Aussies to take raw talent to Dubai

Australian Sevens coach Bill Millard has brought in some exiting talent his teams training squad of 33 players for the first two tournaments of the 2004 and 2005 International Rugby Board (IRB) Sevens series in December.

Talented scrum-half Tim Clark, who narrowly missed a Waratahs contract behind Chris O'Young, has been brought into the squad, and started his Sevens training last Friday.

The squad comprises 16 players in Sydney and 17 players in Brisbane who will train three nights a week to build on their Sevens skills and develop the fitness required for international Sevens.

A squad of 18 will then be selected to go into camp in Sydney on November 24, before the final squad of 12 flies out for Dubai on November 28.

In an Australia Rugby Union statement Millard was upbeat about his young team's potential.

"It is great to have Tim Clark available for the team. He brings a lot of leadership and experience to the squad and is picking up Sevens very quickly. It is good to have him on board," said Millard.

"Overall we have assembled a very raw group of players, but they have all come through a rigorous testing program and are hungry for more.

"From a selection point of view, we have gone under the radar a little and picked a group of talented young club Rugby players, guys we know will be available for training and selection for the entire series."

Of the 33 players, only seven have played an IRB Sevens tournament - Tim Aistrope, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Matt Hodgson, Luke Inman, Andrew Brown, Luke Foster and Ben Mowen.

The IRB Sevens series kicks off with the Dubai Sevens on 2-3 December, followed by the George Sevens in South Africa on 10-11 December.

In Dubai, Australia are in Pool A with New Zealand, Canada and the Arabian Gulf, while in George they are in Pool A with England, Kenya and Ireland.

Australian Sevens Training Squad:

From New South Wales: Tim Aistrope (Canberra Vikings), Adam Ashley-Cooper (Norths), Ben Azar (Easts)Luke Brannigan (n/a), Tim Clark (Easts), Gavin Debartolo (Easts), Josh Gamgee (Gordon), Tom Healey (Sydney University), Matt Hodgson (Manly), Luke Inman (Sydney University), Wise Kativerata (Randwick), Shawn MacKay (Randwick), Kieren Massey (Parramatta), Aura Niuquila (Randwick), Richie O'Connor (Gordon), Nick Reily (West Habour).

From Queensland: Sam Brewer (Gold Coast), Andrew Brown (University), David Collis (Brothers), Tom Coupier (GPS), Luke Foster (Wests), Byron Griffiths (University), David Lucas (East), Kasey Mitchell (Sunnybank), James Morgan (Wests), Ben Mowen (Easts), Damon Murphy (Brothers), Darren Murphy (Brothers), Anthony Sauer (Brothers), Toby Spencer (Souths), Nathan Stains (Sunnybank), James Sua (Sunnybank), Ben Ward (University)