Two changes to England 7s squad

England players Victoria Fleetwood and Abbie Brown have been awarded central contracts from the Rugby Football Union for the forthcoming season.The duo join a squad of 17 players from last season who have had their contracts renewed.  A 20th and final member of the squad will be confirmed shortly.

Fleetwood and Brown replace Abigail Chamberlain, who has announced her retirement from international rugby, and Leanne Riley, who will now focus on XVs rugby. The centrally contracted players will contest the HSBC Sevens World Series and compete for a spot in the Great Britain Olympic sevens squad in 2015-2016.

Rugby World Cup winner Fleetwood joins the England Sevens set-up after impressing in the Rugby Europe Grand Prix series this season while Bristol’s Brown has enjoyed a whirlwind year, making her XVs debut against Wales in the Six Nations before playing for England Sevens in the Rugby Europe Grand Prix series also.

“It has been a rigorous process selecting this squad but I am really excited about this group of players,” said England Women’s Head Coach Simon Middleton, who has also been named as the GB Sevens Women’s Head Coach. “When we looked closely at how the players progressed physically, mentally and on the pitch over the last ten months and how they have delivered on the world stage we felt changes were necessary in order to add the right positional balance.

“Players like Kay Wilson, Heather Fisher and Emily Scott have had a tough year with injuries but I think can make a real impact going forward. We also have to have one eye on the future so players like Abbie, who are at the start of their international careers, can keep developing and improving their game. Additionally, we will also continue to work with players outside of this squad, from the Elite Playing Squad and the academy programme, to ensure we have long term development in this programme.

“Going into the new season, we know this is going to be a hugely exciting year. We have to keep improving our performances on the World Series and we hope by bringing these players into the squad we will not only add to the existing quality but also inject some energy and youth into our squad. We will also work closely with Great Britain Sevens to deliver a first class programme for our Olympic ambitions.”

The news comes fresh on the heels of the announcement that England's Simon Middleton will also be the coach of the Great Britain team at the 2016 Olympics, with Wales' Richie Pugh acting as his assistant. Following the announcement Simon said that “It was fantastic to be play a part in the qualification and then to get the job as well, I am thrilled. It is everyone’s ambition as a sports person to be involved in an Olympics Games so to be here now it is so exciting. To have rugby sevens in the Olympics is absolutely phenomenal for the women’s game. It will be such a showcase for us and particularly after a successful period winning the Women’s Rugby World Cup so this feels like the next stage in taking the sport further. Women’s sport is on the rise massively and all eyes will be on Rio next year. It is quite humbling to think we are in charge of trying to maximise this opportunity. Richie is a great guy with loads of international Sevens experience as a player and now coach. I am really excited about working with him within a unique GB environment.”

Richie Pugh added"This is a really exciting opportunity and to have the chance of being involved in the Olympics which is a huge occasion is simply brilliant. I'm excited at the prospect of linking up with Simon and looking forward to learning from him as well. I have no doubt we can push for gold in Rio. As a player myself I was fortunate enough to play quite a lot on the World Series and was part of the Wales team which won the World Cup so hopefully I will be able to call upon that experience and pass some knowledge on to the girls in our quest for gold."

The main preparation with the players as a wider squad will begin from June 2016 through a series of training camps, with a final squad of 12 players selected in July 2016 just prior to the start of the Olympic Games. Eligible players for selection should have played sevens 14 months prior to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games on either the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, Rugby Europe International Sevens tournaments or an invitational preparation tournament.

In the meanwhile the England Sevens squad, who returned from their summer break last week, will continue to be based out of Surrey Sports Park and Twickenham Stadium.

England Sevens Squad