School leavers Conor Dolan and Owain James have both been named in Wasps’ squad for Group C of the Singha Premiership Rugby 7s, which takes place at Wasps’ Ricoh Arena on the 21st August.

The evening kicks off at 19.15 on the Friday evening, and the former Wellington College and Harrow School backs have both been included in what is an otherwise experienced 14 man provisional squad.

The young stars will face Northampton Saints, Saracens, and Harlequins in a group that Wasps are clearly hoping to do well in, having named the likes of Christian Wade, Elliot Daly, Josh Bassett, young outside half Alex Lozowski, and new scrum half Dan Robson, a part of Gloucester’s winning side last year, in the squad.

Former England 7s man Guy Thompson is also included, as are back rows Sam Jones and Thomas Young, as well as Will Rowlands, Brendan Macken, Alex Rieder, and Jamie Stevenson.

Wasps are using the competition as an extension of their pre-season, given the delayed start to the Aviva Premiership due to the World Cup, but are keen to see the young academy duo in action, as Academy Manager Matt Davies, who leads the side for the event, alluded to, saying:

 “This is the first opportunity the players will have, in what is an unusually long pre-season, to hit the ground with anger if you like, due to the Rugby World Cup and the Aviva Premiership season kicking off later, it’s a 17-week pre-season, and so the Singha 7s will be the first highlight for players and fans to look forward to and a chance for players to test their fitness and play some rugby.”

“In addition to that, we’re at home. We’ve already enjoyed some fantastic experiences at the Ricoh Arena since our move and as a squad and as a club, we are determined to make this another enjoyable occasion for our supporters.”

“There’s a real buzz when you look through the names in this initial squad. It’s a really exciting group of players who can light up any Premiership field with their pace and skills, so we are looking forward to watching what they can do with the extra space you get on the field with 7s.”

“Each player will have different personal aspirations at this phase of pre-season. It’s a huge opportunity for our younger academy players Owain James and Conor Dolan, to mix with the senior players and learn from being exposed to the levels required in this kind of tournament.”

“Group C is a really tough group. Harlequins have traditionally been very successful in 7s and Saracens won this tournament a few years ago, while Northampton Saints have really talented squads for both 7s and 15s, so we know the challenge ahead of us.”

Wasps Squad:

Alex Lozowski

Alex Rieder

Brendan Macken

Christian Wade

Conor Dolan

Dan Robson

Elliot Daly

Guy Thompson

Jamie Stevenson

Josh Bassett

Owain James

Sam Jones

Thomas Young

Will Rowlands

Schedule:

19:00 Entertainment Underway

19:15  Wasps v Harlequins

19:40 Saracens v Northampton Saints

20:10 Saracens v Harlequins

20:35 Wasps v Northampton Saints

21:05 Harlequins v Northampton Saints

21:30 Wasps v Saracens

22:00 The Ministry of Sound After Party in the Jaguar Indoor Arena