Naylor looks to win place back after being left out of sevens squad

DeA Tigers scrumhalf Rob Naylor has lost his place in the SAR sevens set-up after selectors named a 17-strong preliminary squad for this year's schedule.

Five players are missing from last year's 12-strong Hong Kong Sevens squad but Naylor is the only one who is still actively playing rugby at the moment. First Division teammate Andrew Chambers is another absentee, but the talented fullback is expected to be included in the squad once he recovers from a shoulder injury incurred during trials last week.

'I'm disappointed not to be included in the squad. I was hoping to build on my brief appearance at the Hong Kong Sevens last year. But I have not given up hope. I will try harder now to win my place back at the Union Sevens,' said Naylor yesterday.

Hong Kong's schedule will include the Hong Kong and Beijing Sevens, both legs of the IRB Sevens series.

Hong Kong head coach Chris Roden did not discount the chances of Naylor, or any other player, from winning a place in the squad. 'The selection is not cast in stone. Rob [Naylor] and anyone else can play themselves in, at the Union Sevens on February 8. We are also looking at a couple of players' eligibility to play for Hong Kong. The final squad for the Hong Kong Sevens will only be named later,' said Roden.

Apart from Naylor and Chambers, also out from last year are Rodney McIntosh, Ricky Cheuk Ming-yin and Mark Solomon. Valley centre McIntosh has retired while DeA speedster Solomon has left town. Fellow-DeA back Cheuk, who at the 2001 Hong Kong Sevens became the first local Chinese player to score a try for Hong Kong, is away in England studying for a degree.