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London Irish sign Sevens superstar Dan Norton

Dan Norton in action for England Sevens. (Getty)

London Irish have announced that Dan Norton, the leading try-scorer of all time in the 7s format, has agreed to link up with the club on a short-term contract. Norton has scored over 350 times whilst wearing the England 7s jersey, firmly placing his name in the history books of the 7s game.

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A distinguished 7s career has seen the speedster help Team GB to a silver medal at the Rio Olympics, and the England team to a bronze at the Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast.

Earlier this calendar year, Norton continued his record-breaking fashion by surpassing the record for most matches played in the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series.

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Rugby Wrap Up I Episode 15

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Rugby Wrap Up I Episode 15

“I am really looking forward to getting started with London Irish and for the opportunity to go back to the format I played at grassroots level,” Norton said.

“Hopefully my experience on the 7s circuit can translate onto the pitch with Irish and I can help the club wherever I can” explained Norton.

“Dan has had a fantastic career with England 7s and we are excited to see what he can do in the XV game environment” said Declan Kidney, Director of Rugby.

“Hopefully Dan can bring his experience from over the years and have a good impact on the squad.”

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cw 4 hours ago
The coaching conundrum part one: Is there a crisis Down Under?

Thanks JW for clarifying your point and totally agree. The ABs are still trying to find their mojo” - that spark of power that binds and defines them. Man the Boks certainly found theirs in Wellington! But I think it cannot be far off for ABs - my comment about two coaches was a bit glib. The key point for me is that they need first a coach or coaches that can unlock that power and for me that starts at getting the set piece right and especially the scrum and second a coach that can simplify the game plans. I am fortified in this view by NBs comment that most of the ABs tries come from the scrum or lineout - this is the structured power game we have been seeing all year. But it cannot work while the scrum is backpeddling. That has to be fixed ASAP if Robertson is going to stick to this formula. I also think it is too late in the cycle to reverse course and revert to a game based on speed and continuity. The second is just as important - keep it simple! Complex movements that require 196 cm 144 kg props to run around like 95kg flankers is never going to work over a sustained period. The 2024 Blues showed what a powerful yet simple formula can do. The 2025 Blues, with Beauden at 10 tried to be more expansive / complicated - and struggled for most of the season.

I also think that the split bench needs to reflect the game they “want” to play not follow some rote formula. For example the ABs impact bench has the biggest front row in the World with two props 195cm / 140 kg plus. But that bulk cannot succeed without the right power based second row (7, 4, 5, 6). That bulk becomes a disadvantage if they don’t have a rock solid base behind them - as both Boks showed at Eden Park and the English in London. Fresh powerful legs need to come on with them - thats why we need a 6-2 bench. And teams with this split can have players focused only on 40 minutes max of super high intensity play. Hence Robertson needs to design his team to accord with these basic physics.



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