Simon Amor has been unveiled by the RFU as England new men's Sevens head coach, succeeding Ben Ryan in the role.
Amor played 43 IRB Sevens tournaments on the World Series for his country and notably captained England to four successive Hong Kong titles between 2002 and 2006. He also won a silver medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.
As a scrum-half and fly-half he enjoyed a successful 15-a-side career with London Irish, Gloucester and London Wasps and more recently has been player-coach and then Director of Rugby at London Scottish, guiding the club to England's championship, one tier down from the elite club level.
A graduate of Cambridge University, Amor also coached England's women to the Rugby World Cup Sevens in 2009.
It is Rugby Sevens, however, that defined his playing career from 2001 to 2006. He was the first winner of the IRB Sevens Player of the Year award in 2004 and was a lynchpin for both Joe Lydon and Mike Friday in their tenures as head coach.
"I'm delighted to have been given the chance to lead England Sevens at such an exciting time in the development of the sport," Amor said.
"England have a talented squad and my focus is on helping the players realise their potential in the HSBC Sevens World Series, at next year's Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and beyond.
"I've thoroughly enjoyed my time putting the full-time programme in place at London Scottish. The future for the club in the Championship looks very bright and I'm grateful for the opportunity they've given me to develop my career."
The RFU's new Head of International Player Development Joe Lydon coached Amor as an England Sevens player and is confident that they have the right man in place.
"We had a strong field of candidates for the role of England Sevens Head Coach and Simon came out on top in a very competitive process.
"He's an outstanding individual who has the coaching, managerial and leadership skills to take the England Sevens programme forward and shape its strategic role in our international player development pathway. I'm looking forward to working closely with him.
"I'd also like to thank London Scottish for the positive and professional way they have engaged with us to make the transition as smooth as possible for all parties."
Amor is the latest in a sequence of new coaching appointments on the HSBC Sevens World Series following Viliamu Punivalu (Samoa), Matt Hawkins (USA), Santiago Gomez Cora (Argentina) and Neil Powell (South Africa).
SIMON AMOR
Age: 34. Born: 25/04/1979, Kingston-upon-Thames
Position: Scrum half
Clubs: Cambridge University, London Irish, Gloucester Rugby, London Wasps, London Scottish
Representative Honours: England Sevens 2001-06 (43 World Series tournaments, Commonwealth Games 2002, 2006). IRB Sevens Player of the Year: 2004
Coaching: England Women's Sevens 2007-09, London Scottish Head Coach 2010, Director of Rugby 2011-13. UK Sport Performance Advisor 2008-10
Other: UK Anti Doping ambassador
