Aviva Premiership clubs plan to block England stars being called up for Rugby Sevens at Rio 2016 Olympics

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England's top stars will be denied the chance to make Sevens history at next year’s Olympic Games with Aviva Premiership clubs set to block the release of players and the RFU fearful of angering them.

Wasps ace Christian Wade, controversially left out of Stuart Lancaster’s initial World Cup training squad, last week declared his desire to turn his hand to Sevens ahead of next year’s Rio Games while Chris Ashton and Ben Foden are among others known to be interested.

But it is understood Wade – who scored seven tries to power Wasps into the final of the Singha sevens last Friday night – has been told by his club he will not be released at the end of the Aviva Premiership season while other clubs are expected to follow suit.

Wasps ace Christian Wade has declared his desire to play in Rugby Sevens at next summer's Games

But Wasps have informed Wade that they will not release him at the end of the Aviva Premiership season

Other Aviva Premiership clubs - who would be technically obliged to release players for the Games if called upon by the RFU under regulation nine of the World Rugby code – are expected to take a similar position, but there is understood to be no appetite within the RFU to engage in another protracted fight over player release.

That means that while New Zealand will be able to call on centrally contracted stars such as Sonny Bill Williams, Team GB is likely to be made up of relatively unknown players, unattached to Aviva Premiership clubs.

‘It’s the Olympics isn’t it? You couldn’t really say ‘no’,’ Wade said. ‘If it’s impossible to get sorted then it won’t happen but I definitely wouldn’t turn it down.’

Saracens' Chris Ashton is another player who is known to be interested in playing in Rio