Greg Selected for Wellington and San Diego
Navy centre, Cpl Greg Barden, has retained his place in the England Sevens squads for legs three and four of the iRB World Sevens Series. The full press release from the RFU is as follows: Charlie Simpson-Daniel (Gloucester Rugby) is following in the footsteps of brother James after being called up to the England Sevens Squad for Wellington and San Diego (Feb 6-15). James, one of four Simpson-Daniel brothers, was a Hong Kong Sevens finalist in 2002 before making the step up to the senior England team. And, having had his first taste of sevens action in George 2008, Charlie, along with newcomers Dan Norton (Gloucester Rugby) and Ben Jones (Worcester Warriors), will be vying for a place in coach Ben Ryan's World Cup Sevens squad. "These three have been given an opportunity to fight for World Cup selection," said Ryan "The Wellington and San Diego tournaments are our chance to continue the hard work that we've put in over the last six months. We've kept consistency with our squad over the last three tournaments and the inclusion of Dan, Ben and Charlie means there's even more competition for World Cup places and I'm sure they will relish the challenges ahead." Ryan has retained the majority of his squad that faced South Africa in the final of Dubai 2008 including flying Fijian winger Isoa Damudamu (Army) and Leeds Carnegie duo Tom Biggs and Rob Vickerman. Ollie Phillips (Newcastle Falcons), who sustained a shoulder injury in Dubai, also returns, as well as last season's captain Andy Vilk (Benetton Traviso). With just 37 days to go until the start of the Rugby World Cup Sevens 2009, Wellington and San Diego are important preparation for Ryan's men, as well as a crucial opportunity to earn valuable series points. Currently sitting third in the rankings, behind South Africa and New Zealand, England are just four points behind second place New Zealand. They will face Argentina, France and Canada on day one of the New Zealand tournament, the third event of the 2008/9 IRB Sevens World Series. In San Diego (Feb 14/15) they will face tough pool opponents Samoa as well as Scotland and Japan. England Sevens 12 man squad for New Zealand and USA: Greg Barden (Bristol Rugby/Royal Navy) Kevin Barrett (Exeter Chiefs) Tom Biggs (Leeds Carnegie) Chris Cracknell (Exeter Chiefs) Isoa Damudamu (Army) Ben Gollings (Gold Coast, Australia) Ben Jones (Worcester Warriors)* Dan Norton (Gloucester Rugby)* Ollie Phillips (Newcastle Falcons) Charlie Simpson-Daniel (Gloucester Rugby) Rob Vickerman (Leeds Carnegie) Andy Vilk (BenettonTreviso) *Denotes uncapped for England Sevens New Zealand Sevens, Wellington, February 6 & 7 England fixtures: Friday February 6, 2009 England v France (kick off 1.00pm local time, GMT+13) England v Canada (Kick off 3.56pm local time, GMT +13) England v Argentina (Kick off 8.50pm local time, GMT +13) USA Sevens, San Diego, February 14 & 15 England fixtures: Saturday February 14, 2009 England v Scotland (kick off 10.02am local time, GMT -8) England v Japan (Kick off 12.55pm local time, GMT -8) England v Samoa (Kick off 5.05pm local time, GMT -8) To follow England Sevens go to www.rfu.com/sevens Ends