Friday Afternoon Round Up

Dylan Hartley named on Northampton bench for Gloucester

England captain Dylan Hartley is set to make his comeback in Northampton's Premiership clash against Gloucester on Saturday.

The Saints hooker has not played since he was knocked out during England's RBS 6 Nations Grand Slam-sealing victory over France in Paris in March. But Hartley is back in full training and he has been named on the replacements' bench as Northampton look to secure a top-six Premiership finish and automatic European Champions Cup qualification for next season.

Glen Ella to help England find their attacking edge against Australia




As head coach Eddie Jones attempts to improve his side's attack, Glen Ella will work with the England squad during their tour of Australia next month.

He will work with England for the duration of the three-Test series, acting as skills coach, providing specialist backs coaching while being "responsible for helping develop England's attack play".

"I'm delighted to be teaming up with Eddie again and working alongside the rest of the coaching staff," said Ella, who won four caps for Australia at fullback between 1982 and 1985.

"I'm looking forward to being involved in an exciting series of Test rugby."

Ella, who played club rugby for Randwick alongside Jones before working as part of his backroom staff at the 2003 Rugby World Cup, will join up with the squad in Brisbane.

England Men Sevens announce contracts for 2016/17

Men Sevens have announced player contracts for 2016/17 while also revealing which players will leave the squad to return to 15-a-side rugby.

James Rodwell, who set a new world record of 69 consecutive tournaments on the World Series earlier this year, has extended his England Sevens contract along with vice-captain Phil Burgess and influential players Tom Bowen, Alex Davis, Warwick Lahmert and Ruaridh McConnochie.

“This group, together with the likes of Dan Bibby, Richard de Carpentier, Charlie Hayter, Dan Norton and Tom Mitchell, gives us an exciting and talented core squad for the World Series next season and for years to come," said men's Head Coach Simon Amor.

“James Rodwell reached an incredible milestone this year and brings a wealth of experience.  He is critical to us in key areas such as lineouts and kick offs, which helps not only the success of the England Sevens team but also allows him to support the development of the young guys coming through.”

England Sevens introduced an academy programme for the first time in 2015 and, following its success, a precise talent identification process was put in place to find the next England Sevens’ talent.