Friday has named two squads - a core squad of nine players who are available to play in all eight IRB Sevens tournaments and to be put forward for selection for the Commonwealth Games, and a wider squad of 29 players who are available to play in a minimum of four tournaments during the season.
The core squad includes the current IRB Sevens Player of the Year Simon Amor, who has captained the side for the last three years. The squad has the experience of Tony Roques, who moved from London Irish to Exeter Chiefs this summer, and Ben Gollings who is currently playing for Sunnybank in Australia. Also in the core squad are several players who made their England Sevens debuts last season and have impressed with their ability to step up and perform on the international stage. James Bailey and Will Matthews, both of Gloucester, and Vilk of Northampton Saints all earned their first caps last season and Mike Friday believes they are exciting youngsters to watch for the future.
"We blooded a lot of young new players last season and I was very impressed at how they handled the pressure of playing international sevens. Not only are they having to cope with playing in front of often the biggest and sometimes, in the case of Wellington, most hostile crowds they have ever faced, but they are playing against some of the world's best players. These youngsters are very talented, and I am excited about watching them develop further in what is a very special sevens season."
Vilk made his debut in the Wellington Sevens in February. He is looking forward to being involved with the sevens squad again this year.
He said: "I really enjoyed being involved with the squad last season and feel that it really helped me develop both on and off the pitch. Sevens rugby develops all the core skills that you also need for the XV-a-side game and my overall fitness has definitely improved. I was lucky enough to progress from the Saints Academy to the senior team last season and am looking forward to further improving my game through playing for the England Sevens team."
Friday added: "Vilky made his debut in Wellington and is a young player who came into the game relatively late he went through university and then was picked up by Northampton and is a very powerful strong player who has again shown what a professional players is.
"He is meticulous with his planning and preparation and has a very mature head on his young shoulders and he is playing catch up a bit in terms of his rugby development having come to the game so late but he has made big steps and we are hoping that Andy can push on through the northampton ranks this season."
England sevens core squad:
Simon Amor, Gloucester
James Bailey, Gloucester
Danny Care, Leeds Tykes
Will Matthews, Gloucester
Anthony Roques, Exeter Chiefs
Ben Russell, Saracens
Mathew Tait, Newcastle Falcons
Andy Vilk, Northampton Saints
Ben Gollings, Sunnybank (Australia)
England sevens wider squad:
Bath: Nick Aberdanon, Chris Goodman
Bristol: Danny Gray, Sean Marsden
Gloucester: Anthony Allen*, Luke Narroway, Henry Paul*
Leeds Tykes: Rob Vickerman, Simon Worrell
Leicester Tigers: Dan Hipkiss, Tom Varndell, Tom Youngs
London Irish: Ross Laidlaw, Nils Mordt
London Wasps: James Brooks, Thom Evans
NEC Harlequins: Ugo Monye
Newcastle Falcons: Ollie Phillips, Ed Williamson
Northampton Saints: Mark Easter, Ben Lewitt, Neil Starling
Rotherham: David Strettle
Sale Sharks: Ben Foden, Magnus Lund*
Saracens: Richard Haughton*, David Seymour
Worcester Warriors: Chris Hallam, Jon Hylton
* EPS sevens players
IRB Sevens 2005/06:
1st & 2nd December - Dubai
9th & 10th December - George
3rd & 4th February - Wellington
11th & 12th February - Los Angeles
31st March, 1st & 2nd April - Hong Kong
8th & 9th April - Singapore (TBC)
27th & 28th May - Paris (TBC)
3rd & 4th June - Twickenham
16th & 17th March - Commonwealth Games, Melbourne | 
