Declan Fitzpatrick and Mike Sherry are included up front while Simon Zebo is named in the backs as is Darren Cave, who won two caps on the North American tour in 2009.

There are a number of spaces left vacant with a further prop, second row, back row and scrum half to be added before the squad departs for New Zealand.

Brian O’Driscoll returns to the Ireland squad for the first time since the Rugby World Cup and has been confirmed as Captain for the tour.

Ireland Squad

(New Zealand Tour 2012, June 9th, 16th and 23rd):

Forwards (16):

Rory Best (Banbridge/Ulster)
Sean Cronin (St. Mary’s College/Leinster)
Stephen Ferris (Dungannon/Ulster)
Declan Fitzpatrick (Dungannon /Ulster)*
Cian Healy (Clontarf/Leinster)
Jamie Heaslip (Naas/Leinster)
Sean O’Brien (Clontarf/Leinster)
Donncha O’Callaghan (Cork Constitution/Munster)
Peter O’Mahony (Cork Constitution/Munster)
Mike Ross (Clontarf/Leinster)
Donnacha Ryan (Shannon/Munster)
Mike Sherry (Garryowen/Munster)*
Dan Tuohy (Ballymena /Ulster)
A.N. Other
A.N. Other
A.N. Other

Backs (13):

Darren Cave ( Belfast Harlequins/Ulster)
Gordon D’Arcy (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Keith Earls (Young Munster/Munster)
Rob Kearney (UCD/Leinster)
Fergus McFadden (Old Belvedere/Leinster)
Conor Murray (Garryowen/Munster)
Brian O’Driscoll (UCD/Leinster)
Ronan O’Gara (Cork Constitution/Munster)
Eoin Reddan (Lansdowne/Leinster)
Jonathan Sexton (St. Mary’s College/Leinster)
Andrew Trimble (Ballymena/Ulster)
Simon Zebo (Cork Constitution/Munster)*
A.N. Other

*Denotes Uncapped Player

Fijian-born Cama was up for the award for the second year running, having lost out to South Africa’s Cecil Afrika last season.

Once again he has been a key factor behind New Zealand’s excellence and the creative spark behind their 10th World Series success.

"It feels awesome. It’s just a reward for all the hard work from the boys. Without them it would have been impossible to receive this award. I want to thank them as well," Cama said.

"I concentrate on my game and I control what I can control, but to get this is an awesome feeling. Once you have been there for a while you know and understand what’s going on and that’s where the experience comes in.

"For me I just like going out there and enjoying the game, enjoy myself and do what I do best."

Cama fought off stiff competition from compatriot Frank Halai and England’s Mat Turner to win the coveted individual accolade.

As well as finishing the season with 34 tries, Cama’s impeccable drop-kicking helped him to 390 points for the season, the leading mark.

He also ends the season second in the all time point-scoring charts with 1,627, behind only England’s Ben Gollings.

Cama becomes the fourth New Zealand player to win the prize, following Orene Ai’i, Afeleke Pelenise and his captain DJ Forbes.

IRB Sevens Player of the Year – Roll of honour

• 2004 Simon Amor, England
• 2005 Orene Ai’i, New Zealand
• 2006 Uale Mai, Samoa
• 2007 Afeleke Pelenise, New Zealand
• 2008 DJ Forbes, New Zealand
• 2009 Ollie Phillips, England
• 2010 Mikaele Pesamino, Samoa
• 2011 Cecil Afrika, South Africa
• 2012 Tomasi Cama, New Zealand

New Zealand have retained their HSBC Sevens World Series title, ending the season with a third place finish at the Marriott London Sevens to finish on 167 Series points, six ahead of closest rivals Fiji.

The New Zealanders sealed a 10th Series title with a ruthless 36-0 quarter final win against South Africa, but fell to a brilliant Fijian performance in the semi final. However, the New Zealanders recovered to end the season on a high note, beating Argentina in the play-off for bronze.

The Fijians stormed to the London title to cap a season of achievement for them, matching New Zealand’s three Cup titles and underlining just how tight things are at the top of the Sevens game.

A record two-day Sevens crowd of 103,027 attended Twickenham over the weekend, a fitting climax to another thrilling season of international Rugby Sevens.

"It’s pretty special, we worked extremely hard to get this one and I think everyone knows how competitive the Sevens Series is now. We came here with an 11-point lead but still with an opportunity of blowing it," said NZ captain, DJ Forbes.

"The quarter final win (36-0 win against South Africa) was probably our only complete game of rugby this weekend, but there was a lot of passion, a lot behind it to make sure we wrapped up the Series.

"At the end of the day it comes down to consistency and that’s where we were probably a little bit ahead, but taking nothing away from Fiji, they’ve done extremely well to win here.

"I guess for us you could see that we’re used to playing under pressure, regardless of where we’re playing. If you’re wearing a black jersey everyone expects you to do well."

IRB Chairman Bernard Lapasset said: "Once again New Zealand have proved that, over the course of an entire season, they are the finest Sevens side in the world and our congratulations go to them.

"And yet even on this, their day of triumph, they were denied in the Cup semi-finals by their closest challengers Fiji, which again underlines just how competitive our global Game of Rugby Sevens has become.

"In the women’s event too we have seen a wonderful tournament from the Netherlands in reaching a first Cup title and congratulations to England on winning their second title of the season.

"Twickenham has provided a wonderful and fitting stage for the finale of another superb season, capped off by another record crowd for a two-day event. We can look forward to a bright future as we gear towards the 2016 Olympic Games."

Australia took the Plate in London, beating England, who finished the season in third place ahead of Samoa in fourth and South Africa in fifth.

A record two-day Sevens crowd of 103,027 attended Twickenham over the weekend, a fitting climax to another thrilling season of international Rugby Sevens.

The Fijians stormed to the London title to cap a season of achievement for them, matching New Zealand’s three Cup titles and underlining just how tight things are at the top of the Sevens game.

The New Zealanders sealed a 10th Series title with a ruthless 36-0 quarter final win against South Africa, but fell to a brilliant Fijian performance in the semi final. However, the New Zealanders recovered to end the season on a high note, beating Argentina in the play-off for bronze.

Sixth placed Australia won the Plate, Wales lifted the Bowl, France were triumphant in the Shield whilst England won their second IRB Women’s Sevens Challenge Cup.

Australia pip hosts England to Plate

England narrowly missed out on the consolation of a Plate trophy when Dan Bibby missed a conversion and a penalty drop goal in the second half of the Plate final, allowing impressive Australia to hang on to a 14-12 victory and collect 13 Series points.

However, Mat Turner’s try in the final did put him one ahead of teammate Dan Norton as the season’s leading try scorer.

England reached the Plate final after a Turner try and Tom Mitchell conversion clinched a late 17-15 victory against South Africa. Australia reached the final after the Tokyo Sevens winners overturned a 12-5 half time deficit to beat Spain 17-12 in the semi.

Wales beat Scotland in Bowl

Twelve points from Alex Walker hands Wales a 27-5 victory against Scotland in the Bowl, as the reigning RWC Sevens champions collect eight points for the Series.

Two second half tries, one after the final buzzer had sounded, from Dan Fish booked Wales’ place in the Bowl final after a 28-26 victory against Portugal. They met Scotland following Graham Shiel’s side recorded a 31-19 victory against Zimbabwe in the second semi final thanks to two tries from Michael Fedo.

Earlier, 11 points from Alex Walker helped Wales beat USA 28-19 in the second Bowl quarter, entering this competition having lost to Spain and Fiji on day one.

Carl Murray scored twice for Portugal in the day’s opening match against RWC Sevens 2013 hosts Russia. The sides last met in the core team qualifying quarter final in Hong Kong, with Portugal narrowly winning 17-10 on their way to claiming one of the three places for next season’s Series, and recorded a 24-17 victory in London.

In the third match Scotland beat crowd favourites Kenya 21-5 before Dubai Sevens runners-up France suffered a 19-17 defeat to Zimbabwe with Jacques Leitao scoring the winning try for the Cheetahs.

England claim London women’s crown

England’s women produced a superb performance to win their home IRB Women’s Sevens Challenge Cup event, beating Netherlands 34-7 in the final.

England’s greater power and precision proved too much for first time Cup finalists the Netherlands as the hosts eased to a 34-7 victory in the IRB Women’s Sevens Challenge Cup at Twickenham.

England have now won two of the three IRB-sanctioned Challenge Cup events this season, having defeated Australia in the previous final in Hong Kong. They lost out to Canada in the first event, in Dubai.

The Netherlands’ Anne Hielckert had opened the scoring in this Twickenham final to momentarily quieten the crowd. But England’s Hong Kong heroine Joanne Watmore combined power and balance to pierce the Netherlands’ defence twice before Alice Richardson produced a step and hand off to put England 17-7 up at the break.

Watmore completed her hat trick with the first play of the second half to dash any hopes of a Netherlands comeback before Kat Merchant touched down twice late on to complete an impressive victory.

"We came out in the semi final and had a really tough game (against Canada)," said England captain Michaela Staniford. “We made it hard work for ourselves and we didn’t perform, so coming out for the final and putting to bed some of those wrongs and hopefully putting on a show for the crowd was what we really wanted to do.”

For Netherlands coach Gareth Gilbert, whose players are full-time athletes funded by the Dutch Olympic Committee, the final was a promising step forward.

"You’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg so far with regards to the (Dutch) programme. The progress we’ve seen in the last year with these players has been unbelievable. A lot of these ladies have stopped their jobs and their family lives in order to train and play rugby. They train 20 hours a week, which they need to if we are going to compete with the big nations." Gilbert said.

Dramatic route to Cup final

Earlier on day two, England defeated Russia 19-10 and Netherlands triumphed 19-0 over France in the Cup quarter finals.

The Cup semi finals produced two dramatic matches. England Sevens debutant Emily Scarratt scored the decisive try in extra time to edge the hosts to a 19-12 win over Canada. Then the Netherlands produced arguably the shock of the competition, edging RWC Sevens 2009 champions Australia 14-12.

Canada claimed third place with a 19-14 victory over Australia. USA won the Plate, defeating Russia 22-7. South Africa, for whom Zenay Jordaan was the tournament’s highest points scorer with 43, edged past France 14-7 to end up seventh. China defeated Portugal 43-5 to win the Bowl and Kazakhstan prevailed 19-17 over Brazil in the battle for 11th place.

Norton is the leading global try-getter going into the final leg at the Marriott London Sevens at Twickenham Stadium this weekend. No Englishman – in a list including Ugo Monye and David Strettle – has scored more heavily in a single season.

The 24 year-old from Bristol has touched down 35 times on big stages everywhere from Hong Kong to Las Vegas on a world tour in which the eight tournament titles have been shared by five different teams so far.

Former England wing Robinson – their try scorer in the 2003 World Cup final victory – admits he wants to see ‘speed, good feet and skills’ more than scrums and lineouts these days.

And the likes of England’s Norton and Mat Turner, and New Zealand’s Lomu-like wing Frank Halai, have provided exactly that since the series kicked off on the Gold Coast in Queensland six months ago.

The single snapshot highlight? Norton’s astonishing try in Hong Kong against Australia, starting from behind his own line before he beat three opponents to go the length of the field and snatch victory on the final play, might just be the best of the lot.

“When you’re playing 15s you are aware of sevens because everyone loves playing it but what I’ve seen this season has been amazing,” said Robinson, an HSBC Ambassador.

“I’ve been astonished going to the different legs as to how much interest has been generated. For guys like Norton, who’s just re-signed for England, it’s fantastic. The best players love big stages and the HSBC Sevens World Series gives them that worldwide.

“I’m a big Dan Norton fan. He’s England’s go-to man. If you want a try you get the ball to him and he’s proved he is a match winner. He’s got great feet and blistering pace.

“In Hong Kong, against Australia, England were down and he got them a try from behind his own line. Not many people can do that. It was like watching a great sprinter. Dan’s England’s most potent weapon.

“These guys are some of the fastest around. I was quick over 40 metres but these guys are sprinters. As Dan showed against Australia, you might have to go 115 metres from behind your own goal line. People expect him to score every time.”

England, third in the series rankings, have enjoyed a rollercoaster season, winning the Dubai title, beaten in several semis and reaching the final in Glasgow last weekend with an evolving all-court style of play that has seen them consistently defeating second-placed Fiji but only able to unseat leaders New Zealand once.

The Marriott London Sevens offers them the chance to finish on a high in front of 100,000 fans over the two days full of the sort of action Robinson relishes.

“London is a party event, lots of tries and a great way of getting people involved in the game,” he said.

“The emphasis is on ball-in-hand rugby, using your feet, using your speed. I’ve got a lot of respect for scrums and lineouts but I want to be entertained. What I want to see is speed, good feet and skills.”

England have called newcomer Jeff Williams and former captain Andy Vilk into their squad for this weekend’s Marriott London Sevens.

Head coach Ben Ryan had needed to make one change for the final leg of the HSBC Sevens World Series after former England U20 wing Mark Odejobi fractured a bone in his foot last weekend.

But half back John Brake is suffering from concussion caused by a blow to the head in the Glasgow final against New Zealand, so both the powerful Vilk and France-based Williams join the group.

England face France (12:42), the USA (16:00) and Samoa (19:28) in tomorrow’s Pool B matches with Fiji or Wales their potential opponents if they reach the quarter finals.

Former Northampton Saints and Sale Sharks centre Vilk, 30, captained England Sevens in 2007-08 before moving to Treviso and has been playing under Neil Back at Rugby Lions this season.

Williams, 23, is a centre with RC Chateaurenard in the Federale 1 division in France this season who previously played for the Hamiltons club and the Sharks Academy in South Africa.

“We’re lucky to be able to call on two quality players who’ve spent a lot of time with the squad,” said England head coach Ben Ryan.

“Andy’s very experienced with more than 30 tournaments under his belt at this level while Jeff’s got a good pedigree, has impressed us in training and by the way he’s fitted into our group so well.

“We feel we’re on an upward curve at the moment and we played some great rugby in Glasgow so we’re eager to finish on a high on what should be a fantastic occasion at Twickenham.”

England are third in the table behind New Zealand and Fiji going into the final leg of a series in which the eight tournament titles have been shared by five different teams.

England Sevens: Dan Bibby (UWIC), Chris Brightwell, Chris Cracknell, Sam Edgerley (Rosslyn Park), Tom Mitchell (Oxford University), Dan Norton, Tom Powell, James Rodwell, Mathew Turner, Rob Vickerman, Andy Vilk (Rugby Lions), Jeff Williams (RC Chateaurenard)

HSBC Sevens World Series standings (top six): 1 New Zealand 150pts, 2 Fiji 139, 3 England 123, 4 South Africa 115, 5 Samoa 114, 6 Australia 99, 7 Wales 83, 8 Argentina 77

LAST stop London! After 75,000 miles clocked up travelling around the globe, our final destination in the HSBC Sevens World Series this year for the first time ever is Twickenham Stadium and the Marriott London Sevens.

I can tell you it was a dream to just have a short flight from Glasgow to London as it’s not uncommon for us to cross multitudes of time zones as we move from one venue to another. I think as a result this weekend you will see a lot of energy from all the teams on the pitch as they can use the time this week to recharge and get ready for 100,000-plus supporters this weekend in the finale of the series.

Last weekend was a big step in the direction of travel for this team and England Sevens. We have always wanted to play a fast attacking style but it has taken time to really hit its straps. It’s not a quick fix and it takes time to put in this sort of cultural model into play.

I guess we put down a major marker of how determined we are to play this way by our approach in extra-time in the semi final against Fiji.

We caught the ball off our own kick off and then went 18 passes, one ruck, about 40 metres backwards and across the width of the field three times before finding the space to exploit and score the winning try.

I was so pleased to see all the hours of practice pay off and it was even better it was tested under the duress of extra time against such a fantastic team like Fiji.

The final felt like one that got away and with around 90 seconds left and 19-14 down against New Zealand we felt all we needed was to get hold of the ball and our attack would grab the decisive winner.

Alas, we were penalised near our line and effectively with it the game was over and our chance gone. Yes, we had three tough games against Australia, South Africa and Fiji in the run to the final but we felt fresh and ready for the battle.

So, we left disappointed but also quietly pleased now we know that our style is bedded in and as more games are played the confidence will grow and we will improve more and more.

It’s been the first time we have also had a group playing that we know are in the programme next year as well, so collectively everyone is driving hard in the same direction. It is a hugely exciting time and I’m sure we will inevitably hit some choppy waters this weekend and in the future but the progress the lads have made has been brilliant and I’m so proud of their efforts.

So, to this weekend and our chances. New Zealand will be desperate to win the series in style and Fiji will want to remind everyone just how good they have been this year.

Samoa, I felt, played some superb stuff in Scotland and they too will be keen to take out another tournament. Wales also continued all their huge strides this year and have really become a fantastic side under Paul John. I think all the European sides will have a good showing in the final event. I also hope you can see how well i have side-stepped my own question!

I’m sure our team will be doing just the same against opposing players as they play at full throttle this weekend, dodging and weaving their way forward.

The team this year have been incredibly hard-working in wanting to get better and they are a huge credit on and off the field to England Rugby.

They play their socks off for their country and that’s all I ask this weekend. I’m sure as the tournament goes on, I’ll turn more and more from coach into a fan as I let them go out onto the Twickenham turf and just go for it. Come on England!

England beat Tokyo champions Australia 19-14, third-placed side South Africa 19-14 and second-placed Fiji 26-21 – in an extra-time thriller – before falling 29-14 against HSBC Sevens World Series leaders New Zealand.

Winning five games out of six – with a patient, fluid style – left Ryan “very proud” and the team heads for next weekend’s Marriott London Sevens at Twickenham determined to take another step forward.

The overall result moves England ahead of South Africa to third place in the series table with pace men Dan Norton (35 tries) and Mat Turner (33) at No.1 and No.2 in the try charts.

“There was very little difference between the two teams,” said Ryan after late tries from Lote Raikabula and DJ Forbes secured victory for New Zealand that takes them to the brink of another world title.

“It was an even contest, finals always are, and we’ve not quite got to grips with beating New Zealand on a regular basis this year.

“We’ve probably given them the hardest run any team has but we won’t settle for anything other than dominating this series and I was pleased with the direction of travel we’ve been on in the last two days.

“It’s the first time probably that we’ve really seen what we’re putting into effect in training come out in our attacking play and we played some sensational stuff in the style I want England to play for a long time to come. It’s a disappointed group and they’re determined to go out to the Marriott London Sevens and win the tournament.

“I’m very proud of this group and they are all going to be around together for a long time to come. We’re going to hit lots of finals, we’re going to win lots of tournaments and perhaps this is the start of what’s going to be a great chapter.”

Former Bristol and Gloucester wing Norton, who scored tries against South Africa and New Zealand on day two, wants to set the record straight in front of another record 100,000-plus crowd at Twickenham.

He said: “We played some good rugby this weekend, some positive rugby, but obviously it’s a shame to lose out in the final. Credit to New Zealand, they capitalised on our mistakes and played well.

“We’ve been trying to spread the ball more and stretch teams a little bit more and keep our fast guys on the end – and we’ve been able to capitalise on over-working teams and been getting a reward from it.

“I feel it’s going to be a good end to the season, hopefully another record crowd again at Twickenham and I hope we can get more momentum and hit another final at least and take another step forward.”

Turner finished as the tournament’s joint leading scorer with eight tries from six games and was enthused with the change of direction that saw England beat Fiji at their own game.

He said: “It’s a very exciting programme to be involved in and this weekend we’ve brought in this new way of playing.

“We’re finally realising how each person plays and playing to each other’s strengths, and it seems to work. Next week’s another whole week to train with it and then we’ve got a home crowd to play in front of.

“We’re buying into the whole idea of not wanting to set up a breakdown. We want to run teams left and right and offload and, it sounds funny to say it, but we beat Fiji playing the way Fiji play sevens.

“They’re willing to go backwards to go forwards and we’ve all bought into that style and that’s what we’re going to stick with.”

England edged out by New Zealand in Glasgow Sevens final

England’s exciting run of victories at the Glasgow Sevens ended in a 29-14 defeat at the hands of HSBC Sevens World Series leaders New Zealand.

James Rodwell and Dan Norton scored tries to haul Ben Ryan’s side back to within five points midway through high-quality second half.

But Lote Raikabula scored the clincher after England were penalised at the breakdown and DJ Forbes grabbed his second of the match in the dying seconds to put New Zealand within touching distance of another world title.

England now head for home and the Marriott London Sevens aiming to finish on a high in the final event of the series at Twickenham next weekend.

They finished the Glasgow event with five wins out of six and impressed on day two by beating South Africa 19-14 and Fiji 26-21 in the knock-out stages to climb to third in the overall table.

Mat Turner continued his prolific try-scoring run by taking his tournament tally to eight by touching down twice in both the quarter and semi finals.

Norton leads the overall series try table with 35 and Turner is second with 33 with New Zealand’s Frank Halai and Tomasi Cama back on 28.

Turner’s brace and Norton’s chip-and-chase effort secured the win against South Africa, who rallied with Cornal Hendricks and Franco du Preez touching down.

The semi final against Fiji was a thriller with Turner, Tom Mitchell and Rob Vickerman scoring and the scores locked at 21-21 when Mitchell missed a long-range penalty on the hooter.

But the Islanders weren’t given a sniff of the ball in sudden-death extra time as England patiently created the opening for Turner’s run to the line.

On the opening day England had booked their passage to the quarter finals by beating Kenya (40-7), USA (19-12) and Tokyo champions Australia (19-14) on day one at the new Scottish venue.

Stuart Lancaster today paid tribute to Rob Vickerman after the former Leeds Carnegie and Newcastle Falcons centre was named England Sevens captain.

Vickerman has been appointed by England Sevens Head Coach Ben Ryan to lead the side in the remaining two legs of this season’s HSBC Sevens World Series – the Glasgow Sevens this weekend and the Marriott London Sevens at Twickenham on May 12-13.

England Head Coach Lancaster recruited the teenaged Vickerman while at Leeds and described the 26 year-old as an “outstanding professional in both forms of the game”.

Lancaster said: “I’d like to congratulate Rob on his appointment and wish him, Ben Ryan and the England Sevens players and management the best for the final two legs of the series.

“I started working with Rob when he was a teenager at the Leeds Academy. He was and still is one of the best players I have coached with an intuitive understanding of time and space on a rugby field. He has developed into an outstanding professional in both forms of the game, first at Leeds, then at Newcastle Falcons and now as a full-time sevens player with England.

“He’s a great communicator on and off the field, someone who leads by example and I’m sure he’ll be a great ambassador for England Rugby.”

Vickerman banked more than 50 top-flight appearances for Leeds and Newcastle before joining England’s full-time sevens squad.

He accepted the captaincy honour by singling out Lancaster’s influence and added that his mentor’s success as England head coach came as no surprise to him.

“Stuart’s a person who was never going to end up anywhere other than where he is now,” said Vickerman. “He’s a real leader of men, he’s very aware of how he manages and of his principles he’s learned at Leeds and with the RFU.

“He’s helped me in leaps and bounds and has been one of the most influential people in my life, not just my career, so it’s great to see him doing well.

“There was no doubt in my mind that he would succeed with England. To anyone who has worked with him and knows his philosophies in terms of the culture in the team, it’s no surprise.”

England are fourth in this season’s HSBC Sevens World Series table after seven of the nine legs, behind New Zealand, Fiji and South Africa in the standings.

The current series is arguably the most competitive ever. Five different nations have won individual titles – England defending their Dubai crown in December – and the challenge is to finish the campaign on a high.

Ryan’s side face Kenya, the USA and Australia in the pool stages and Vickerman insists the change of leadership won’t affect his or the team’s focus.

“The captaincy is a great honour and something I know my family will be very proud of but it takes nothing away from what we are looking to achieve as a team,” he said.

“Sevens is a completely different format from 15s and it’s far more about seven people leading on the pitch, 12 leading in the squad and then a wider squad of 20 performing week-in, week-out in training.

“It’s a lovely accolade for my family more than anything else and it’s going to make no difference to the way I play.

“The goal this week is to perform. We want to be in an environment where we’re enjoying what we’re doing, we’re working hard and being enthusiastic.”

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

Standing 6’3” and weighing in at 102kgs, Setaimata is a powerful, imposing and versatile player who is able to play both as a line-breaking centre or back-rower. His impressive combination of speed, agility, skill and physicality enable him to play a number of positions, all at the highest level. He is equally comfortable breaking the line as a power runner or using his outstanding play-making skills to release his team mates in the wider channels.

The move to London Irish means that Setaimata will be returning to his sporting roots. Originally from Canterbury Crusader territory, as a schoolboy rugby union star in New Zealand he was scouted by NRL club, Sydney Roosters in 2006. He subsequently moved to the Super League and Catalan Dragons in 2010. Sa, as he prefers to be called, has a good try-scoring record in senior rugby league, scoring 13 tries in 66 games for the Sydney Roosters and 10 tries in 39 games for the Catalan Dragons. A dual rugby league international, he has been capped three times by New Zealand, helping them to win the world championship title in 2008 and five times by Samoa.

Brian Smith, London Irish’s Director of Rugby said: “There’s no doubt about it, Setaimata is an exciting and wonderfully skilful player and we’re delighted that he will be joining the squad next season. I have followed his NRL and Super League career very closely and he was coached at the Roosters by my good friend and current New South Wales State of Origin coach, Richy Stuart.

“We’ve needed to replace Seilala Mapusua in mid-field for some time now and Sa fits the bill perfectly. He is an outstanding defender and a powerful runner with great physical and technical abilities. Still just 24 years old he already brings with him a wealth of international and top flight rugby experience, as well as winning a Rugby League world cup for New Zealand. We think he is going to take the Aviva Premiership by storm.”

On his signing, Setaimata Sa said: “I’m really excited about joining London Irish. Returning to rugby union is something that I have been considering for a while, it has always been in my blood and testing my skills in the Aviva Premiership will be the ultimate challenge. The style of rugby that the Exiles play and the family values of the Club suit me and my family well. I’m looking forward to getting down to it in the summer and I hope to be able to make an immediate positive impact.”

Wayne Smith has decided to stay in New Zealand for personal reasons rather than join the England coaching team.

Wayne Smith said: “I was very impressed with Stuart [Lancaster] when I met him. He is an outstanding individual and will be a great plus for England Rugby and anyone who works in his team will be very fortunate. England have some fantastic young players and the opportunity to work with them ahead of the 2015 World Cup was very appealing.

“I also want to compliment the RFU on the way they have conducted the process. They have acted with integrity, diligence and patience.

“It was an incredibly difficult decision but ultimately I have decided to stay in New Zealand, mainly for personal reasons. I took the job with the Chiefs so I could move nearer to elderly parents. I have travelled the globe with rugby for the last 15 years and I want to fulfil my commitment to be closer to them.

“I do also feel some loyalty to the Chiefs and the job that I have with them and leaving after eight months when I have a year left on my contract did not feel right.”

England Head Coach Stuart Lancaster said: “Wayne rang me this morning and I fully respect his decision which, as he says, was a difficult one.

“He is clearly a coach of quality, honesty and integrity. I enjoyed meeting him and wish him all the best for the future in his coaching role with the Chiefs. All my energy will now go into preparing for an exciting tour to South Africa and I will reassess the coaching team post tour prior to the start of the QBE Internationals.”

RFU Chief Executive Officer Ian Ritchie said: “We are disappointed but it is important to remember we already have some very talented coaches on board. We will take stock after the tour and make sure we do all we can to support Stuart in building a coaching team to take us through to 2015.”

Mike Catt joins England coaching team for South Africa

Mike Catt will join the England coaching team for the five-match tour of South Africa next month.

Mike will leave London Irish after their final Aviva Premiership match with Gloucester Rugby at the Madejski Stadium on Saturday and start work with England on May 7 through to June 30.

England Head Coach Stuart Lancaster said: “Mike has played at the top level and is highly respected. He has done a great job whilst coaching at London Irish and we are looking forward to working with him on this South Africa tour. He is experienced in playing in South Africa and this will be invaluable as we prepare for this challenging and exciting tour.

“While Mike, Graham Rowntree and myself will lead on the coaching for the tour we will also have Jon Callard and Simon Hardy as part of the coaching team. Jon and Simon know the players well from their roles with the Saxons. They will assist in the preparation and support to the midweek teams and they will provide excellent specialist support in their individual areas with Jon supporting our kickers and Simon our hookers throughout the whole squad.”

Mike Catt said: “I was very impressed with England during the Six Nations, not just the way they played but the culture that is developing, and hopefully I can complement what Stuart and Graham are doing. There are some talented young players coming through and the chance to work with them for the Barbarians game and the tour is really exciting.

“I’ll be sad to leave London Irish and I want to say a huge thanks to all the players and coaches I have worked with since 2004. Toby Booth in particular deserves massive credit for what and how he has taught me. Thanks also to the supporters who have been brilliant over the last eight years and I will take away some lasting memories.”

Mike will leave London Irish after the club’s final 2011/12 Aviva Premiership match this weekend against Gloucester Rugby and will start work with England on the 7th May.

Andy Martin, London Irish’s Chief Executive said: “On behalf of everyone at London Irish I would like to thank Mike for his eight years as a player and coach with the club. He has made an outstanding contribution during his time with us both on the field and as a role model in sharing his extensive knowledge and experience. We are disappointed to see him leave, however, we completely understand that he has been offered an opportunity that he could not turn down and we wish him and his family all the very best for the future.”

Mike Catt said: “It has been a difficult decision and I will be sad to leave London Irish. I want to say a huge thanks to all the players and coaches I have worked with since 2004. Toby Booth in particular deserves massive credit for what and how he has taught me. Thanks also to the supporters who have been brilliant over the last eight years and I will take away some lasting memories.”

Mike Catt profile

Born: 17.09.71 | Port Elizabeth

Mike Catt MBE had an exceptional career for Bath Rugby, London Irish, England and the British Lions.

South African-born, he went to Grey Junior and High School in Port Elizabeth and represented Eastern Province before playing his senior rugby in England.

Mike made his debut for England in 1994 against Wales, going on a roller-coaster ride around the England backline, playing at fullback, fly-half and centre. He was part of England’s 1995 Grand Slam winning side and played in the Rugby World Cup that year. His 75 international caps included a crucial role in winning the 2003 Rugby World Cup with a masterful 40 minutes in the quarter-final against Wales. He was awarded an MBE in November 2003 for his part in that success. He also played five games in RWC 2007 including starting the final against South Africa.

While touring Argentina with England in 1997 Mike was called up as an injury replacement for the British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa and played in the final test. Four years later he was selected for the Lions squad that toured Australia.

On the domestic front, he joined Bath in 1992 and stayed at the Recreation Ground for 12 years, where he played 220 games and scored 64 tries.

He joined London Irish in July 2004 and his outstanding form for the Exiles resulted in him being named Guinness Premiership Player of the Season for 2005-06.

Playing at either fly half or inside centre, Mike had a major influence on the London Irish playing style over the past five seasons during which he made 89 appearances for the club and scored 79 points, including eight tries. In July 2007 his primary role changed from player to coach as he took on the responsibility for coaching the club’s talented backs and he was appointed attack coach in July 2008, helping them to the Premiership final in May 2009.

Mike will leave London Irish after the club’s final 2011/12 Aviva Premiership match this weekend against Gloucester Rugby and will start work with England on the 7th May.

Andy Martin, London Irish’s Chief Executive said: “On behalf of everyone at London Irish I would like to thank Mike for his eight years as a player and coach with the club. He has made an outstanding contribution during his time with us both on the field and as a role model in sharing his extensive knowledge and experience. We are disappointed to see him leave, however, we completely understand that he has been offered an opportunity that he could not turn down and we wish him and his family all the very best for the future.”

Mike Catt said: “It has been a difficult decision and I will be sad to leave London Irish. I want to say a huge thanks to all the players and coaches I have worked with since 2004. Toby Booth in particular deserves massive credit for what and how he has taught me. Thanks also to the supporters who have been brilliant over the last eight years and I will take away some lasting memories.”