when it kicks off on 13 July at the Twickenham Stoop.
“The tournament has grown ever year in line with the global exposure that 7’s is now getting as we look to Rio 2016,” said Ryan.
“The J.P. Morgan Premiership 7s Series allows the cream of English talent to get their first taste of playing for their club on a big stage, in front of a crowd and on live TV.
“Not only that, it also offers them the opportunity to showcase their ability in front of national selectors and you can see from the likes of Owen Farrell, who starred for Saracens in the tournament two years ago, it is a great starting platform for international development”.
In just four short years Rugby Sevens will return to the Olympics and with a gold medal on offer now is the chance for England’s top players to start putting down a marker for Great Britain selection in the J.P. Morgan Premiership Rugby 7s Series.
This year’s Series, the third, is split into three qualifying legs, contested by all 12 Aviva Premiership Rugby clubs, with the final at The Recreation Ground on 3rd August. This is the only Sevens event where you can watch Aviva Premiership Rugby sides battle against one another.
Pool A sees Harlequins take on, London Irish, London Wasps and Saracens on Friday 13th July at The Twickenham Stoop. Pool B features Leicester Tigers, Newcastle Falcons, Northampton Saints and Sale Sharks at Edgeley Park, Stockport on Friday 20th July, an event which is likely to see the last top-flight rugby played at the ground after Sale Sharks’ decision to move to the Salford City Stadium next season.
Pool C has Bath Rugby, Exeter Chiefs, Gloucester Rugby and Worcester Warriors up against each other on Thursday 26th July at Kingsholm, Gloucester.
The top two seeds from each of the Pool events go through to the Series Final at The Recreation Ground in Bath.
This year Tom Williams was part of a group of Harlequins players, including Luke Wallace, Miles Mantella and George Lowe, to take part in a series of challenges ahead of this year’s Sevens Series the first of which is launched today and can be viewed at www.jpmorgan7s.com
The second film will be launched at 9am next Thursday, 19 April and the final one a week later at the same time, Thursday 26 April.
Williams, who believes that Sevens is “ten times more taxing” that the 15-a-side game added: “The J.P. Morgan Premiership Rugby 7s Series is such an exciting and enjoyable format and the tournament itself creates a bit of a party atmosphere. It is a great occasion to be involved in.
“But while it is a lot of fun, Sevens is also a tough game. It is ten times as taxing as the XV code but on the flip side it is a good indicator of where you stand ahead of the season kicking off.
“A number of guys have come through and shown what they can do and gone on to win starting spots because of it, so if I am involved again I will be doing exactly the same as I don’t want to have someone steal my spot.”
To buy tickets for the J.P. Morgan Premiership Rugby 7s Series visit: www.jpmorgan7s.com or call 0844 847 2492.