Australian Squad named for Wellington and San Diego Sevens

The ARU today named its 12-man squad for the third and fourth rounds of the IRB Sevens World Series, in Wellington and San Diego starting this Friday.

Australian coach Bill Millard has retained seven players – captain Shawn Mackay, Tim Cornforth, Scott Higginbotham, James Lew, Kacey Mitchell, Peter Owens and the Brumbies' Tim Wright - from the opening Dubai and George tournaments late last year.

Among the changes are the inclusion of the Inman brothers, Luke and Mitchell, Australia Under 19 speedster Blair Connor, Ed Jenkins, Danny Kroll and Peter Owens.

Damon Murphy, Australia's leading point scorer in the series to date, has been ruled out after suffering a head injury in the recent Darwin Sevens exhibition.

Luke Inman's selection for his 20th iRB Sevens tournament comes shortly after his recent completion of a medical degree and will help bolster a young Australian outfit in what shapes to be difficult draws in both New Zealand and USA.

Mitchell Inman, a member of the Australian Under 19 squad that finished third at last year's World Cup in Belfast, will don the gold Sevens jersey for the first time in Wellington.

After making his debut in the 2007 NZ Sevens, exciting winger Blair Connor returns for his fifth international cap and will provide a cutting edge out wide.

Ed Jenkins and Danny Kroll round out the squad and will make their Sevens debut in Wellington.

Millard said the squad has the opportunity to push for selection for the upcoming Adelaide Sevens tournament with a solid performance in the next two legs.

"With a couple of players from the past tournaments unavailable this squad will need to step up and be counted over the next two legs," he said.

"These tournaments are the last opportunity for players to show their wares before the Adelaide Sevens in April, where we expect a strong showing in front of our home fans."

In Wellington, the Aussies have been drawn against tournament third seed South Africa, Kenya and France in what shapes to be a tough Pool C starting Friday afternoon.

"Despite being in a very difficult group our target will be a quarter-final appearance and we're looking to improve across our range of skills, particularly ball retention," Millard said.

Australian Squad:

Blair Connor; Tim Cornforth; Scott Higginbotham; Luke Inman; Mitchell Inman; Ed Jenkins; Danny Kroll; James Lew; Shawn Mackay (c); Kacey Mitchell; Peter Owens; Tim Wright.

Bill Millard - Coach
Nick Leah - Manager / Assistant Coach
Alan Davies - Physiotherapist
Scott Wilson – Strength & Conditioning

Wellington Sevens – Day One

Friday, 1 February 2008
Australia v South Africa @ 1:44pm (3:44pm Friday AEST)
Australia v Kenya @ 5:02pm (7:02pm Friday AEST)
Australia v France @ 7:14pm (9:14pm Friday AEST)

Note: Wellington is 2 (two) hours ahead of AEST

San Diego Sevens – Day One

Saturday, 9 February 2008
Australia v Fiji @ 12:12pm (7:12am Sunday AEST)
Australia v Samoa @ 3:40pm (10:40am Sunday AEST)
Australia v West Indies @ 5:18pm (12:18pm Sunday AEST)

Note: San Diego is 19 (nineteen) hours behind AEST

For more information contact:
Keiran Smith
ARU Media Operations Coordinator
02 8005 5621
0423 755 948