Varndell keen to reignite Sevens again

 

Tom Varndell enjoyed a debut to remember on his last visit to Dubai

When England’s Tom Varndell was last in Dubai he was named ‘Player of the Tournament’ after scoring 10 tries in his debut IRB Sevens World Series leg in 2005.

It is no surprise head coach Ben Ryan selected the Leicester wing, who was once described by New Zealand Sevens coach Gordon Tietjens as the fastest thing he had ever seen on a rugby field.

But Varndell knows he has to work hard to adopt a different approach to the one he did when he last donned an England Sevens shirt in the Commonwealth Games 2006 final in Melbourne and to the 15-a-side format he plays at club level.

“The game hasn’t got any slower and the work hasn’t got any easier. It’s been tough fitness wise and I have had to pick that up very quickly otherwise I would get found out. But I will be judged on how I perform on Thursday night and hopefully I will do myself justice and the team will be happy to have me here,” said Varndell.

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“I am lucky to have been selected to be a part of the World Cup, and to be involved with a very good team, so I want to enjoy myself. I want to play as best I can for the team and help them win the tournament.”

Second is not good enough

The English Premiership's top try scorer last season joins a team full with confidence as they head the IRB Series standings with South Africa at the halfway mark following victory in Wellington and runners-up finish in San Diego last month.

However despite winning the silver medal in Melbourne, the memory of that defeat by New Zealand still provides the 23-year-old with enough motivation to go one better this time around.

“I am helped by a confident bunch of boys who are sitting top of the IRB World Series standings and as long as we turn up and perform with accuracy and speed, and to the best of our ability which we know we can do, it should be very interesting,” Varndell added.

“In the Commonwealth Games we did finish second best, and that was the last big global competition we were a part of. There are a few boys here that were a part of that who still have it at the back of their minds, and we don’t want to be second best again, we want to be top of the world. That is our aim and our goal that we set out to achieve."

Varndell's impact

Ryan, who recalled the wing specifically for the RWC Sevens in Dubai, spoke about the immediate impact a player of Varndell’s calibre has in training sessions in preparation for the tournament.

“To have him in the squad has given all the players a boost, and subtly it has added a little extra edge, spice and standards to sessions that were already pretty high. Tom has good standards and this has had an impact on the rest of the boys,” said Ryan.

“He has played in the Commonwealth Games, in big Test matches and has a great skill set. He also has searing pace. In rugby terminology there is quick, rapid and quick quick - Tom is quick quick, he can ghost around people.”

But it is not just his coach that has been singing his praises.

“Tom Biggs, the other winger in our group, told us today that out of all the higher profile names that have come in to squads for the RWC 2009, that Tom Varndell is by far the best. That is great coming from someone who is rooming with him, but who is also desperate to have his shirt and has done really well for us in the past six months,” added Ryan.

The decision to include Varndell has been met with a lot of positive feedback, most notably from former coach Mike Friday, who initially selected him for England Sevens back in late 2005. 

“Looking at the squad I think the shrewd move to bring Tom back in is a master stroke,” said Friday, now involved with the England women’s team in Dubai for the inaugural competition at The Sevens.

“I think Tom needs Sevens right now to show how he can run with ball in hand and get him back to the confident player he is.

“His blistering pace likened to a thoroughbred race horse is the final piece of attacking armoury Ben Ryan needs to mix his attacking game and strike the fear of God into the opposition.”

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