Tom Burton: 'I’m looking to become more confident in my ability'

It is not uncommon to find Tom Burton catching up on seminars while his Great Britain Sevens teammates order coffee.

Because, unlike every other member of the squad, the 20-year-old marries his time playing HSBC SVNS Series rugby with full-time studies in sports science at the University of Exeter.

Fully supported by his university and its rugby programme as a HPP student, he even shares a house with England Under-20 playmaker Ben Coen.

His university studies play such a factor in his day-to-day life that before Great Britain’s last training camp, Burton flew to Glasgow four days early and just did exams. The day after he finished, it was on to Edinburgh and Oriam to stamp his ticket for another two Series appearances.

Just a teenager when handed his Series debut in 2024 in Dubai, the city he grew up in before joining Sedbergh School, he has already doubled his experience at the top table so far this season.

In a short space of time Burton has seen plenty of change in the Great Britain programme.

Initially spotted by Tony Roques at a university sevens competition, he was invited to Sunbury-on-Thames to take part in the privately operated high performance camps.

Now the Scottish Rugby Union lead things, players are nominated and take part in selection camps alongside six full-time contracted men’s players.

In their first outing of the campaign Burton and his teammates beat Spain on Day 1 and Argentina on Day 2 to finish seventh overall. A week later in South Africa they finished sixth.

“I’ve not seen a drop off at all compared to last year,” Burton told RugbyPass. “That has shown over the first two legs we did on the Series. I think we have done better than anyone has expected us to do.

“I think everyone was expecting us to get annihilated pretty quickly, but we held our own pretty well. Everyone has bonded quickly, which is pretty important. Sevens is you and six other mates on the field.

“Everyone was quite nervous (ahead of their season debut) but once we got going we stuck in it for the whole game. That brought high morale to the team.”

Burton is honest about his lifelong rugby sevens obsession. Having grown up in the United Arab Emirates, the Series’ yearly jaunt to Dubai was firmly circled in the family’s calendar.

Getting a regular trip back to Dubai, a stone’s throw from where he cut his teeth with Dubai Tigers, is just a perk for Burton.

Every birthday or Christmas present wanted was an England Sevens jersey. And Tom Mitchell was his undisputed idol. These are just a handful of the reasons why donning a Great Britain jersey means so much.

 

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About to appear at his third tournament of the season, the young playmaker is aiming to become a more potent force for his country on the world stage. Hopefully starting this weekend’s efforts in Singapore.

“I’m definitely looking to become a lot more confident in my own ability throughout this season,” Burton said. “In the 9/10 role I’m a main distributor, you’re almost second guessing yourself.

“If I see a gap, should I back myself or should I give it to someone maybe bigger and quicker than me? I’m hoping throughout the season I’ll gain a bit more experience.

“The Fijian nine, Terio Veilawa, he’s unreal at that. If he sees space, he’s gone.

“I’d be hoping to try and almost develop my game into being able to do that when the opportunity presents itself. Just slowly figuring that out.”

After their seventh-place finish in the Middle East and sixth-place in Cape Town, Ciaran Beattie has shaken things up in his men’s squad for the trip to Asia and Western Australia.

All of Damien Hoyland, Ethan Waddleton, Rory McHaffie and Ryan Apps have been rotated out, while Fin Lloyd Gilmour, Callum Woolley, Sunni Jardine, Ross McKnight and Finlay Callaghan get their first outings of the season.

Providing a wider group of British players with experience on the Series is just part of the coaching staff’s experience. But with nothing on the line until HSBC SVNS Championship legs in Hong Kong, Valladolid and Bordeaux, the team are still learning exactly who they are in real-time.

“Our coaches have gone into it with the mindset of; if we make mistakes, we make mistakes,” Burton said.

“We can just move on; see why we made a mistake and fix it. It’s an opportunity to grow. Which I think is a really good idea because the stakes for staying up next year aren’t until the last three tournaments.

“It is a different team going out to Singapore and Australia, we can try more players and get the best team possible for the last three tournaments – which everyone wants to do well in.

“Everyone’s pretty friendly with each other now. It feels like we have known each other a lot longer than we have. With the coaching staff being so growth minded, it doesn’t alleviate pressure but helps the mindset of players.”

 

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For Singapore, Great Britain have been named in Pool A with South Africa, Fiji and Spain.

Coming toe-to-toe with two of the three teams leading the overall standings is a prime opportunity for the Brits to show more growth in the two months since their last outing.

With development the main thing on the agenda there is only one thing that Burton wants to see when he gets back on the pitch.

“I’m hoping the boys go in there with lots of confidence,” he said. “There are some rapid boys. Everyone knows their super strengths, if they’re strong or quick, if they’re a good ball player.

“I’m hoping that all the boys don’t go out there second guessing and back themselves from the get-go. I think that’ll give us the best shot of doing well at these tournaments and winning against bigger teams.

“Hopefully everyone goes into it with a pretty big mindset on knowing that they are good and then performing on the pitch – especially some of the new players who have been picked for this one and have not played this season.”