Australia Sevens coach Geraint John names strong squad for tilt at gold at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow this month
The Australian Commonwealth Games Association is pleased to announce the Australian Men’s Rugby Sevens squad nominated by the Australian Rugby Union for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow later this month.
Australia’s Men’s Sevens team won silver four years ago at the Delhi Commonwealth Games and will be looking to go one better this year.
The side has been bolstered by the return of Liam Gill and Sean McMahon, who both have a background in Rugby Sevens.
Australia and Queensland Reds player Liam Gill was a member of the 2010 Sevens side that picked up a silver medal in Delhi, while Australian Under 20s captain and Melbourne Rebels player Sean McMahon was a regular on the Sevens World Series circuit as recently as last year.
The 12-man squad also includes a number of Sevens stalwarts, including the in-form Cameron Clark who was recently picked in the 2013/14 International Rugby Board Sevens Dream Team.
Captain Ed Jenkins, the most experienced campaigner in the Men’s Sevens squad, will lead a team featuring nine Commonwealth Games debutants.
Australian Commonwealth Games Association CEO Perry Crosswhite AM said: “We welcome the appointment of the Rugby Sevens team, which completes our Glasgow team selection.
“Australia went very close in Delhi and we hope this team can perform as well, or better, in Glasgow.”
Head Coach of the Australian Men’s Sevens team Geraint John said the squad had been training well and he was confident they could deliver a strong result in Glasgow.
“This is an excellent opportunity to build on a fantastic end of season performance in London, where Australia finished runners up at the final tournament of the 2013/14 Sevens World Series.”
“In this Commonwealth Games squad, I think we have an extremely talented group of players with the right mix of experience and youth. I’m looking forward to seeing what the team can produce in Glasgow,” he said.
This will be Geraint John’s first tournament as Head Coach of the Men’s Sevens team after joining Australian Rugby on 23 June.
*Commonwealth Games debutSixteen countries will compete in the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games - Australia, Canada, Cook Islands, England, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Scotland, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda and Wales.
Australia has been drawn in Pool D alongside England, Sri Lanka and Uganda.
Australian Men’s Sevens squad for the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games:
Ed Jenkins. Club: Sydney University, NSW. Place of Birth: Sydney, NSW
Jesse Parahi*. Club: Northern Suburbs, NSW. Place of Birth: Sydney, NSW
Tom Cusack*. Club: Canberra Royals, ACT. Place of Birth: Canberra, ACT
Sean McMahon*. Club: Endeavour Hills, VIC. Place of Birth: Brisbane, QLD
Sam Myers*. Club: Northern Suburbs, NSW. Place of Birth: Forbes, NSW
Liam Gill. Club: Sunnybank, QLD. Place of Birth: Melbourne, VIC
Con Foley*. Club: University of Queensland, QLD. Place of Birth: Brisbane, QLD
Tom Lucas*. Club: Sunnybank, QLD. Place of Birth: Rockhampton, QLD
James Stannard. Club: Souths, QLD. Place of Birth: Brisbane, QLD
Cameron Clark*. Club: Northern Suburbs, NSW. Place of Birth: Auckland, New Zealand
Pama Fou*. Club: Souths, QLD. Place of Birth: Auckland, New Zealand
Greg Jeloudev*. Club: Sydney University, NSW. Place of Birth: Sydney, NSW
*Commonwealth Games debut