Ex-Warwick schoolboys picked for England 7s

WARWICK School products Ben Howard and Jordan Ainslie have been named in England’s Sevens squad for this week’s inaugural DHL Oktoberfest Sevens.

Worcester Warriors’ flier Howard plays at full-back or on the wing in the 15-a-side version of the sport, while flanker Ainslie has become something of a sevens specialist.

Howard, who made his top-flight debut aged 19, was previously part of the England set-up that won the 2013 under-20s World Cup.

He has also played for Birmingham Moseley in National One, two rungs below the Premiership, on a dual-registration basis this season.

England’s 12-man squad, which is made up mainly of academy players, faces Uganda, Germany and Argentina in pool B on the opening day of the two-day competition, hosted at the Munich Olympic Stadium today and tomorrow.

Eight other international teams are involved in the inaugural tournament, including big-hitters Fiji, plus tier-one test-playing nations Australia, South Africa, France, Argentina and Ireland.

England Sevens head coach Simon Amor said the new competition could be the first step on a ladder that leads to the world sevens circuit for Howard and his other young players.

“This competition provides the England Sevens programme with a great opportunity to trial our very young players and give them exposure against some worldclass teams which will undoubtedly be an enormous challenge for them,” he said.”

“It’s great for the programme to have the opportunity to work with Worcester Warriors to allow Ben Howard with the chance to play international sevens and develop his game at this tournament.”

Warwick School is an academy centre for Worcester Warriors, and has also developed a reputation as one of the top rugby-playing schools in England over the course of the past decade.