Jenkins withdraws from Australia Men's 7s captaincy

Australian Men’s Sevens team will have a changing of the guard for its 2016/17 World Rugby Sevens Series campaign with Ed Jenkins electing to step down from his role as Captain.

Jenkins informed teammates of his decision over the weekend and said it was a move he had always planned to make post the Rio Olympic Games.

“This isn’t something that has come about overnight, Friendy (Head Coach Andy Friend) and I had been discussing a transition well before the Olympics. With a lot of new faces in the squad, we thought the time was right for the team to start looking to the future,” said Jenkins.

Lewis Holland has been appointed Club Captain for the Aussie Men’s Sevens program, although the playmaker will miss the entire 2016/17 World Series campaign after suffering a ruptured achilles during a pre-season training session.

“Lewis was the obvious choice to lead the team. Not only was he one of our most outstanding players last season, he has also grown tremendously as a leader and has the respect of the group," said Head Coach Andy Friend.

“Lewy suffered a cruel break with his achilles injury, but we wanted to acknowledge his standing within the squad by naming his as Club Captain. Throughout the season we’ll appoint tournament captains for each tournament.”

30-year-old Jenkins, who has captained the Aussie Men’s Sevens side since 2011, said he wouldn’t rule out continuing his career in Rugby 7s beyond 2018.