Australian men's Sevens skipper Lewis Holland is locked in for a return at the London Sevens, one of six changes to a 13-man squad that will push for Cup glory at Twickenham.
Holland hasn't featured for Australia since injuring his hamstring in Vancouver, missing out on the Commonwealth Games campaign and Tim Walsh's first tournament in charge, a second-place finish in Singapore.
His return is a welcome one, adding playmaking nous to a side which went into Singapore without its skipper and senior players James Stannard and Tom Lucas.
The latter also returns to Walsh's side, with Stannard still eyeing a return at the World Cup in San Francisco.
Breakdown hound Boyd Killingworth slots back into the side, too, with the other changes a debut for Joe Pincus, a second cap for rookie Triston Reilly and a 13th man spot for Liam McNamara, who made his return from an ACL injury with Sunnybank in Queensland Premier Rugby on Saturday.
"It's great to welcome back Lewis and his experience," coach Tim Walsh said.
"I’ve had a large group of players to select from and this has enabled a strong team for the final two legs of the 2017/18 World Series.
"Joe (Pincus) has all the attributes to be a great Sevens player for Australia.
"He's done his apprenticeship and has been knocking down the door of selection for a while now and the whole squad is excited to see him make his debut on the Twickenham turf in London."
Walsh set his sights on going one better, having fallen to Fiji after the final siren in the Cup final in Singapore.
"We fell short in Singapore and we don't accept defeats no matter how they are perceived," he said.
"Five out of our six games came down to the last play and we won four of them.
"We need to be relishing the moments in pressure games and also learn to put teams away to avoid the games that should not be close."
TEAM
Australian Men's Sevens team for London 7s
1. Joe Pincus*, University of Queensland
2. Tom Connor, 6 caps, Warringah
3. Sam Myers, 35 caps, Norths (Sydney)
4. Lewis Holland (C), 38 caps, Queanbeyan
5. Ben O'Donnell, 8 caps, Randwick
6. John Porch, 18 caps, Norths (Sydney)
7. Tim Anstee, 18 caps, Eastwood
8. Triston Reilly, 1 cap, Randwick
9. Boyd Killingworth, 17 caps, Warringah
10. Tom Lucas, 25 caps, Sunnybank (QLD)
11. Maurice Longbottom, 6 caps, Lloyd McDermott Rugby Development Team
12. Lachie Anderson, 15 caps, Eastwood
13th man. Liam McNamara, 7 caps, Sunnybank (QLD)
FIXTURES
Australian Men’s Sevens fixtures at London Sevens
Saturday, June 2
Australia vs Ireland, 7:36pm AEST
Australia vs Wales, 10:42pm AEST
Sunday, June 3
Australia vs Spain, 1:48am AEST
Australia's London 7s kick off on Saturday at 7:36pm AEST, broadcast LIVE on FOX SPORTS.
