The Qantas Australian Men’s team head to a sold-out Twickenham this weekend looking to end the 2013/14 HSBC Men’s Sevens World Series on a high at the London Sevens.
The Aussies have been drawn in Pool C alongside Japan, Spain and Fiji for the opening day of the London Sevens. Should Michael O'Connor's young side qualify for the Cup Quarter-Finals, then they will likely face in-form Canada or Kenya.
James Stannard has been called up to the squad after Greg Jeloudev was ruled out of the tournament due to injury.
The experienced 31-year-old half returns to the fold after a six-month absence from the HSBC Sevens World Series and flew out from Sydney to join his team-mates in the UK last night.This will be the Queenslander's 16th World Series tournament for Australia. To date, he has scored 438 points, 26 tries and kicked 154 goals since making his Sevens debut four years ago.
Stannard, who played a pivotal role when Australia won the Cup Final at Twickenham in 2010, said: "It's good to be back in the fold and always a proud moment to pull on the gold jumper.
"The time out of the side has allowed me to get over one or two niggles and given me the opportunity to improve on things that need work and improve on things that I'm actually already good at."
Australia sit in fifth spot in the 2013/14 HSBC Sevens World Series heading into the last round of the season. It was announced last week that Day One of the London Sevens at Twickenham is a 75,000 sell-out.
Stannard added: "It's great for the game that so many people are coming out to support the Sevens."
Fans can stream the action live from London by visiting irbsevens.com. Highlights of Day Two of the London Sevens will be on Fox Sports 2 on Monday at 11am, and again Wednesday night on Fox Sports 2 at 8.30pm.
Follow the Qantas Men's and Women's Sevens with updates on Twitter @Aussie7s
Australian Men’s Sevens fixtures in Twickenham, London on 10 May:
Australia v Japan, Pool C, 7.06pm (EST)
Australia v Spain, Pool C, 10.12pm (EST)
Australia v Fiji, Pool C, 1.38am (EST)
Qantas Australian Men’s Sevens squad for the 2013/14 HSBC Sevens World Series in London, England:
Ed Jenkins. Club: Sydney University, NSW. Hometown: Sydney, NSW
Con Foley. Club: University of Queensland, QLD. Hometown: Fairfield, QLD
Jesse Parahi. Club: Northern Suburbs, NSW. Hometown: Avoca Beach, NSW
Sam Myers. Club: Northern Suburbs, NSW. Hometown: Grenfell, NSW
Paul Asquith. Club: Southern Districts, NSW. Hometown: Wollongong, NSW
Peter Schuster. Club: Northern Suburbs, NSW. Hometown: Sydney, NSW
James Stannard. Club: Souths, QLD. Born: Brisbane, QLD
Cameron Clark. Club: Northern Suburbs, NSW. Hometown: Sydney, NSW
Lausii Taliauli. Born: Wellington, NZ
Nick Malouf. Club: Sydney University, NSW. Hometown: Robertson, QLD
Tom Lucas. Club: Sunnybank, QLD. Hometown: Upper Mount Gravatt, QLD
Afa Pakalani. Club: Southern Districts, NSW. Born: Tongatapu, Tonga
