Exiles Kick-Off Sevens Season At Carrick
The Exiles begin their Sevens season at the Carrick Sevens tournament this coming weekend, with the competition representing the perfect opportunity for the Exiles to bed in some new squad members.
The Carrick event kicks off with an Under-20s competition on Friday evening, continues with an open event on Saturday and concludes with the Manvik Premier international event on Sunday.
The Exiles have had a strong presence in Sevens in recent seasons and their experience led to coach Jon Skurr leading Ireland at the Rugby World Cup Sevens in Dubai last month.
Skurr is unavailable this season and there is a transition underway. The Carrick Sevens represents the perfect opportunity for the Exiles to bed in new squad members and build for future success.
The Exiles DHL Sevens will play in the Premier event on Sunday and are grouped with Mels Exiles (Wales), whom they narrowly beat in Amsterdam last season, Studfarm, and the Kooga Wailers (England).
The Wailers, drawn from the Newcastle Falcons, were beaten finalists in Dubai last month.
Also in the Premier Event are the Ulster Presidents side, Wooden Spoon (England) and Dundee HSFP (Scotland).
This Sevens season sees the Exiles in a transition period, with a number of their senior players, such as Skurr, Jon Feeley, Gareth McComb, Paul Devlin and Brendan Burke unavailable.
In their places come young Exiles such as Rowan Halsall, Elliott O’Brien, Dean Connor and Charlie Ingall.
The Exiles Sevens squad are coached by Kevan Bell with Ces Shaw as manager and Neil Boyd the physio.