Melbourne Rebels backrower Michael Icely is embracing the opportunity to make his Australian Sevens debut, hoping to continue their strong start to the World Series.
Icely is one of four debutants for the Singapore event, with Australia drawn in Pool B alongside England, Spain and Samoa.
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The 24-year-old made his Super Rugby debut for the Rebels during Trans-Tasman, however, a backlog of backrowers in Victoria saw Icely struggling for game-time to start the 2022 season.
After discussions with head coach Kevin Foote and Wallabies assistant Scott Wisemantel, Icely joined the squad last month in Fiji, impressing head coach John Manenti enough to earn selection.
“It’s really exciting. It was something I didn’t think would be possible on such short notice,” he told Rugby.com.au. “I’ve always wanted to represent Australia since I’ve was younger and seeing Australia win the 2018 (Sydney) comp was pretty inspiring seeing a few guys I know playing Sevens, I was keen to do it.
“I was down in Melbourne and the back row was doing pretty well and then Kevin Foote was trying to help me get that top class Rugby experience. With the back row performing, himself, Scott Wisemantel and Nic Stiles said there were a few spots at Sevens if you want to go down and have a trial in the Fiji comp.
“I’ve always been a 15s player so there’s a lot more space than usual. NZ and Fiji are tough teams so it was a real eye-opening with the systems and how they defend…there’s a lot more time to give them but it’s exciting.”
Icely is joined by familiar faces in the squad, with Eastwood teammate Matt Gonzalez also slated for his debut, along with Sydney Uni fullback Tim Clements and Warringah back Ben Marr.
This, along with past experience with Manenti at Eastwood, has made the transition seamless as the youthful squad look to 'prove themselves' on the International stage.
“It’s a lot easier (joining the squad) having played with or against those boys for a couple of years and having ‘Gonzo’(Matt Gonzalez) around, it definitely gives me a bit more confidence and I feel at home,” he notes
“It gives a good opportunity for the boys that deserve an opportunity or might have missed the ranks so they get that second chance to show and prove themselves."
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Sitting third on the overall ladder, the competition for the title will only heighten with the return of Fiji and New Zealand.
Despite this, Icely and the squad remain confident they can breakthrough for their first title since Sydney 2018, eyeing off revenge against England following their defeat in Malaga during the bronze medal match.
“I think the boys have been pretty confident since I’ve been here, training has been strong and the leaders have stepped up and I think everyone has taken that confidence from the last few rounds to continue that streak,” Icely believes.
“We’ve been in that top three-four almost every single comp so we’re going to strive and aim to stay up there and hopefully win a couple.
“I think if we can hold the ball in attack, we’ll definitely do some damage and then we need to shut down (England’s) key players, staying consistent to what we’ve practised to isolate those key attackers and try and limit them from scoring and get some turnovers.”
