Stannard back in Aussie Sevens fold
Experienced playmaker James Stannard returns to the Australian Sevens squad for the final leg of the World Series at Twickenham this weekend.
The Aussies have been drawn in Pool C alongside Japan, Spain and Fiji for the opening day of the London Sevens. Should Michael O'Connor's young side qualify for the Cup quarterfinals, then they will likely face in-form Canada or Kenya.
Stannard has been called up to the squad after Greg Jeloudev was ruled out of the tournament due to injury.
The experienced 31-year-old returns to the fold after a six-month absence from the Sevens World Series and flew out from Sydney to join his teammates in the UK on Tuesday.
This will be the Queenslander's 16th World Series tournament for Australia. To date, he has scored 438 points, 26 tries and kicked 154 goals since making his Sevens debut four years ago.
Stannard, who played a pivotal role when Australia won the Cup Final at Twickenham in 2010, said: "It's good to be back in the fold and always a proud moment to pull on the gold jumper.
"The time out of the side has allowed me to get over one or two niggles and given me the opportunity to improve on things that need work and improve on things that I'm actually already good at."
Australia sit in fifth spot in the Sevens World Series heading into the last round of the season. It was announced last week that Day One of the London Sevens at Twickenham is a 75,000 sell-out.
Stannard added: "It's great for the game that so many people are coming out to support the Sevens."
Australian Sevens squad: Ed Jenkins, Con Foley, Jesse Parahi, Sam Myers, Paul Asquith, Peter Schuster, James Stannard, Cameron Clark, Lausii Taliauli, Nick Malouf, Tom Lucas, Afa Pakalani.
