England warm up for Lyon

England have called up Newcastle Falcons wing Zach Kibirige, Harlequins speedster Jordan Burns and Leicester Tigers’ Gift Sankoh for this coming weekend’s Rugby Europe Sevens Grand Prix tournament in Lyon (June 13-14).

Kibirige, Burns and Sankoh replace captain Phil Burgess, Warwick Lahmert and Ruaridh Mcconnochie from the squad that finished fourth in Moscow last weekend.

England Head Coach Simon Amor: “We were pleased with how this young group performed in Moscow against some experienced international Sevens teams. As individuals and as a team they showed good progression through the tournament and a strong reason for this was the leadership shown by Warwick and in particular Phil Burgess who was outstanding as captain.

“It was always the intention to give Phil and Warwick one Grand Prix tournament before they take a well earned break and we are pleased to introduce Zach and Jordan to the programme, thus demonstrating the positive relationships we have with Premiership clubs and supporting the programme’s goal of aiding the development of young players for the XV-a-side game.

“Without the experience and leadership of Phil and Warwick it’s a big challenge for these guys. The other teams are desperate to qualify for the Olympics but we are looking forward to seeing our young players take another step forward in their development and ultimately leading to them playing in the World Series .”

England play Wales, Belgium and Russia in their Pool on Saturday.

England ended the World Series on a high at the Marriott London Sevens last month after finishing fourth in the season rankings and qualifying Great Britain for the Olympic Games in Rio next year.

The Rugby Europe Seven series includes three tournaments – Moscow, Lyon and Exeter (July 11-12).

Tickets for the Exeter leg are priced at £15 for a day pass for Saturday or Sunday, or £25 for a weekend pass which includes entry to the Friday night event. Children’s tickets are also available £7.50 per day or £10 for a weekend pass.

Visit www.exeterchiefs.co.uk to buy your tickets

England Sevens squad

Tom Bowen
Jordan Burns
James Cordy-Redden
Cameron Cowell
Alex Davis (capt)
Samson Egerton
Harry Glover
Oskar Hirskyj-Douglas
Zach Kibirige
Sebastian Nagle-Taylor
Gift Sankoh
Joshua Watkins