Commonwealth Games 2018: Sevens captain Lewis Holland ruled out

#Lewis Holland

Australian men’s rugby sevens captain Lewis Holland is forced to hang up his boots only weeks out from the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. Scans revealed the severity of his hamstring injury, which he obtained in Vancouver two weeks ago during the sixth round of the HSBC Sevens World Series.

It’s a devastating blow for the star playmaker who also missed out on most of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games campaign due to another hamstring tear.

“It’s obviously hugely disappointing to miss the Commonwealth Games especially one on home soil but I’m still really confident that lads can go all the way and win Gold,” Holland said.

“I’ll do everything I can now to help the boys so I’m fine with filling up the water bottles or helping carry the bags.”

 

Winger Brandon Quinn will take Holland’s place in the thirteen-man squad, while veteran James Stannard will skipper the sideline.

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“Quinny (Brandon) has been playing really well lately and he knows his role really well. We’ve been building over the past two years and this tournament was earmarked a while ago. The lads love playing in front of a home crowd and always rise to the occasion,” Holland said.


So, what does the squad look like now?

Australian Men’s Sevens squad for the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games

Lachlan Anderson*, 13 caps, Eastwood NSW

Timothy Anstee*, 16 caps, Eastwood NSW

Thomas Connor*, 4 caps, Warringah NSW

Boyd Killingworth*, 16 caps, Warringah NSW

Maurice Longbottom*, 4 caps, Lloyd McDermott Rugby Development Team

Thomas Lucas, 23 caps, Sunnybank QLD

Samuel Myers, 32 caps, Norths NSW

Benjamin O’Donnell*, 6 caps, Randwick NSW

Jesse Parahi, 39 caps, Norths NSW

John Porch*, 15 caps, Norths NSW

Brandon Quinn*, 6 caps, Gordon NSW

 

The men Seven’s fixture kicks off on Saturday 14th April, where the Aussies will face Samoa, Jamaica and England. If Australia qualifies from the pool rounds, semi-finals and the Gold and Bronze medal matches will be played on Sunday 15 April.

Although the Aussies have a relatively tricky pool, they are going in with full confidence for a medal, if not for the gold. However, currently the men only stand at 5th on the World Seven Series rankings behind New Zealand, South Africa, Fiji, and England.

 

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