England seek greater consistency

Dubai: England Sevens captain Ollie Phillips is looking for more consistency in his side, starting at the Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens next month.

The IRB Sevens Player of the Year for 2009 is hoping to lead his side to victory, not only in Dubai in the first week of December, but also in the overall IRB Sevens World Series.

"We hit four finals last year, winning two of them but we didn't back them up with solid performances in the tournaments either side and that is what is needed in order to win the series," explained Phillips, of his side's victories in Wellington and London last season.

Defending champions South Africa proved that a win in the first leg of the series, in Dubai, goes a long way to propelling a team to an overall series win and Phillips maintained:

"It's not essential but it always helps. The series isn't won on the first two, but it makes it a lot easier to build on and gain confidence and momentum going into the rest of the series."

Confidence

Phillips has confidence in his side's preparations for the Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens.

"The fitness test results are looking very promising and the squad is really starting to come together. A healthy mix of experience and youthfulness makes for a very exciting season," he said.

"Dan Caprice was very exciting last year, as were Charlie Simpson Daniel and Dan Norton so let's hope they can shine for us this year.

"I hope we can go all the way. If we perform to our best no one can beat us. But South Africa, New Zealand and Fiji are always going to be competitive and the emergence of all of the other teams, Kenya for example, means that it is anyone's guess … perfect for the neutral!"

Speaking of his previous experience in Dubai, the captain added: "It's a brilliant venue which is fast becoming one of the top venues for rugby sevens. The crowd are brilliant and the city is great fun all of which makes for a great tournament.

"What makes it so popular is the fact that you have everything: great weather, fantastic support and they manage to create a fantastic buzz around the whole tournament by having all of the other invitational events going on around it."

England have been grouped together with Kenya, USA and Russia in Pool C and will play their first match against the USA on the morning of December 4, all with the aim of going one better than last year when they went down to South Africa in a thrilling Cup final.

Tickets are available at The Sevens ground on Al Ain Road, Emirates headquarters, the Dnata Travel Centre on Shaikh Zayed Road as well as online at www.dubairugby7s.com. One can also call Ticketline on 8004669.

Tickets are available at Costa outlets at Mall of the Emirates, Dubai Mall, Festival City and Al Wahda Mall, Abu Dhabi and MMI outlets at Al Wasl Road, Ibn Battuta, Mall of the Emirates and Shaikh Zayed Road.