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Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2013:05:12:18:40:55 by Kath..

England Sevens Head Coach Ben Ryan

England Sevens Head Coach Ben Ryan reports from London ahead of the final round of the HSBC Sevens World Series at the Twickenham this weekend.

Twickenham. We get one Home game a year and this weekend is it. It has been great to be preparing on home soil for a tournament and there is certainly a feel amongst all the teams that the London Marriott Sevens is going to be a fitting climax to a helter skelter HSBC World Sevens Series season.

The nations all made the very short journey from Glasgow to London this week and we are all staying in the same team hotel. This year we have all moved across to Stamford Bridge and the hotel at Chelsea FC. The dining area looks out onto the pitch and it’s been a great venue for the teams to sample a small slice of London whilst focusing on preparations for the weekend.

We have knocks and niggles after Glasgow and all the squad have joined us for our field sessions this week to add competition and intensity in the sessions. Last weekend we played pretty well. A few small errors cost us a possible spot in the final but we certainly put together some excellent performances and it’s given us a good foothold to build on this weekend.

It’s been interesting to see a lot of teams have made changes for the last tournament. Some, forced upon sides as injuries in Scotland mounted up. Others have managed to prise their overseas based players from their English clubs to bolster their ranks. It’s been a trend this year. The competition has got greater and sustaining performances over two consecutive weekends with the same players is tough. I don’t think any winning side in the second of a pair of tournaments has kept the same 12 players from the first tournament.

There has also been one eye on World Cup preparation for all teams as we get closer to Moscow and the quadrennial event. Match play is crucial for your side so if countries are going to make significant changes to their squad then some will begin that process now to start forming connections and synergy on the field. It certainly looks like both Fiji and Samoa, two of our London group opponents have started that journey and with Argentina, one of our World Cup pool opponents, they make up a challenging pool for us on Saturday. Our pool composition shows just how hard the series is now. We are one of the top three seeds for the final event but that offers little protection from drawing some of the big powerhouses of sevens rugby. Personally, I like those sorts of groups – it’s what you play and coach the game for - big games in front of big crowds in one of the true cathedrals of World Rugby.

The attendance levels of the Marriott London Sevens is again going to break previous records. Six years ago we didn’t get past 40,000 supporters over the weekend and this season you can probably treble that figure. We can now proudly say we are putting on the biggest one day attended event in the global Sevens season and that is testament to the growth of the game and the success of London as a venue. Approximately 85% + games in the series are won or lost in the last minute of the game. That means the crowd will be on the edge of their seats for a large proportion of the weekend and as ever big games will be decided on the slimmest of margins.

As for England, we will be giving everything. Twickenham gives us an extra man and the team are incredibly excited to play there. You never, ever lose that feeling of running on to the turf at Twickenham representing your country. We are all very honoured to do that this weekend again and we hope you will vacate the edge of your seat for your feet as you support the Red Rose. Come on England.

Tom Powell is one of four England Sevens players who have created a Spotify playlist.

England Sevens has agreed a new partnership with digital music service Spotify to enhance the match-day experience for fans at this weekend’s Marriott London Sevens.

International DJ and Spotify ambassador Seb Fontaine will appear live at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday (11 May) to perform an exclusive set for fans attending the first day of the Marriott London Sevens.

Fontaine will first take to the stage in Twickenham’s West Car Park between 4.45 and 5.15pm before heading into the stadium to pump up the crowd ahead of England’s final pool match against Argentina. As well as providing fans with select pre-match, half-time and post-match tunes, the legendary DJ’s sounds will accompany all try scoring celebrations in the final match of the day.

And for fans wanting to get a better insight into what makes England Sevens players tick, squad members James Rodwell, Jeff Williams, Ollie Phillips and Tom Powell have created their own playlists, including a wide range of songs from Bastille’s hit Pompeii to Princess of China – Coldplay’s collaboration with Rihanna. There is also a safari-themed England Sevens team playlist for fans to enjoy during the final round of the HSBC World Sevens Series.

Speaking ahead of the weekend’s action, England Sevens player James Rodwell said: “Everyone in the squad is massively into their music, so it’s been great fun working with Spotify to create our own personal playlists. Hopefully the fans will like what we listen to! I think it’s great that we have Seb Fontaine playing a set ahead of our final pool match on Saturday. Playing at Twickenham is fantastic as the crowd is just immense and really gets behind the team. We can’t wait to get out there on Saturday.”

To listen to James Rodwell’s Spotify playlist visit: Rodders’ Randoms

Last year’s weekend attendance of over 103, 000 confirmed London as the world’s largest two day sevens tournament but ticket sales are on course to break this record with 110, 000 fans expected over the weekend to enjoy the 850 minutes of fast top-class rugby action


To listen to Jeff Williams’ Spotify playlist click here

To listen to Ollie Phillips’ Spotify playlist click here

To listen to Tom Powell’s Spotify playlist click here

To listen to the England Sevens Spotify Playlist visit: RFU London 7s Big Game Hunt