Barden to lead England's charge
Greg Barden will lead England in this season’s Sevens World Series after being named as the side’s new captain on Tuesday.
The former Royal Marine from Poole takes charge for the first time when England kick off their 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,” added Ryan.
The 30-year-old Barden 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 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 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.”
