Fresh off the announcement that Quade Cooper will take no further part in the Sevens circuit in 2016 for Australia, coach Andy Friend has named a new-look squad for the Paris tournament.
The big in for Australia is Henry Hutchison, with the fleet-footed outside back to take his place in the squad after suffering from a foot injury which threatened to rule him out.
The news isn’t all good, however, with Lewis Holland (foot), Tom Cusack (wrist), Greg Jeloudev (foot) and Henry Speight (cheekbone) all out of the circuit until June, while Nick Malouf and Tom Lucas (knee) will miss the remainder of the circuit with injury.
Cameron Clark and Ed Jenkins are back in the squad having been rested during the last outing, and overall the squad looks in pretty good shape despite the injuries.
Friend was excited to see Hutchison back amongst the troops, and also spoke up Cummins’ chances of snagging himself some meat.
“When I look at the squad that I’ve chosen for this Paris I’m excited. We have two genuine outside backs in Henry [Hutchison] and Nick [Cummins] who love to use their pace but are also strong defensively while it is always good to welcome back players of the calibre of Ed Jenkins and Cameron Clark.
“With team selection for the Rio Olympics drawing ever closer, competition for those 12 spots is heating up and I expect to see a real edge to our game in these last two tournaments. I want us to be clinical and I want us to be ruthless. We have a big challenge ahead of us with a tough pool but I’m confident we have the personnel to perform really well.”
In a further boost for Australia, stalwart Pama Fou is back on the training paddock and looking to impress as the Rio Games approaches.
Australian squad to play in Paris Sevens
1. Henry Hutchison
2. Tom Kingston
3. Sam Myers
4. Josh Holmes
5. James Stannard
6. Con Foley
7. Cameron Clark
8. Jesse Parahi
9. Ed Jenkins
10. Allan Fa’alava’au
11. Nick Cummins
12. Pat McCutcheon
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