The theme is development - Thompson

Knowing that he is up against the odds as the England rugby squad set off for the opening tournament of the sevens rugby circuit in Durban, South Africa, England manager Adrian Thompson managed to exude cautious optimism about his team's chances.

"The theme behind the England sevens squad is development," said Thompson, a former sevens heavyweight in his own right. "We have the potential to make the step up and this gives me a chance to be less myopic about my team's chances."

Thompson treads cautiously when talking about his team's prospects thanks to an ongoing row regarding promotion and relegation issues between first and second division sides in England. This resulted in a last minute re-shuffle of the national squad and if reports are correct then Thompson is accompanying second division players, students and individuals based in Wales.

But as the England manager/coach suggests there is always hope.
"As a coach all I can hope is that the players execute what we have been doing in training. I would like them to be competitive. We have a strategy and the plan will be to execute that strategy. If it is done then we can be a handful for most teams."

As official England rugby sevens manager Thompson has an unenviable task of moulding together a tight unit while ensuring that England's reputation is not belittled.
"I have a lot of autonomy regarding team selection. The players know their job. They are paid and are thus professionals in a sense. While being aware that we are going to be up against the best in the world, I am hopeful that we will display a good standard," he stated adding, "In order to translate our actions from potential to actual we actually have to play. And to be up against the best we need to get our heads wet."

Thompson put his squad through their paces at the Dubai Exiles Rugby club yesterday afternoon. "We put in a contact game with the Exiles squad last evening," he said.
The England squad will be hoping to draw the crowds during the Dubai Rugby Sevens from November 22-24. "We know that Fiji and New Zealand are streets ahead. There is no dedicated sevens circuit in England but the players have good base skills and sevens rugby is a fantastic vehicle to promote the game."