Clifton’s Ben Foley will make his GB7s debut in Edinburgh on Saturday as he looks to follow in the steps of Wales sevens pair Sam Cross and Adam Field.
The former Colston’s full-back lines up for Crawshays Welsh in the second leg of the elite competition hoping that he could also force his way into the Wales set-up.
Both Cross and Field were involved in last season’s inaugural event and have subsequently been capped for their country.
“I enjoy playing sevens as the extra space suits my game,” Foley said. “I am an attacking player with pace rather than the power to barge through teams.
“I’d not really thought about a link with Wales although my Grandfather is from there – something he keeps reminding me of. I was playing for Black Sheep and we won the elite competition at Bournemouth last week. A couple of days later I had a call from Crawshays.
“My dream is just to play at as high a level as possible – you never know what’s coming next!”
Crawshays picked up just one win in the opening round of the competition which was staged at Saracens’ Allianz Park. But they have drafted in new players for the trip to Scotland including Foley and Wales u20 international Dion Jones.
A Samurai side including American speedster Carlin Isles edged out Scottish Thistles in last week’s final and they will be hoping to make it back-to-back wins as they look to retain the GB7s trophy they won last year.
The invitational side have called up Exeter’s Fijian powerhouse Sireli Naqelevuki and former Bristol favourite Simon Hunt into their squad together with GB Students World Cup star Luke Treharne.
England Sevens coach Simon Amor watched England IPF lose to the Scots in last week’s semi-finals and has strengthened for Edinburgh by bringing in a number of contracted Sevens stars including Chris Cracknell, Christian Lewis-Pratt and Sam Edgerley. There is also a place for Wasps centre Charlie Hayter fresh from helping his side secure a place in next season’s European Rugby Champions Cup.
The other teams taking part in the GB7s series are Irish Exiles, the British Army and invitation sides Apache and Marauders.
The final round of the ‘Best of Britain’ series takes place in Colwyn Bay, north Wales on Saturday, June 7.