England, Scotland, Wales Captains Preview European 7s

The captains are looking forward to the Manchester leg of the European Rugby 7s series
The captains are looking forward to the Manchester leg of the European Rugby 7s series
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Watch as England, Scotland and Wales captains Phil Burgess, Scott Wight and Lee Williams preview this weekend's Manchester leg of the European Rugby 7s series.

Salford's AJ Bell Stadium hosts the third leg of the series offering the three home nations a chance to get back to action after a break.

Talking at a media call ahead of the event, Burgess, Wight and Williams talk about the weekend, its importance and their hopes for the season ahead.

Burgess says he hopes to play a big part as England try to bounce back from a poor Commonwealth Games competition, where they finished fifth.

"We had some fantastic games and experiences after that and it was great we finished off well but it wasn’t in the competition we wanted it to be," he said.

"But that will be a good thing because the players that were involved know that we were so close to a medal and having that taken away so cheaply will help us drive us on and we will benefit from it."

Scotland's Wight is a new appointment as captain following the Commonwealth Games and the Scots also have a new coach in Calum MacRae.

They face Georgia, Italy and Spain in their pool and with a new-look side are looking to prove a few points in Manchester.

"We have not had any games just yet, we have just been training against each other, so this is a good opportunity for him to see how well we have taken it all onboard," he said.

"And it is a good opportunity for us to prove our worth. We have been given a contract and we need to show we deserve it in his team."

Wales' Williams can't wait to get started, especially as they get a chance to avenge their Commonwealth Games defeat to England.

They lost out on a semi-final place thanks to a last-gasp defeat to Australia and England then repeated the trick to deny them a chance of reaching the plate final as well.

Should they get through their pool which also includes France, Germany and Portugal, they can start to think about a meeting with England.

"I am very excited about this weekend," Williams said.

"We want to win every game and England have got the better of us in the last 12 months or so, so if we do meet we will hopefully get the upper hand."

The teams competing at the European Rugby 7s in Manchester are Belgium, England, France, Georgia, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Russia and Spain.

Manchester follows the opening two legs in Lyon and Moscow and the tournament finale will be in Bucharest on 20th and 21st September.

Catch them if you can! Rugby sevens comes to Manchester this weekend in the form of the European Sevens, taking place at the AJ Bell Stadium. The first 150 people to arrive at the stadium will gain FREE entry for that day only. Don’t miss out! Subject to availability. T&Cs apply