Time to kick on in Wellington - Sevens skipper
February 02, 2011 - 1:48pm
Story by: ARU
Henry Vanderglas will make a timely return to the Aussie Sevens side this weekend in Wellington
Buoyed by the return of three experienced Sevens campaigners, Australian skipper Bernard Foley says the time is right for his young squad to show the benefit of their time together and put in a solid performance at the Wellington Sevens this weekend when the HSBC Sevens World Series resumes.
Far from content with his side’s sixth placing after the opening two rounds in Dubai and South Africa, Foley is confident the return of fellow London Sevens-winning teammates Jacob Taylor and Henry Vanderglas plus the inclusion of key figure Brian Sefanaia will give his side the competitive edge they require to reach the playoffs at a sold-out Westpac Stadium.
“We’ve taken a lot from our first two hit-outs in the World Series and will be looking to put that into action in Wellington this weekend,” Foley said.
“The newer guys have now had the taste of what it’s like to play Sevens at the next level and are only going to get better with each match they play.
“While we’ve lost (Qantas Wallabies Spring Tourist) Nick Phipps from the side, the return of Vanderglas, Taylor and Sefanaia will more than make up that void in experience.”
All the action from the Wellington Sevens finals will be screened live on FoxSports1 and FoxSports1 HD from 10am (AEDT) on Sunday.
The return of Taylor (shoulder) and Vanderglas (shoulder) takes the number of players to five in coach O’Connor’s squad who were successful in ending Australia’s eight-year title drought by winning the London event in May last year, while three members (Ed Jenkins, Bernard Foley and Shaun Foley) were successful in claiming Australia’s first Sevens Commonwealth Games medal since 1998, winning silver in Delhi.
The young Australians face a tough task in Wellington after being drawn alongside reigning World Series champions Samoa, Tonga and crowd favourites Kenya in the pool stages - but Foley believes his side is up to the challenge.
“It’s going to be a real test when we meet the Samoans in our final pool match on Saturday, but you can never underestimate the likes of Kenya and Tonga,” Foley said.
“We’re going to have to be on our game to stay in the top side of the competition, but the guys have been training really well over the last couple of weeks, in terms of building combinations and I’m hoping that will show on the field.”
New recruit Lewis Holland is set to make his debut for the Australian Sevens following a show-stopping performance at the Darwin Sevens with the Brumbies Academy last month. While the “Aussie Thunderbolts” failed to fire in the Top End and were knocked out in the quarter-finals by an invitational side, the former Australian Schoolboys playmaker caught coach O’Connor’s eye and has been rewarded with a call up to the national squad.
Hosts New Zealand (40) will be confident they can overhaul a four-point deficit to current World Series leaders England (44) this weekend. Defending Series champions Samoa (36) are well within striking distance in third. Back in sixth, Australia has 14 points and trails Fiji (32) and South Africa (24), who will be without the services of prolific try-scorer Cecil Afrika (jaw).
The Australian leg of the HSBC Sevens World Series, staged in Adelaide on 2-3 April, follows on from the iconic Hong Kong Sevens as stop six on the eight-leg World Series. Tickets for the International Rugby Sevens Adelaide are on sale now at Ticketek www.ticketek.com.au .
Australia: Bernard Foley (capt), Ed Jenkins, (vc), Hamish Angus, Shaun Foley, John Grant, Lewis Holland, Greg Jeloudev, Jonothan Lance, Brian Sefanaia, Jacob Taylor, Henry Vanderglas, Daniel Yakopo
Full player profiles: http://www.rugby.com.au/fixtures_res...les,54967.html
http://www.rugby.com.au/news/sevens/.../section/21893
