Qantas Australian Men’s Sevens coach Andy Friend has made three changes to his side ahead of the Las Vegas Sevens next weekend with Queanbeyan’s Lewis Holland included in the squad.
Skipper Lewis Holland and veteran Jesse Parahi return to the side after missing the Hamilton leg while rookie Jeral Skelton is set for just his second HSBC Sevens World Series cap.
Sam Myers, Sam Croke and Maurice Longbottom will all sit out the North America trip through injury with Australia currently fourth on the World Series standings, 12 points clear of Argentina in fifth place.
Australia are in Pool C alongside hosts USA as well as Samoa and Spain for the three-day event in the American desert.
Qantas Australian Men’s Sevens coach Andy Friend said: “It’s fantastic to have Lewis and Jesse back in the squad. They bring such a wealth of experience to the group which provides that added confidence to the team.
“As we saw in Cape Town for his debut, Jeral is a quality young player. I’m excited for him with his selection, and I know he’ll be out to prove his worth again.
“We’ve had two great events back-to-back, but the reality of that is those results only heighten other teams awareness of us, as well as their desire to knock us off.
“There’s some real momentum for us right now which is great heading into the Commonwealth Games, but we know that in Sevens, that can evaporate after just one poor day. We’ve got to make sure that doesn’t happen,” Friend said.
The Las Vegas Sevens will be LIVE on FOX Sports Australia from Saturday March 3.
