They will also break new ground domestically when they take their game against the Ulster Bank Ireland Clubs XV on March 16 to Lancashire – the first time the Counties XV have played in the North of England.

The Counties XV, the representative flagship of the county and community game outside the Aviva Premiership, has already visited North and South America, Europe and the Far East since it was founded in 2002, but this tour to Kenya and Uganda is the first excursion to the continent of Africa, although they have played Tunisia.

The programme includes matches against Uganda, East Africa and an East Africa Tuskers Invitation XV.

“This is a really exciting tour and exactly what England Counties is all about as a flagship of England Community rugby and a vehicle for promoting the game among other International Board countries,” said Team Manager Michael Old.

“Not only will we be playing three fixtures to promote the game into East Africa, but also teaming with Uganda and Kenya Rugby, along with the Tag Rugby charity, to spend time taking the game into schools and rugby clubs.

“All three bodies are working hard in East Africa to make rugby the national sport and during our recent visit we went to schools and orphanages where Tag had started their programmes.

“It was an incredible experience and one the Counties squad will get heavily involved in, leaving a positive legacy in East Africa. It promises to be an amazing tour for all the players involved, both from a playing perspective and a personal experience.”

“Having been out there to meet our hosts and get a feel for what we’ll be involved in, I’m hugely excited on all fronts. After watching the athleticism, skills and physical commitment of the players on show in the Uganda Cup Final, I know we’ll be facing strong and determined  opposition.

“They can’t wait for an England team to go over there and there is no doubt they will provide a serious challenge. The East Africa sides will include Ugandan and Kenyan players, with the Invitational team including players from South Africa and other major playing nations to supplement their squad.

“It’s a thrilling prospect and one that I hope strikes a chord with players and attracts them to play in the Bill Beaumont Cup this season, which remains the vehicle for inclusion in the tour party.”

Selection for the Ireland Clubs XV game will be made from players with a National League club contract.

One man who will be more excited than most about the Counties trip is Stephen Pope, the Director of Club Rugby at Blackheath, who has been appointed the team’s new Forwards Coach in succession to Dave Baldwin.

The 37-year-old former London Wasps, London Welsh, Swansea, Old Albanians and Blackheath player has been at The Rectory Field in a number of posts since 2004 when he joined them from Swansea.

"I’m very excited about joining the Counties operation and about linking up again with Jan Bonney, the backs coach." says Pope: "I played alongside him as a kid and I’ve got to know him pretty well during his time at Saracens Academy.

"Blackheath were delighted with my appointment and have been very supportive, which I really appreciate.

"Obviously getting the chance to go to Africa on the summer tour is as thrilling as it gets, so I’m really pleased about being involved."

"Steve was an outstanding candidate and I’m very much looking forward to welcoming him on board for the next two years and to seeing him and Head Coach Jan Bonney working together." said Old.

"At this stage I should add my thanks to Steve’s predecessor Dave Baldwin, who has done a great job with the Counties since joining us in
2007."

PIC: New Counties XV Forwards Coach Stephen Pope

The South African fly-half joined Bath in November 2007, after lifting the World Cup with the Springboks. In 58 appearances for Bath he has scored 327 points, with his inspirational attacking play and unforgiving defensive work making him a key member of the squad.

Head Coach Steve Meehan said “Butch is a very talented rugby player, and so we will obviously be disappointed to see him leave at the end of the season. He has been a great squad member, both on and off the pitch, and an inspirational player in many ways. I have absolutely no doubt, however, that he will still play a very important part for us in the remainder of this season, and will be aiming to leave the Club with a fantastic season completed.”

Butch said “My time at Bath has been the most enjoyable of my rugby career. I have made great friends, enjoyed the rugby we have played and have been amazed by the Bath supporters – by far the best set of supporters I have played for! I want to give myself the best possible shot at playing for South Africa in the World Cup, and I feel that is best achieved by returning home and being in the country. I would like to thank everyone at the Club for their support, and also the great fans of Bath Rugby who have been so fantastic in my time here.”

Dave McCall (wing) and Alex Dunbar (centre) have been selected from Glasgow Warriors while club stalwart Mark Cairns (brother of Scotland internationalist Ben Cairns) comes in from Currie for the tournament fortnight.

Selection marks a recall to the abbreviated arena for the Warriors pair: McCall made his debut in the Dubai and South Africa tournaments in 2006/07 while Dunbar featured in the Hong Kong and Adelaide tournaments of 2008/09, aged 18.

Cairns is the latest Premier 1 player to be called up by Shiel, who has already shown his willingness to work with the top performers from Scotland’s club game.

Speaking on the new recruits, Shiel said: “Having reviewed our performance from the first two series I felt that a large portion of the team had earned an automatic recall.

“That being said I think it’s important to offer different players the chance to prove they have something to offer the squad and allow me to create a larger pool of experienced sevens players who I can call upon.

Dave [McCall] brings experience of sevens and professional rugby to the squad and, as a result, has a good understanding of the requirements and the demands of international sevens, while also being a very exciting and able young rugby player.

“Alex Dunbar has come a long way since his debut and I think he could offer a huge amount to this squad. He has good skills and is a physical and powerful player. He should make an exciting contribution.

“Mark [Cairns] has been training with the squad and this is an excellent opportunity to see what he can do on the World Series stage. He will bring aggression and hunger to our contact area, which is a big part of the sevens game.

“The challenge for Mark is to match the efforts made by the likes of Graham Fisken in the previous legs and give me more selection headaches when we return.”

Scotland enjoyed a positive return from the opening two events, returning home with the South Africa Sevens Bowl and four Series points, putting them in tenth place.

Having established that success as a benchmark, Shiel now wishes to challenge the squad for cup qualification but refuses to take any team for granted in Wellington, where Scotland will face hosts (and cup holders) New Zealand, Argentina and Papua New Guinea on day one to confirm their placing in the knockout rounds.

“The challenge for us is to pick up where we left off. It was good to lift the Bowl in South Africa but I’d like us to start targeting the quarter-finals which will be a huge achievement in itself in a tough pool.

“They are more productive in terms of generating series points which we have to be mindful of.”

After the third tournament in Wellington, the eight-event HSBC Sevens World Series will take its unique brand of entertainment to and Las Vegas, Hong Kong, Australia, England and Scotland, climaxing at Murrayfield on 28 and 29 May 2011.

Scotland 7s squad
Mark Cairns (Currie), David Denton (Edinburgh Rugby/Hawick), Struan Dewar (Edinburgh Rugby elite development/Heriot’s), Alex Dunbar (Glasgow Warriors), Dave McCall (Glasgow Warriors), James Fleming (Glasgow Warriors/Dundee), Fraser Harkness (Selkirk), James Johnstone (Glasgow Warriors elite development/Currie), Scott Riddell (Stewart’s Melville), Ross Samson (Edinburgh Rugby), Andrew Skeen (Watsonians)
* 12th squad member to be confirmed

HSBC SEVENS WORLD SERIES: Wellington 7s draw (Friday/Saturday 4/5 February)
Pool A: England, Wales, USA, Cook Islands
Pool B: New Zealand, Argentina, Scotland, Papua New Guinea
Pool C: Samoa, Australia, Kenya Tonga
Pool D: Fiji, South Africa, France, Canada

HSBC SEVENS WORLD SERIES: Las Vegas 7s draw (Friday/Saturday 11/12 February)
POOL A: England, France, Argentina, Guyana
POOL B: New Zealand, Wales, Kenya, Uruguay
POOL C:  Fiji, Australia, Scotland, Canada
POOL D: Samoa, South Africa, USA, Japan

2010/11 HSBC Sevens World Series schedule
Dubai, UAE – 3-4 December 2010
George, South Africa – 10-11 December 2010
Wellington, New Zealand – 4-5 February 2011
Las Vegas, USA – 12-13 February 2011
Hong Kong – 25-27 March 2011
Adelaide, Australia – 2-3 April 2011
London, England – 21-22 May 2011
EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND – 28-29 MAY 2011

Head coach Ben Ryan’s men top the table after a win at last month’s Emirates Airline Dubai Sevens and a second place finish at the Emirates Airline South Africa Sevens in George.

Nick Royle comes into the 12-man squad in place of the injured Ollie Lindsay-Hague (Harlequins) for the tournaments at Wellington (February 4-5) and Las Vegas (February 12-13).

The 27-year-old former Widnes Vikings and Warrington Wolves wing is a contracted England Sevens player who has been appearing alongside 2003 World Cup winner Jason Robinson for Fylde this season.

Sevens legend Ben Gollings leads the England team looking to extend his world record tally of 2,455 series points when the No.1 seeds kick off the NZI Sevens with pool matches against Wales, the USA and the Cook Islands.

They will be out to emulate their victory at Wellington in 2009 when the hosts were beaten in the final by Isoa Damudamu’s late try and Gollings’s clinching conversion.

Ryan is impressed with the work done so far in training on and off the field.

He said: “We’ve been very critical of what we’ve done in the first two tournaments and it’s important that self-analysis has taken place. We’re still very disappointed that we didn’t take out New Zealand in the final at George.

“We’ve been back in training for two weeks now and we’ve used that time to really work hard on fitness and the players have come out of it with some outstanding scores measured in fitness tests and our GPS data.

“Now we go to a tournament at Wellington where we’ve had a bit of success in the last few years and what happens there and in Vegas has often been a turning point in the series.

“We don’t want to give up being top of the pile and everybody will be looking at what we’ve done so far, so we’ll examine what we can do to adjust a few things over the next few weeks.”

England Squad
Greg Barden (Royal Navy)
John Brake (England Sevens)
Dan Caprice (England Sevens)
Chris Cracknell (England Sevens)
Isoa Damudamu (British Army)
Ben Gollings (England Sevens, captain)
Simon Hunt (Birmingham & Solihull)
Dan Norton (Bristol Rugby)
Tom Powell (England Sevens)
James Rodwell (England Sevens)
Nick Royle (England Sevens)
Mathew Turner (England Sevens)

HSBC Sevens World Series standings (top five): 1 England 44pts, 2 New Zealand 40, 3 Samoa 36, 4 Fiji 32, 5 South Africa 24

Additional Players Registered in time for Round 4 of the Amlin Challenge Cup

AGEN

Additional Player / Joueur supplémentaire – Hendro SCHOLTZ

Date of Birth: 22.03.79

Position: Back row forward

Height: 1.86m / 6’1”

Weight: 106kgs / 16st 9lbs

International record: South Africa

De-Registered / Joueur remplacé– John O’SULLIVAN

NEWCASTLE FALCONS

Additional Player / Joueur supplémentaire – Jonathan TU’IPULOTU

Date of Birth: 07.02.81

Position: Centre

Height: 1.88m / 6’2”

Weight: 99kgs / 15st 8lbs

International record: Pacific Islanders

De-Registered / Joueur remplacé – Thomas CATTERICK

After putting in some impressive displays in the Dubai 7s tournament the weekend prior, the Scots arrived in South Africa determined to back-up and build on those performances in the second leg of the global series.

Scotland got their day-one campaign off to a good start with a win over France (21-12) but were ultimately undone in two winnable encounters with Dubai 7s Plate semi-finalists Wales (19-7) and finalists Australia (21-7), to finish third in the pool.

While improvements made by the young side were evident once more, the overriding feeling in the camp was one of disappointment at not getting a second day-one win – that disappointment turned into day-two determination as the Scots took on the Bowl.

The three successive wins to take the title kicked off on song when a 14-5 win over Namibia booked Scotland’s place in a semi-final with Portugal.

In the close game the sides matched one another try-for-try but Andrew Skeen’s impressive kicking rate, sending over two from two, was the difference (14-10) as Scotland went through to the final with last weekend’s Dubai 7s pool opponents, Russia.

Scotland went into the game with confidence having won the Dubai 7s pool match 26-10 but Russia’s impressive 34-0 semi-final win over France underlined their threat.

Scotland got off to a great start with their first of four unanswered tries coming from Andrew Skeen, who converted his own score after two minutes.

Skeen then continued his excellent kicking record by adding the extras to a Dougie Fife try with the last touch of the half to put the Scots 14-0 up at the break.

Scotland returned to the field on song and, after three minutes, Scott Riddell crossed for an unconverted score to put further distance between the sides.

West of Scotland’s Graham Fisken follwed suit with Scotland’s fourth and final try of the match.

Skeen slotted the kick in the sixth minute to end the scoring to see Scotland secure the silverware and four series points.

Scotland 7s head coach, Graham Shiel, said: “The boys felt like they could and should have got more out of the pool matches on day one, having pushed Wales and Australia very close. The players took a lot out of those matches but it was important that we continued our form into the Bowl.

“The game we struggled with most all weekend was Namibia. We really made life hard for ourselves and, while we believed we could win it, we had to dig deep to get the game under our belts.

“After that we really got into our stride. We played very well against Portugal, which you have to because they are a very good team, but against Russia we controlled they game from start to finish. The boys didn’t give anything away and showed real tenacity.

“This group has raised the bar every time they’ve had the chance. It’s been a fantastic experience to work with this group who have pushed themselves very hard, created real unity in the group and pulled it all together.

“They really have been exceptional and have met every challenge head on.”

After the opening two tournaments, the eight-event HSBC Sevens World Series will break until February before taking its unique brand of entertainment to New Zealand, USA, Hong Kong, Australia, England and Scotland, climaxing at Murrayfield on 28-29 May 2011.

SCOTLAND 7s SQUAD:
David Denton (Edinburgh Rugby/Hawick), Struan Dewar (Edinburgh Rugby elite development/Heriot’s), Michael Fedo (Team Northumbria), Dougie Fife (Currie), Graham Fisken (West of Scotland), James Fleming (Glasgow Warriors/Dundee), Fraser Harkness (Selkirk), Peter Horne (Glasgow Warriors/Dundee), James Johnstone (Glasgow Warriors elite development/Currie), Scott Riddell (Stewart’s Melville), Ross Samson (Edinburgh Rugby/Boroughmuir), Andrew Skeen (Watsonians)

FOR PLAYER PROFILES OF THE SCOTLAND 7s SQUAD PLEASE VISIT WWW.SCOTLANDRUGBYTEAM.ORG

2010/11 HSBC Sevens World Series schedule
Dubai, UAE – 3-4 December 2010
George, South Africa – 10-11 December 2010
Wellington, New Zealand – 4-5 February 2011
Las Vegas, USA – 12-13 February 2011
Hong Kong – 25-27 March 2011
Adelaide, Australia – 2-3 April 2011
London, England – 21-22 May 2011
Edinburgh, Scotland – 28-29 May 2011

Murray, 30, joined the Saints after the 2007 Rugby World Cup. In his three years at Franklin’s Gardens he played 61 times for the Saints, including in the 2009 European Challenge Cup final, scored two tries and represented the club on the 2009 British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa.

He leaves the club with immediate effect and with director of rugby Jim Mallinder wishing him the best for the future.

“Euan is a big personality and has helped the club become competitive again at the top end of the Premiership and in Europe,” he said. “He has played well for us and we have enjoyed having him here at Franklin’s Gardens. We wish him all the best for the future.”

“I’ve enjoyed playing at Franklin’s Gardens in front of its great supporters and I will take a lot of happy memories with me,” said Murray. “I wish everyone at Franklin’s Gardens all the best for the future.”

Ben Ryan’s men were searching for back-to-back titles after lifting the Dubai trophy last weekend and levelled the scores late on with a Mathew Turner try.

But despite having a man off the field in the sin bin, New Zealand responded with the last kick of the game and Tomasi Cama’s drop-goal penalty secured the silverware at the Emirates Airline South Africa Sevens.

England didn’t reach a final last season as they finished fifth in the series overall. They top the table now with 44 points after the first two legs of the eight event global tour.

Today they powered past South Africa 19-10 and Samoa 22-12 before facing pool stage opponents New Zealand once more.

Captain Ben Gollings and forward James Rodwell scored the first half tries, Gollings converting twice and England led 14-5 at the interval after Declan O’Donnell responded.

New Zealand came roaring back in the second half with scores from DJ Forbes and a second O’Donnell try but South Africa-born wing Turner levelled it at 19-19 with a long-range effort before Cama’s dramatic late kick finished them off.

Earlier England had beaten South Africa with two John Brake tries, one by Isoa Damudamu and two conversions from Gollings to secure their place in the semis.

The last time the sides had met was in the bronze medal match at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, where England were overtaken in the closing moments.

This time it was they who trailed at half time to tries from Cecil Afrika and Bernado Botha either side of half-back Brake’s effort.

They edged in front two minutes from time when Gollings converted a try from Damudamu, then made sure with Brake’s second moments from time.

England trailed early on against Samoa – their opponents in the Dubai final – after Fautua Otto’s early try and conversion.

A Dan Caprice try got them on the board, Damudamu struck early in the second half and Gollings added a conversion and a drop-goal penalty to make sure the islanders were held at arm’s length. Brake’s converted try put them out of sight before Otto scored his second.

On the opening day of the tournament, England had beaten Kenya 21-5 and Russia 19-5 before a 20-7 defeat against New Zealand saw them finish second in Pool C.

Gollings, Brake and Damudamu scored the tries against Kenya with Dan Norton’s brace and Tom Powell’s effort seeing off Russia. Bristol wing Norton scored the only try against New Zealand.

Two Dan Norton tries got England off to a winning start in the pool stages of the Emirates Airline South Africa Sevens in George this morning.

The Bristol wing struck in each half as England beat Russia 19-5 in the second leg of the HSBC Sevens World Series.

England went into the game with 24 points already banked from their triumph at the Emirates Airline Dubai Sevens with the target of recording back-to-back tournament wins for the first time in the world tour’s 11-year history.

But Russia are a rapidly improving force on the sevens scene and in a tough group England were wary of another shock after suffering a 14-12 reverse at the hands of Portugal on day one in Dubai.

England got off to a flier in George with Norton scoring within 40 seconds of the kick-off before the underdogs proved hard to break down until forward Tom Powell powered over immediately before the interval for his first try of the series with Ben Gollings converting.

Norton’s second try and another Gollings conversion opened up a healthy 19-0 lead before Russia got on the board through Vladimir Ostroushko with Nikolay Goroshilov converting.

England face Kenya and New Zealand in the opening day’s other Pool C matches.

England Sevens: Tom Powell, Dan Norton (Bristol Rugby), James Rodwell, Dan Caprice, Ollie Lindsay-Hague (Harlequins), Ben Gollings, Chris Cracknell.

England into quarter finals

England booked their place in the quarter finals with a 21-5 win over Kenya in their second game of the day at the Emirates Airline South Africa Sevens.

They now face New Zealand to see who finishes top of Pool C with South Africa or Argentina the likely opponents tomorrow in the second leg of the HSBC Sevens World Series.

England trailed early on in George against the dangerous Kenyan side to a Gibson Weru Kahuthia try but edged in front before the break after Horace Otieno was sin binned with a try and conversion from captain Ben Gollings.

British Army forward Isoa Damudamu and former Northampton Saints scrum half John Brake struck after the break with two more Gollings conversions securing a comfortable victory.

Earlier Dan Norton’s two tries got England off to a winning start in the pool stages as they beat Russia 19-5.

England went into the game with 24 series points already banked from their triumph at the Emirates Airline Dubai Sevens with the target of recording back-to-back tournament wins for the first time in the world tour’s 11-year history.

But Russia are a rapidly improving force on the sevens scene in a tough group and England were wary of another shock after suffering a 14-12 reverse at the hands of Portugal on day one in Dubai.

Norton, a Tom Powell effort and two Gollings conversions opened up a 19-0 lead before Russia got on the board through Vladimir Ostroushko with Nikolay Goroshilov converting.

Wales are also assured of a place in the quarter finals after impressive opening Pool A victories against Australia (33-15) and Scotland (19-7).

England Sevens v Russia: Tom Powell, Dan Norton (Bristol Rugby), James Rodwell, Dan Caprice, Ollie Lindsay-Hague (Harlequins), Ben Gollings, Chris Cracknell.

England Sevens v Kenya: Isoa Damudamu (British Army), Greg Barden (Royal Navy), Dan Norton (Bristol Rugby), James Rodwell, John Brake, Dan Caprice, Ben Gollings.

Tonight’s 20-7 defeat by New Zealand saw England finish second in Pool C after earlier victories against Kenya and Russia.

England trailed 10-0 at the break to the Kiwis. They hauled themselves back into the game with wing Dan Norton’s third try of the day and a Ben Gollings conversion, only for DJ Forbes and Jackson Ormond to strike late on.

"We’d like to be beating New Zealand all the time and didn’t do ourselves justice," said head coach Ben Ryan. "We’re glad to get out of a tough pool but South Africa at home will be the toughest of the quarter finals."

Earlier England had opened the second leg of the HSBC Sevens World Series by seeing off Kenya 21-5 and Russia 19-5.

They trailed early on against the dangerous Kenyan side to a Gibson Weru Kahuthia try then edged in front before the break after Horace Otieno was sin binned with a try and conversion from captain Gollings.

British Army forward Isoa Damudamu and former Northampton Saints scrum half John Brake struck after the break with two more Gollings conversions securing a comfortable victory.

Earlier Bristol wing Norton’s two tries got England off to a winning start in the pool stages against Russia.

England went into the game with 24 series points already banked from their triumph at the Emirates Airline Dubai Sevens with the target of recording back-to-back tournament wins for the first time in the world tour’s 11-year history.

But Russia are a rapidly improving force on the sevens scene in a tough group and England were wary of another shock after suffering a 14-12 reverse at the hands of Portugal on day one in Dubai.

Norton, a Tom Powell effort and two Gollings conversions opened up a 19-0 lead before Russia got on the board through Vladimir Ostroushko with Nikolay Goroshilov converting.