Cuckfield-born star returns from injury to captain England in Moscow 7s Grand Prix

Tom Mitchell returns from injury to captain England in this first round of the Rugby Europe Grand Prix Sevens Series, which serves as the ranking tournament ahead of the official European Olympic qualification event in Colomiers, France (13-14 July).

Mitchell is joined by Mike Ellery, Harry Glover and Will Muir who are all back in the squad following injury. Academy players Jamie Barden and Ben Harris, who impressed at Twickenham and Paris in the last two rounds of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, continue their progress in an England shirt.

England are drawn in Pool C and will play Spain, Georgia and Russia on day one of the competition.

SEE ALSO Cuckfield-born Tom Mitchell leads England to World Cup silver medal | VIDEO: England Sevens are in safe hands under the captaincy of Cuckfield’s Tom Mitchell | England Rugby 7s skipper Tom Mitchell fulfilling Olympic dream and meeting legendsSimon Amor said: “It’s great to have a number of our senior players back in the squad for this tournament. They’ve all worked incredibly hard on their rehab and being able to call on the skills and experience they bring is obviously a great benefit for the side.

“Moscow provides a unique challenge for us. Our job, first and foremost, is to secure our place for Colomiers, but we want to ensure the best possible seeding going into that Olympic qualification event in three weeks’ time.”

Teams that finish in the top nine at the Moscow 7s Grand Prix will qualify for the event in Colomiers, France on 13 and 14 July. Seedings will be awarded based on final standings for this tournament in Russia.

England Sevens squad: Jamie Barden, Phil Burgess, Richard De Carpentier, Will Edwards, Mike Ellery, Harry Glover, Ben Harris, Charlton Kerr, Ollie Lindsay-Hague, Tom Mitchell ©, Will Muir, Dan Norton

Moscow 7s Grand Prix Pool C – all Saturday 22 June

England v Spain KO 10:28 BST

England v Georgia KO 13:13 BST

England v Russia KO 16:20 BST