Friday aiming for perfect season

14 April 2012

Mike Friday's sevens stars could cap English rugby's finest season by adding the world title to the incredible haul of silverware now on show in this country.

Friday's charges are far from favourites to land the IRB World Sevens Series title at Twickenham on Sunday but, after a season which has seen the World Cup, Heineken Cup and Parker Pen Challenge Cup finish in English hands, anything is possible.

New Zealand, who narrowly beat England in last Sunday's Bordeaux Sevens final, are overwhelming favourites to finish the 10-tournament IRB Series as champions. If they do reach the semi-finals, in fact, England will not be able to catch them in the points table.

However, Friday, the 32-year-old former London Wasps scrum-half who has taken over from Joe Lydon as Sevens coach, remains optimistic.

"Our best chance would seem to be if we beat New Zealand ourselves in the quarter-finals, and then go on to win this London Sevens event," he said.

"But, for that to happen, we must first win our group and then hope that Australia can beat New Zealand in their group game. We are due to play the runners-up in that group in the quarter-final stage - so who knows what might happen? In sevens, of course, anything can, and often does."

Peter Richards, theWasps scrum-half, has been added to the squad but Friday's most potent weapons are Ugo Monye and Richard Haughton, the impressive Harlequins and Saracens wings.

The strings are pulled by Gloucester's Henry Paul but the specialist sevens skills of Simon Amor, Ben Gollings and Tony Roques have also been a crucial ingredient for England's recent success on the international sevens circuit.

The 2004 London Sevens is also a major staging post in the coaching career of Friday, who last played the game in 2002 and then worked as Lydon's assistant until the former Great Britain rugby league star was promoted to join Sir Clive Woodward's senior coaching staff for the current summer tour to New Zealand and Australia.

"I was in charge of the squad for the first time at Bordeaux last weekend, and this is a tremendously exciting time for me," added Friday.

"Joe Lydon's are big shoes to fill, but I am looking forward to the challenge of taking England Sevens rugby on to the upcoming Sevens World Cup and then to the next Commonwealth Games in 2006.

"We are fortunate, within England, to have huge commitment to the sevens game from Sir Clive downwards. Sevens rugby can be used as a really effective development tool - and one which impacts hugely on the England 15-man side.

"Players like Josh Lewsey and James Simpson-Daniel have already furthered their international careers by starring in sevens, and Henry Paul has resurrected his senior England ambitions by the success of his sevens play in recent times.

"Monye and Haughton have also done themselves a massive amount of good by showing they have the skills to succeed in the international arena.

"Sevens rugby is fast, intense and very demanding. But it also allows Sir Clive to assess whether players can handle the other demands of international rugby, such as how to conduct themselves both on and off the field and how well they adapt to foreign conditions and unfamiliar opponents. "Travelling to all parts of the world is also a big element of the IRB Series, and makes being involved in the England Sevens squad a real learning experience for some of our best young players.

" England have recognised for some time now that the international sevens circuit is an elite pathway to the top for many players, and this form of the game can continue to have a major influence on the future successes of England - and English rugby."

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Friday aiming for perfect season

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