“Hard to stop” England ready for rugby challenge
9th September 2011England’s rugby 7s squad are riding a wave of confidence ahead of their opening matches at the Commonwealth Youth Games in Isle of Man tomorrow.
Head coach Ben Ryan believes his team of talented under 18s will be hard to beat in the two-day tournament as all but one have just returned from an unbeaten three-game summer tour of Australia that ended just 10 days ago.
“These are the best under 18s in the country and we’ve just come off the back of a tour when we beat Australia comfortably,” said Ryan. “Sevens is very different of course, and some of this lot haven’t played this form of the game before.
“But it’s all about confidence, and if we can get momentum early on we’ll be hard to stop.”
England are drawn in group B with games against Trinidad & Tobago, Sri Lanka and the powerful South Africans to come tomorrow before knock out rounds on Sunday. All teams are guaranteed a quarter-final place but a higher position in the group will be crucial for avoiding tougher opposition later on.
“We need to finish top of the group to get a good draw,” said Ryan. “I expect we’ll play South Africa a couple of times in the tournament. They’ve got a very good team and I think they’ll be a real threat.”
Ryan also picked out Scotland – “they have one of their best under 18s squads for years” – plus Australia and Canada as ones to watch.
“Sevens is such a nip and tuck game, you never really know what’s going to happen,” he said. “That’s what makes it so exciting. It also means it would be foolish to count our chickens too early.
“But we’re very proud of our youth system. All our players are top in their age group, all are attached to professional club academies, and some will be taking up full-time contracts very soon.”
Danny Care and Danny Cipriani were both part of England’s rugby 7s team at the Commonwealth Youth Games in Bendigo back in 2004, and Ryan believes a number of his Isle of Man squad will soon be treading the same path to senior international success.
“It’s fantastic for these lads to be here enjoying a multi-sport event,” he added. “Experience counts for a lot and this tournament will stand us in good stead for future Commonwealth Games and Olympics.”