England Rugby Sevens Team named for Commonwealth Games 2010
By Kath
September 15 2010
Ben Gollings will lead England’s Rugby 7s team at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. The Games take place in Delhi, India, from 3 to 14 October 2010. They will feature 17 sports - archery, aquatics (swimming, synchronised swimming & diving), athletics, badminton, boxing, cycling, gymnastics, hockey, lawn bowls, netball, rugby 7s, shooting, squash, table tennis, tennis, weightlifting & wrestling.
England 7s Team for Commonwealth Games
Delhi 3-14 October 2010
Ben Gollings 2010 Commonwealth Games Bisham Abbey - All Pictures by Empics
Ben Gollings to lead the England 7s. The 30-year-old from Bournemouth makes his third appearance at the Games after appearing at Manchester in 2002 and winning a silver medal at Melbourne in 2006.
Gollings is arguably the world’s greatest Sevens player, having scoring 2,374 points in the IRB Sevens World Series, a thousand more than his nearest rival, Waisale Serevi. He captains the 12-man group named by head coach Ben Ryan at Twickenham today.
Seven players – Gollings, Greg Barden, Kevin Barrett, Chris Cracknell, Isoa Damudamu, Dan Norton and James Rodwell – were in the side that clinched the Wellington and London Sevens titles in 2009.
In Delhi, England face Namibia, Uganda and an eagerly anticipated game against Australia on the first day of the 16-team tournament staged on October 11-12.
Head coach Ryan said: "I’m pleased with the squad and we're looking forward to what should be a hotly contested Commonwealth Games Rugby Sevens in Delhi.
"There will big guns like New Zealand, who have won three gold medals since Rugby Sevens was introduced to the Games in Kuala Lumpur in 1998, Samoa, who won the last World Series, and Australia will also be strong, so we’re certainly not going to be the favourites.
"But we’re fit and well prepared, and we have a hungry squad with a good blend of youth and experience who are desperate to wear the England shirt and will give their all to succeed in Delhi.
“The spirit is good, the players have fought for their places and they’ve put in lots of hard work. Those qualities will be our strengths and now it comes down to putting together a string of performances to get us on the medal podium.”
England chef de mission Craig Hunter welcomed the Sevens squad into the 550-strong England team today and said: “Rugby Sevens will be a great competition at the Games. We wish the squad well in their final preparations and for the Games."
In 2006, England beat Australia 14-12 in their pool encounter and defeated Samoa 17-14 and Fiji 21-14 before going down 29-21 in a pulsating final against New Zealand.
England were 15-7 down at the halfway mark at Melbourne’s Telstra Dome before a try by Andrew Vilk, converted by captain Simon Amor, cut the deficit to a single point.
But Tamati Ellison broke English hearts with two tries in quick succession to ensure the Kiwis maintained their impressive record at the Games, despite a late try from Gollings.
The full England team for the 2010 Games is as follows:
Name / Club / DOB / Place of birth / Current residence
Greg Barden (Royal Navy) 08.02.81 Perth, Poole
Kevin Barrett (Saracens) 06.07.80 Ascot, St Albans
John Brake (England Sevens) 22.04.88 London, Towcester
Dan Caprice (England Sevens) 20.10.89 Chatham, Rochester
Chris Cracknell (England Sevens) 06.08.84 Windsor, Wargrave
Isoa Damudamu (British Army) 01.09.81 Fiji, Southampton
Ben Gollings (England Sevens) 13.05.80 Launceston, Bournemouth
Simon Hunt (Birmingham & Solihull) 22.7.81 Clapham, Birmingham
Dan Norton (Bristol Rugby) 22.03.88 Gloucester, Bristol
Tom Powell (England Sevens) 11.10.85 Rotherham, Sheffield
James Rodwell (England Sevens) 23.08.84 Wendover, Birmingham
Mathew Turner (England Sevens) 19.01.88 Cape Town, Twickenham
Rugby Sevens has been included in the Commonwealth Games since 1998 with England represented in all three tournaments so far, claiming the silver medal in 2006. New Zealand have won gold in all three Commonwealth Games Rugby Sevens tournaments in Kuala Lumpur, Manchester and Melbourne.
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The 30-year-old world record Sevens points scorer is the only survivor in the squad from Melbourne 2006, when England finished as silver medallists after a “sensational tournament”.
Now he wants to add a gold in New Delhi, where he captains the side in the Sevens event on October 11-12.
England have a squad of Sevens specialists this season who have been training since July for the Games and the IRB Sevens World Series that kicks off in Dubai in December.
They won’t go to Delhi as favourites – New Zealand have won the three gold medals since the sport was introduced in 1998 – but the blend of talent in the squad makes Bournemouth-based Gollings optimistic.
Seven of the 12 named by head coach Ben Ryan this week beat the Kiwis to clinch the Emirates Airlines London Sevens title in 2009, and won in New Zealand at the Wellington Sevens earlier that year.
“When we went to the Commonwealth Games in 2006 we were probably more of a top dog side,” said Gollings.
“No means I’d say we’re underdogs but I think it’s nice that we’re going in a bit under the radar and we can just go out and do our business.
“The experience is there of going out and playing big games. Last year we missed a few guys because of injury but there’s players that are capable of performing in big games and they don’t get any bigger than representing your country at a Commonwealth Games.
“If everybody stays fit and we put it together our chances are fairly high. We’re not going just to compete, we want to come back with a gold. We got silver last time and I know I’d like to have a gold.”
England Under 20 wing Christian Wade was the only major casualty before selection with a broken wrist sustained in a pre-season friendly for London Wasps that won’t heal in time to make the flight to India.
But another major influence is back in the shape of Fijian-born Isoa Damudamu, who has recovered from the shoulder injury that ruled him out of the final stages of last season.
“He’s got that bit of Fijian magic about him – he’s a great handler, a big guy and can be very destructive,” is the Gollings verdict.
“Chris Cracknell coming back offers us something different, he’s really physical. Kevin Barrett at nine is a great player, a great leader and it’ll be exciting to see him too after injury last year.
“In all there’s a good balance to the squad of ball players, physicality and speed and it’s nice that we’ve had the training time together to make the most of it. We haven’t had that in the past.”
The Sevens universe will expand rapidly over the next six years, with Delhi followed by the expansion of the Sevens World Series in 2011, the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 2014 and then the sport’s first appearance in the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Just how exciting that future is was hinted at in 2006 when England – with Mathew Tait their try-scoring cutting edge – were at the centre of the action.
“It’s a sensational tournament,” said Gollings. “In Melbourne there were 150,000 fans in over the three days, the ground was packed and there was a great atmosphere.
“To win a gold at the Commonwealths you’ve got to beat the best teams and our run was Australia, Samoa, Fiji and New Zealand.
“We slipped up against New Zealand in the final which was bitterly disappointing. To go all the way and get so close does hurt.”
Australia are in England’s pool again this time with the key Day 1 game in Delhi following clashes with Sri Lanka and Uganda.
“It’s going to be a big game against Australia, who are a massively improved side, so that’s exciting,” added Gollings.
“The other teams in our pool will cause us problems but hopefully we’ll be in the second day in a quarter final and pushing for the medal spots.”
Head coach Ben Ryan, scrum half Kevin Barrett (Saracens) and wing Dan Norton (Bristol Rugby) tell the RFU Podcast about how they’ve been planning to cope with conditions in India.
“We’re in good shape and now everything is about peaking on those two days, that’s what the guys are all talking about,” said Ryan.
Also on this week’s RFU Podcast:
Sharks on move: We hear from head coach Mike Brewer about Sale Sharks' plans to stage games at the Reebok Stadium, a move welcomed by Bolton Wanderers manager Owen Coyle
Junior choice: Sharks captain James Gaskell, still only 20, tells us how much he’s enjoying life as the Aviva Premiership’s youngest skipper
Best foot forward: Former England coach Dick Best assesses the exciting changing shape of the world game and the build-up to this season’s Investec Internationals
For the full interviews, check out today's RFU Podcast. Here you can listen to the weekly podcast or subscribe to itunes and have it delivered straight to your inbox each week.
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