Amor names Sevens squad for Cape Town tournament

England beat Australia 15-14 in the third-place play-off after falling agonisingly to eventual winners New Zealand in the semi-finals in the opening edition of the series in the UAE.

A second place finish at the Rugby World Cup Sevens in San Francisco earlier this year, where they were defeated by New Zealand in the final, was proof of England's development after a fifth-place finish in last year's World Series, something that Amor is looking to build on again.

"Our bronze medal win in Dubai last weekend was a great way to begin our World Series campaign for this season," he said.

"It's always interesting to see what changes teams make during the pre-season and how this will play out in the opening leg of the World Series, and it was evident from Dubai that the standard of competition is higher and more intense than ever."

Amor was forced into two changes to the squad that played in Dubai, with Ollie Lindsay-Hague and Richard de Carpentier injured.

They are replaced by James Rodwell and Ryan Olowofela, who has proven World Series experience, and despite losing two key men, Amor is confident that his new call-ups will make the grade as they prepare to face Kenya, France and Fiji in Pool C.

"We're obviously very disappointed to lose Ollie and Richard this weekend and we have a very physical pool for Cape Town, so recovery this week has been key to ensure we're in the best place possible heading into the weekend," he continued.

"We always look forward to playing in Cape Town where the fans are always so invested and the fast, flat pitch really suits the pace of the game that we want to go out there and play."

Sportsbeat 2018