World Champions Next Up For Josh
Having helped the Navy to retain the Babcock Challenge against Marine Nationale the hectic schedule for Navy wing Logs(CS) Josh Drauniniu shows no sign of letting up. Having travelled to Nottingham with his club side Exeter to help with their dream of Premiership rugby he then travel to Hong Kong with England where he is due to meet the recently crowned World Champions, Wales, in the pool stage. After Hong Kong he flies to Adelaide for the Australian leg of the iRB World Sevens Series before returning to the UK in time to join his Navy team mates and the quest for the 2009 Inter Service title. From RFU.com TOM VARNDELL aims to put his Rugby World Cup Sevens heartbreak behind him and show his blistering form against world champions Wales in Hong Kong later this month. The Leicester Tigers flier scored seven tries in four matches in Dubai before IRB Sevens Series leaders England fell short in the quarter-finals while 80:1 outsiders Wales went on to claim the ultimate prize. Now the teams clash in the pool stages of the Cathay Pacific/Credit Suisse Hong Kong Sevens (March 27-29) and, with double points on offer, Varndell is pivotal to England’s bid, Varndell, who heads back to the stadium where he lifted the trophy in 2006, said: “Hong Kong and Dubai are my favourite tournaments but Hong Kong is on another level. The fans are awesome and the atmosphere is amazing. Hong Kong is the tournament of the series and I can’t wait to go back there and be involved.” England also face Japan and China in the pool stages and coach Ben Ryan added: “I love the Hong Kong tournament it’s just unbelievable. We are fortunate that we have this tournament now as it’s our chance to win extra points and get us back on track with the World Series. “We have very hungry players who want success in Hong Kong and Adelaide and by the time the tournaments are over want to be in the title race for the World Series and firmly in the number one spot. “England have never been in this position at this stage of the competition so we are heading in the right direction.” England Sevens squad for Hong Kong and Adelaide: Kevin Barrett (Exeter Chiefs) Tom Biggs (Leeds Carnegie) Chris Cracknell (Exeter Chiefs) Isoa Damudamu (British Army/London Wasps) Josh Drauniniu (Royal Navy/Exeter Chiefs) Ben Jones (Worcester Warriors) Ben Gollings (Gold Coast, Australia) Ollie Phillips (Captain, Newcastle Falcons) James Rodwell (Moseley RFC) Charlie Simpson-Daniel (Gloucester Rugby) Tom Varndell (Leicester Tigers) Rob Vickerman (Leeds Carnegie) Cathay Pacific/Credit Suisse Hong Kong Sevens England fixtures Friday March 27, 2009 England v China (kick off 5.58pm local time, GMT +8) Saturday March 28, 2009 England v Japan (kick off 2.10pm local time, GMT +8) England v Wales (kick off 6.34pm local time, GMT +8) Adelaide Sevens England fixtures Friday April 4, 2009 England v Australia (kick off 8.04pm local time, GMT +9.5) Saturday April 5, 2009 England v Portugal (kick off 12.59pm local time, GMT +9.5) England v Samoa (kick off 5.04pm local time, GMT +9.5) Tickets for the Emirates Airline London Sevens on May 23 & 24 are on sale now. Tickets start at just £10 (adults), £5 (juniors) available via Ticketmaster.com or by calling 0870 902 0000.