[(IRB.COM) Tuesday 18 March 2008] ĄG
Noah Cato last played in the IRB Sevens World Series in Edinburgh in June 2007
England Sevens coach Ben Ryan has put his faith in youth for the Hong Kong and Adelaide legs of the IRB Sevens World Series after naming five members of the Under 20 Six Nations Grand Slam winning team in his 12-man squad.
Matthew Cox, Jonathan Fisher and Ben Youngs are all called up by England Sevens for the first time, while John Brake has played in all four legs of the 2007/08 Series. The other Under 20 star is Noah Cato, who scored six tries in the Championship.
Anthony Elliott and Simon Hunt have also been involved in the four tournaments this season with the latter set to play in his 10th IRB Sevens World Series event in Hong Kong, making him one of only three players into double figures in the squad.
The others are former Hong Kong Sevens winners Ben Gollings, who is the IRB Sevens World Series all-time leading point scorer and currently sits third on the try scoring charts, and captain Andy Vilk.
Gollings, whose late try secured a record fourth consecutive Hong Kong Sevens title in 2006, will draw level with former captain Simon Amor as England's leading appearance maker in the Series on 43 tournaments, while Vilk is poised for his 24th event in Hong Kong.
Committed to the cause
"Our average age is under 22 and these are the next generation that will benefit hugely by playing in such a massive event. It shows Sevens is part of the process to develop players for England's future senior squads," admitted Ryan.
"For me Sevens is part of our overall strategy to get the best out of our young players and together with age group excellence, Premiership academies and the Saxons, Sevens is often part of that package to accelerate and achieve more England players ready to step into regular Premiership action and beyond."
England have been drawn with defending champions Samoa, Canada and Sri Lanka in Pool B at the Hong Kong Sevens from 28-30 March. They then face an even trickier pool a week later in Adelaide with defending champions Fiji, Kenya and France their opponents.
"Hong Kong is an awesome event. I know I have a side that will crawl off the field for England," added Ryan, whose side lie seventh in the standings withh 18 points at the halfway stage, their best result being the Cup semi-finals in Dubai.
"This group will give their all for the cause and although we go into this tournament as huge underdogs, everyone is here determined to do the white shirt and the red rose justice."
England squad:
Kevin Barrett, John Brake, Noah Cato, James Collins, Matthew Cox, Anthony Elliott, Jonathan Fisher, Ben Gollings, Simon Hunt, Chris Mayor, Andy Vilk (Captain), Ben Youngs.
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