England sevens legend Gollings back in the fray
All-time top scorer in Sevens World Series to join strong Samurai line-up for the Tens
Sevens legend Ben Gollings will make his debut at next week's GFI HKFC Tens as the Englishman bids to help two-time finalists Samurai win the Cup for the first time.
Gollings, the all-time top scorer on the HSBC Sevens World Series, stars in a strong multinational squad that also features England Sevens duo Chris Cracknell and winger Mat Turner, the top try scorer in the 2011-12 Sevens World Series.
Top seeds Penguins, who edged Samurai in last year's final, have also recruited from England Sevens and included Christian Lewis-Pratt, Callum Wilson and winger Mark Odejobi in a provisional roster.
I'll be helping with the coaching and playing, and offering an old head among a great group of young players
Gollings, who said he "officially didn't retire", ended his 11-year England sevens career in 2011 after amassing 2,652 points in 70 World Series events and is now based in Seattle as part of his work for Serevi Rugby, which was founded by Fiji legend Waisale Serevi.
"Samurai have a great reputation for putting out strong teams and winning competitions and this year's Tens in Hong Kong will be no different. It's a great tournament and one they'd like to win," Gollings, 33, said.
"I'll be helping with the coaching and playing, and offering an old head among a great group of young players. We have experienced players from England Sevens, like Mat and Chris, and many players from the English Premiership, including Danny Herriott and Nathan Fowles, who both represented England U20s recently."
Gollings helped England win the Hong Kong Sevens four times during 10 straight appearances from 2002 to 2011.
