Andy Vilk has left it late but finally his dream of competing on a World Cup stage looks set to come true.
In Hong Kong four years ago Vilk was given painful news by the then England coach Mike Friday. He would be 13th man. Waterboy.
"To play in the World Cup was a dream of mine from four years ago when I first started playing sevens," said Vilk.
"It's driven me to play at this level. Even through the embarrassment of my parents being there, I was with the team every step of the way, apart from being on the field."
Vilk took over from Simon Amor last season as England's Sevens captain but an opportunity to play professional club rugby for Benneton Treviso in Italy took him away from Ben Ryan's side for the first two tournaments of the season. Now he is back to compete at the NZI Sevens in Wellington and USA Sevens in San Diego and ready to stake his claim for a Rugby World Cup Sevens place in Dubai.
"Hopefully if I impress in these two tournaments I may have a chance this year," he said.
"When Ben told me I would be involved with these tournaments I was over the moon because the boys had obviously played so well in Dubai and then South Africa, I knew I really had to fight for my place in the squad so I’m very happy to be here.
Wellington the ultimate test
"New Zealand is the hot bed of rugby, it’s another world. We’re not the most popular team out there but, as much as the support from the crowds in Hong Kong and Dubai will lift you, the fact that the crowd in New Zealand are so against you also lifts you and lifts your game and it’s a fantastic tournament."
In terms of tests, history proves that there is none tougher for England and coach Ben Ryan than Wellington. In the tournament's nine-year history England have failed to win it.
"In a funny, self-harming way Wellington is my favourite tournament because it’s the hardest for us in terms of jet lag, time zones and preparation times," said Ryan.
"It falls really nicely for Fiji, Samoa, New Zealand in the timings of their seasons and they're also closer to home. But the positives are that it’s an amazing atmosphere.
"It sold out in under 10 minutes this year, they have a street parade through the town where it’s not one man and his dog, it’s the entire city coming out. You’re staggered by the amount of interest it generates and unless you go to witness it it’s very hard to see exactly what it brings."
Unlike at other venues on the World Series such as Dubai, Hong Kong and of course London, England cannot count on any support from the New Zealand crowd, which is another reason why Ryan likes it: It presents the ultimate mental and physical test for his young players.
Ryan: "They boo us here"
"In Wellington they boo us, they throw things at us, they play the Coronation Street theme tune when we run onto the pitch and they will sing for the opposition!
"It’s a great atmosphere for these young Englishman to have the flip side of the coin. Our Test match players have to go down under and play these teams at the height of their season when it’s good for them and come out the other end with some reward.
"Danny Care did it last year and played for us at Wellington and returned from the summer to get his first senior caps so for him he had experienced similar stuff before and it made the transition a bit easier and that’s part of what we can provide as a Sevens team. We can take these youngsters to places they’re going to revisit as older senior internationals and hopefully they’ll be a little bit better for it."
Vilk is also looking forward to competing in the USA in what will be the team's final preparations for the Rugby World Cup Sevens, and his final chance to prove that he has successfully made the transition from 15-a-side to Sevens player.
"You’d think going to San Diego would be a bit of a downer after Wellington but they’ve done so well with the tournament," he said.
"Every year it’s getting bigger and bigger. They’ve turfed out the baseball outfield and because it’s such a different environment it makes it interesting for the players and somewhere different to play."
