Australian Men’s Sevens coach Andy Friend has given a handful of less experienced players a chance to play their way into the Australian squad for next week’s Sydney 7s.

Friend has named a young squad to play at this weekend Hottest 7s in Darwin, with Jesse Parahi set to captain a side featuring just seven players with World Series experience.

“It’s a great opportunity for the lads to go out and impress as there’s a couple of positions still up for grabs for the Sydney 7s squad,” Friend said.

“This is the start of big three week stint for us with Sydney next week and the World Series event in Hamilton the week after.

“The Darwin Sevens is one of the toughest non-World Series events of the year so it’s a perfect way to start 2018 and then lead-in to Sydney and the rest of the series,” Friend said.

The Hottest 7s will feature 8 women’s teams and 32 men’s sides from all across Australia and the rest of the world.

Darwin’s Hottest7s event continues to grow year-on-year with a total prize pool of over $80,000, making it the richest tournament in the southern hemisphere.

Australian Men’s Sevens squad for Hottest 7s in Darwin, 20-21 January

1. Charlie Taylor
2. Sam Croke
3. Dylan Pietsch
4. Jeral Skelton
5. Emori Waqa
6. Henry Clunies-Ross
7. Brandon Quinn
8. Jesse Parahi (c)
9. Matthew Hood
10. Tom Lucas
11. Veresa Mataitini
12. Nicky Price