Dan Bibby is set to win his first cap after being named in the England squad for this weekend’s penultimate leg of the HSBC Sevens World Series in Glasgow.

The UWIC playmaker heads for his first tournament with former England Under 20 wing Mark Odejobi in the squad for the first time this season and Chris Cracknell returning from injury.

The three changes from the last leg in Tokyo see them take over from Harlequins wing Charlie Walker, injured playmaker Christian Lewis-Pratt and former captain Greg Barden, who has retired.

England Students full back Bibby, 21, has trained with the squad all season and the former Fylde player impressed for Sale Sharks last summer when named Player of the Tournament at the Edgeley Park leg of the JP Morgan Premiership Sevens.

Odejobi ruptured an Achilles tendon last year and spent six months in rehab before re-joining the group in January while Cracknell had been ever-present in the squad this season before sitting out the last leg of the series in Tokyo with a shoulder injury.

“Dan Bibby’s an exciting talent who’s definitely one for the future and he’s trained with us throughout the season, including appearing in our warm-up tournament in Spain on the eve of the series,” said head coach Ben Ryan.

“It’s been a long road back for Mark Odejobi who played for us last season. He’s worked very hard to get fit and he’s trained well to keep out two very experienced sevens players in [former captain] Andy Vilk and Simon Hunt. It’s great to have Chris Cracknell back after missing him in Tokyo too.”

England are fourth in the series going into the final two legs at Scotstoun in Glasgow – a new venue – and the Marriott London Sevens at Twickenham (May 12-13).

They face Kenya, the USA and Australia on Saturday in the pool stages with Ryan eager for his fourth-placed side to finish on a high in a competitive series in which New Zealand, Fiji, England, Samoa and Australia have all won individual tournaments.

“We’re pretty excited about the next two legs, the squad has trained well and we want to finish well and start building towards next season,” said Ryan

“It’s always good to come to a new venue – the latest great world city to be added to the series. It’ll be well organised by Scotland, and we’re expecting a great atmosphere and energetic support.”

England Sevens: Dan Bibby (UWIC), John Brake, Chris Brightwell, Chris Cracknell, Sam Edgerley (Rosslyn Park), Tom Mitchell (Oxford University), Dan Norton, Mark Odejobi (Brunel University), Tom Powell, James Rodwell, Mathew Turner, Rob Vickerman.

HSBC Sevens World Series standings (top six): 1 New Zealand 128 pts, 2 Fiji 122, 3 South Africa 105, 4 England 104, 5 Samoa 101, 6 Australia 84

You can buy tickets for the Marriott London Sevens via RFU.com, with weekend tickets from £30, with single day tickets from £18 and kids tickets from £5 each day

The former Royal Marine from Poole takes charge for the first time when England kick off the campaign in the Gold Coast Sevens on Friday.

Barden will be supported by vice captain Rob Vickerman, who joined England Sevens from Newcastle Falcons this summer, with senior player Chris Cracknell next in line when Barden and Vickerman are not on the field.

Head coach Ben Ryan said: “We’ve got a good group of senior players who’ve led the squad well, three of them being Greg Barden, Rob Vickerman and Chris Cracknell.

“Greg has enormous respect from everyone. He’s quiet but when he does speak everyone listens and he leads by example.

“His last appearance for us was in the Hong Kong final when he was absolutely outstanding. He really does epitomise wanting to give everything you possibly can when wearing an England shirt.”

Barden, 30, has appeared in 11 World Series tournaments for England and joined the squad as a full-time player this year after leaving the military. He previously played for Bristol Rugby and Newbury as well as the Royal Navy.

He said: “The captaincy is a huge honour. It’s a big ask from Ben [Ryan] to take on that responsibility but hopefully it’s something I’ll thrive on and enjoy immensely throughout the season.

“Throughout the squad there’s a huge amount of experience that we can draw upon. Rob Vickerman’s been with the sevens before and in the Aviva Premiership with Newcastle and Leeds so his experience is second to none. Chris Cracknell has been in the fold for quite a few years now, James Rodwell’s got 25 tournaments under his belt, the list goes on.”

England trained twice today, first at Surfers Paradise RFC and then at The Southport School – alma mater to Wallabies Tom Lawton, Mat Rogers  and Nathan Sharpe – where they played conditioned games against Japan and Fiji.

They face Scotland (03.19 GMT), Tonga (06.25) and Wales (10.52) in Pool D on the tournament’s opening day. The top two sides in the pool are likely to face either New Zealand or Fiji in the quarter finals.

They did so after losing on the opening day to Portugal and only rescuing a place in the last eight by beating Fiji with a try from the last play of the game.

England Sevens head coach Ben Ryan:

“We dug ourselves out of a great hole against Fiji and we played really well in the last three games. We all sat down last night and said it wasn’t the case of giving ourselves a pat on the back for beating Fiji. It was a reminder that we had to make the most of our chances and learn from what happened which we did. We can fight with the best of them and the boys proved that. We were relaxed and we were ruthless and it’s a good combination and they managed to hang on to that.

“Ollie Lindsay-Hague was brilliant, wasn’t he? He made a big difference as did Chris Cracknell. He was a rock and made some really good decisions. We’ve got some talented youngsters back home and Ollie played with the real exuberance of youth

“We’ve got to remain pretty humble. We’ve won one tournament at the beginning of the year but everyone will regroup and try and have a crack at us next weekend. The proof will be in how we run out in George next weekend.”

Harlequins’ Ollie Lindsay-Hague, 20, was England’s top try-scorer with five:

“It’s probably one of the best feelings I’ve ever experienced in rugby. Winning that was just incredible. Amazing.

“It’s my first tournament win. The closest I’ve been to that was in Hong Kong last year when we got to the semis and lost to Samoa. Starting all the last four games and playing every minute on the final day is what I’d dreamt of all my life.”

Captain Ben Gollings took his world record sevens points tally to 2,418 in Dubai:

“The boys have been sensational this weekend and you can’t ask for any more from them. It was always going to take one win to help us realise our true potential and hopefully we can really roll on from here.

“I’ve experienced plenty of highs and lows but we really had to look hard at ourselves pretty seriously after the performance against Portugal but at the end of the day the boys did what you have to do in this game and that’s to bounce back positively and make amends.

“We’ve got to stay level headed and we’ve set a platform and set a standard and it’s now not right if we don’t meet that standard. There’s still a lot of work to do but the guys were sensational. The young guys really stepped up: Ollie Lindsay-Hague was brilliant, Dan Caprice brilliant, Dan Norton brilliant, Mat Turner brilliant when he came on, everyone played massive parts.”

Chris Cracknell started all four must-win games against Fiji, Australia, New Zealand and Samoa

“We’ve had a very tough couple of days and after [finishing fourth in the Commonwealth Games at] Delhi to come back from the ups and downs that we’ve had is a fantastic experience

“A lot of people doubted us after the Portugal game and we did make things tough for ourselves but we never gave up and we had that fight within us to keep going and got what we deserved.

“We’ve got a great group of guys who have worked very hard to get where we are now and we can keep building and building. Who knows where this year’s going to take us now? It could be the start of an amazing journey.”

James Rodwell was named Player of the Tournament:

“The whole team has put in a fantastic effort coming back from the loss against Portugal. I can’t put my finger on why that happened. We didn’t start as we wanted to against France and Portugal but we kept our patience today.

“We need to cut out the poor performances and keep our standards high. You can’t look beyond the next tournament or you’ll falter but the boys are full of confidence now and for a lot it’s a first tournament win.

“After the Portugal game we were gutted. We have great support here in the crowd and it’s incredible running out to that reception but we just didn’t do them justice in the France game and the Portugal game.”

Bristol Rugby wing Dan Norton’s long-range finish put England in front in the final’s dying seconds:

“We gradually got better and better throughout the day that was pretty pleasing. We just tried to make ourselves as relaxed as we could. We had been trying to score off first phase and we were hectic and not relaxed, trying to throw the ball around too much.

“We want to be series winners and get from fifth to first in the world and with a bit of luck and when performances go well and we do well as a team we showed what we can do. It’s a good start.

“We now know what it’s like to get to a final and how to play when we get there and we have the winning feeling and that should help us. We knew we had fate in our hands and we hold the key to winning the games.

“It was really hard going but the whole atmosphere that’s involved in Dubai pushes us on further. The support we get here is amazing, it’s one of the best tournaments England can play in and it’s a great feeling to have to have won.”

Simon Hunt (Birmingham Solihull) scored the winning try against Fiji and came off the bench to strike again in the final

“This is my first tournament win and I’ve been in a few. It’s been a really up and down couple of days from the loss we had against Portugal and we picked ourselves up again and again and again.

“All 12 of us have worked really hard. It’s definitely been a 12 man thing and I’m very proud of all the boys. We know how well we can play but it’s brilliant that we have won.

“It makes it worth it. All the fitness tests, the rolling around in the dirt, in all the wind and the rain, and putting the hard yards in is all worthwhile when you win. Life didn’t seem so pretty five minutes after Portugal but if we are going to win the series we’ll have ups and downs and it’s about how we deal with which we’ve done superbly here.”

Harlequins’ Ollie Lindsay-Hague, 20, helped England to victory at the Emirates Airline Dubai Sevens this week in the first event of the HSBC Sevens World Series. Lindsay-Hague finished as England’s top try scorer with five tries as they beat Australia (24-21), New Zealand (19-14) and Samoa (29-21) in the knock-out stages to clinch the title.

Yesterday’s win over Samoa in the final of the Emirates Airline Dubai Sevens is probably one of the best feelings I’ve ever experienced in rugby. Winning that tournament was just incredible.

It’s my first tournament win. The closest I’d been to that was in Hong Kong last year when we got to the semis and lost to Samoa. Starting all the last three knock-out games and playing every minute is what I’d dreamt of all my life.

All our wins were tight ones and when you’re playing teams like Australia and Samoa you’re never going to smash them unless they’re having a bad day or you’re on fire. At the moment the competition’s so tight in sevens but we showed how good we are. We learned from our mistakes, did everything we were told to do and that’s why we won.

I don’t know how I ended up as England’s top try scorer with five because I missed the first two games on Day One but I’m really happy with what I did although there’s stuff I need to work on. I did some wrong things too.

When I got up in the morning I was so confident from minute one that we could win the tournament after we had beaten Fiji the previous night. I knew we were ready and had a feeling all day we were going to win it.

We just clicked as a team, I suppose. When we don’t make mistakes we can be unstoppable sometimes and we’ve just got to keep that going through the year. There’s definitely more to come. We got our heads on straight away ready to fly to George for next weekend’s second tournament, and we’ll make sure we get our recovery done right and go on from there.

All in all I’ve had a great week and an even greater weekend.

Ben Gollings in fine form for England Sevens

England beat South Africa 21-7 to win the plate at the Emirates Airline South Africa Sevens.

It was only the second time England had beaten the Boks in sevens on South African soil in what was a hyper-competitive plate competition.

England had to bounce back from their cup loss against winners New Zealand to beat Australia 24-5 in the plate semi final.

The last time an England side had beaten a South Africa side on their home patch was in 2003, but with Christian Wade (London Wasps), Worcester’s Jake Abbott, Ben Gollings (Gold Coast) and Isoa Damudamu (British Army) in inspired form Ben Ryan’s side ground out an impressive win, the biggest defeat Paul Treu’s side had faced in 80 matches.

England add 12 points to their World Series tally which puts them in third place behind Fiji and New Zealand respectively after reaching the Dubai cup semi final earlier this month.

England: Jake Abbott (Worcester Warriors), Kevin Barrett (capt, Saracens), Chris Brightwell (Birmingham & Solihull), Dan Caprice (Blackheath RFC), Chris Cracknell (Unattached), Isoa Damudamu (British Army), Ben Gollings (Gold Coast, Australia), Dan Norton (Bristol Rugby), James Rodwell (Moseley RFC), Nick Royle (Fylde RFC), Matt Turner (Bristol Rugby), Christian Wade (London Wasps)

England Sevens Emirates Airline South Africa Sevens results:

• December 11, England 42-0 Tunisia
• December 11, England 17-7 Argentina
• December 11, Scotland 19-29 England
• December 12, cup quarter final England 19-22 New Zealand
• December 12, plate semi final England 24-5 Australia
• December 12, plate final England 21-7 South Africa

The 25-year-old has previously played at Bath Rugby, Exeter Chiefs, Cornish Pirates, Newbury and Harlequins.

A hugely gifted Sevens performer, Cracknell earned rave reviews just last week as he scored two tries as England were narrowly beaten in the IRB Dubai Sevens, where he played alongside new Worcester team-mate Jake Abbott.

Director of Rugby Mike Ruddock said he was delighted to have secured the former England U21 ace.

“Chris has signed a contract that will allow him to be part of our squad and feature for us until the end of this season,” said Ruddock.

“I have taken these steps to cover the injury to Netani Talei, who unfortunately will be out until towards the end of the season after shoulder reconstruction.

“It was important that we reinforced this area and I’m particularly pleased to have signed a player of the quality of Chris Cracknell.

“He is a very well respected English qualified back row forward of immense potential. He has learnt his trade playing for teams like Exeter Chiefs and Cornish Pirates and, more recently, he was at Bath until Luke Watson arrived.

“Chris has also featured heavily for England Sevens and is quite obviously a very talented prospect. We look forward to seeing him the Warriors colours before too long.”

Kevin Barrett in action for England Sevens

Kevin Barrett has been named captain for the Emirates Airline Dubai and South Africa Sevens (Dec 4-5 & 11-12).

After helping his club Saracens beat World Champions South Africa, 24-23 last month, the England scrum half will take the lead from last season’s IRB Sevens Player of the Year Ollie Phillips (Stade Francais).

Last season Barrett also helped England to win the cup trophies at the Wellington and London legs of the IRB Sevens World Series.

This Friday England will take on Russia, USA and Kenya on day one and Barrett is looking forward to leading his team to the field.

“I’m really excited. Ben (Ryan) gave me the news the other day and I felt very privileged but we have lots of leaders in this team like Ben Gollings (Gold Coast), Chris Cracknell, Isoa Damudamu (British Army) and James Rodwell (Moseley RFC) so I’m hoping I can call on all of them.” said Barrett.

England have been training hard since arriving in Dubai last week and this season Ryan welcomes the likes of U20s speedster Christian Wade (London Wasps) to his side as well as the return of Dan Caprice (Blackheath) and Dan Norton (Bristol Rugby).

Continued Barrett, “We have benefitted from coming out a bit earlier this year and today’s training session was one of the best we’ve had since we arrived.

“I’ve been playing sevens for a while now but to go out as captain on Friday will be a proud moment and I’m really looking forward to it.”

“Kev has been an integral part of the squad for the last two seasons and deserves the captaincy, he’s a model professional and an outstanding player.” concluded Ryan.

England Sevens squad for Dubai and South Africa

Jake Abbott (Worcester Warriors)

Kevin Barrett (capt, Saracens)

Chris Brightwell (Birmingham & Solihull)

Dan Caprice (Blackheath RFC)

Chris Cracknell (Unattached)

Isoa Damudamu (British Army)

Ben Gollings (Gold Coast, Australia)

Dan Norton (Bristol Rugby)

James Rodwell (Moseley RFC)

Nick Royle (Fylde RFC)

Matt Turner (Bristol Rugby)

Christian Wade (London Wasps)

Emirates Airline Dubai Sevens fixtures:

December 4, England v USA, kick off 10.04am local time (GMT+4)

December 4, England v Russia, kick off 1.40pm local time (GMT+4)

December 4, England v Kenya, kick off 6.52pm local time (GMT+4)

Emirates Airline South Africa Sevens fixtures:

December 11, England v Tunisia, kick off 12.04am local time (GMT +2)

December 11, England v Argentina, kick off 3.10pm local time (GMT +2)

December 11, Scotland v England, kick off 7.32pm local time (GMT +2)