The squads have been named for Sunday’s Singha Premiership Rugby 7s Finals Day at the Ricoh Arena.
Sunday’s action will guarantee a new champion after Newport Gwent Dragons, the reigning champions, failed to qualify from Group A for one of Sunday’s quarter finals.
They were edged out by Cardiff Blues and the Ospreys. Cardiff will open the action on Sunday at 14.00 against Group D runners-up, Sale Sharks. It is a much changed Cardiff squad from the group stage two weeks ago, with five changes as their Wales U18 players are absent due to their tour of South Africa. England, incidentally will also be on tour at that point, but their players are being allowed to participate on Sunday.
Sale, meanwhile, have the same squad as the one that finished second at Kingston Park last weekend, with England U18 back row duo Tom and Ben Curry still involved as is another England U18 international, and the new Singha 7s record try scorer, Paolo Odogwu. England U20 star George Nott remains in the side, which is captain once again by former England U20 scrum half James Mitchell.
Second behind Cardiff in the group stage were the Ospreys, like Cardiff Blues they make a number of changes due to Wales U18 commitments but keep a number of familiar faces, including the former NatWest Schools Cup winner with Dulwich College, Tom O’Flaherty.
Ospreys will face Newcastle Falcons at 15.15 on Sunday, the last of the quarter finals. Newcastle finished top of Group D on their own turf last weekend. Their squad includes just one change from that group, with Scotland U20 lock Andrew Davidson coming in for Ruaridh Dawson after recovering from injury.
Dan Temm skippers the side, which includes last weekend’s star Joel Hodgson, and Sedbergh School leaver Max Davies both included.
The second quarter final, at 14.25, sees Exeter Chiefs and Northampton Saints meet. Exeter Chiefs won Group B at Sandy Park a fortnight ago and name an unchanged squad for this weekend.
Sam Simmonds skippers the side, alongside brother his brother, Joe, while former England U20 star flanker Sam Skinner is also involved. Exeter University’s Pete Laverick is a youngster to keep an eye out, he has impressed for many of the Chiefs’ representative sides in recent times.
Exeter’s opponents, Northampton Saints, meanwhile finished second behind Harlequins last Friday at Franklin’s Gardens. Saints have made a number of changes to that squad, with England’s Tony Roques and Loughborough Students’ David Morris coming to their aid to help build the squad.
England Student’s 7s skipper, and ex Felsted skipper, Charlie Kingham comes in, as does England 7s and former St Joseph’s College star Ethan Waddleton, who was down to play for Saracens last week.
Waddleton’s former St Joseph’s teammate Tom Emery retains his place in the squad, while there is room for both of Bedford School’s Scotland U18 internationals, Fraser Strachan and Fraser Dingwall. George Furbank skippers the side that also includes England U18 international Alex Rayment.
The host club, Wasps, will take part in the third quarter final, which takes place at 14.50 against Harlequins.
Wasps have made a number of changes to their squad that finished second in Group B as they bring some big first team names as they aim to go one better than last year and actually lift the trophy.
The headline name in their squad is Christian Wade, while fellow stars Guy Thompson, Frank Halai, and Nick De Luca are also included. Josh Bassett skippers the side, which includes three members of the Wasps Senior Academy, former Harrow full back/fly half Owain James, Henley College leaver Connor Eastgate (fly half), and former Shiplake College winger Tom Howe, who has represented England 7s.
Their opponents, Harlequins, were on fire at Franklin’s Gardens on Friday night and as such they have made very little alteration to their team. There is just the one change as Brighton College’s Marcus Smith replaces Reigate Grammar School’s Max Coyle as they continue to give schoolboys experience at the top level.
Smith is joined by former Brighton College pupil Callum Waters, who captains the squad, while there are two players who have only finished school this summer, Cranleigh’s Dino Lamb-Cona and Trinity’s Gabriel Ibitoye. Ex Whitigft pupil Henry Cheeseman looks set to shine, as does the former Wellington College man Sam Aspland-Robinson, while Scotland U20 flyer Robbie Nairn will also hope to impress. England 7s players Cam Cowell and Oscar Hirskyj-Douglas continue to guest for Quins.
Following the quarter finals, the semi finals will take place, with the losers of each quarter final going to the plate semi final and the winners going to the Cup semi finals. They take place from 15.40 to 16.55.
From 17.20 it is time for the finals, beginning with the Women’s final at 17.20, followed by the Plate at 17.45, and the main Cup final at 18.10.
Singha Premiership Rugby 7s Finals Day Fixtures (Ricoh Arena – Sunday 7th August):
Quarter Finals:
Cardiff Blues v Sale Sharks (14.00)
Exeter Chiefs v Northampton Saints (14.25)
Wasps v Harlequins (14.50)
Newcastle Falcons v Ospreys (15.15)
Semi Finals:
Plate 1 (15.40)
Cup 1 (16.05)
Plate 2 (16.30)
Cup 2 (16.55)
Finals:
Women’s Final (17.20)
Plate Final (17.45)
Cup Final (18.10)
Squads
| Cardiff Blues | Sale Sharks | Exeter Chiefs | Northampton Saints |
| Adam Thomas (c) | Tom Curry | Sam Skinner | Joe Green |
| Ben Roach | Ben Curry | Sam Simmonds (c) | Fraser Strachan |
| Morgan Sienawski | Matt Rogerson | Pete Laverick | Fraser Dingwall |
| Luke Crocker | Andy Hughes | Joe Simmonds | James Fish |
| Joe Tomlinson | George Nott | Nick Mason | George Furbank (c) |
| Ceri Young | James Mitchell (c) | Max Bodilly | Alex Rayment |
| Owen Jenkins | Curtis Langdon | Matt Jess | Will Glover |
| James Beale | Sam Bedlow | Tom Hendrickson | Ethan Waddleton |
| Johnny Lewis | Paolo Odogwu | Jamie George | Tom Emery |
| Ethan Davies | Nick Scott | Dan Frost | Will Edwards |
| Aron Wyn Evans | Tom Morton | Ted Landry | Charlie Kingham |
| Declan Williams | Charlie Venables | Harrison Cully | Yiannis Lozias |
| Wasps | Harlequins | Newcastle Falcons | Ospreys |
| Alex Rieder | Cam Cowell | Dan Temm (c) | Joseph Scrivens |
| Tom Cruse | Gabriel Ibitoye | Santiago Socino | Steff Andrews (c) |
| Frank Halai | Marcus Smith | Glen Young | Matthew Aubrey |
| Brendan Macken | Dino Lamb-Cona | Max Davies | Chris Knight |
| Guy Thompson | Robbie Nairn | Harrison Orr | Jonathan Phillips |
| Josh Bassett (c) | Oscar Hirskyj-Douglas | Adam Radwan | Tom O’Flaherty |
| Nick De Luca | James Gulliver | Andrew Davidson | Morgan Williams |
| Craig Hampson | Jonas Mikalcius | Tom Catterick | David Evans |
| Owain James | Calum Waters (c) | Dan Marshall | Joe Gage |
| Christian Wade | James Lang | Joel Hodgson | Mike Sully |
| Connor Eastgate | Sam Aspland-Robinson | Ben Stevenson | Alex Dunham |
| Tom Howe | Henry Cheeseman | Tom Ffitch | Andrew Claypole |