Brake, 18, will make his debut for England when the IRB Sevens tournament begins on Saturday. 

He explained that the England selection came out of the blue: “I was actually on holiday in Egypt last Friday with some friends as part of a mid-season break, and received a call from James Sinclair from Saints. I then got a call from England asking me to fly out. It was a frantic couple of days trying to get me on a flight back to England and then out to Los Angeles as soon as possible so I could get over the jetlag before the tournament.”

Brake may not have played England Sevens before but he has been part of the Samurai St George squad and has played invitational tournaments in Bangkok and Dubai. His team mates in Dubai in December included England’s Tony Roques, Charlie Amesbury and Danny Gray. 

Brake says: “It was great playing in Dubai. I thought it was fantastic to get the call up to play for Samurai in Bangkok but then when I got invited to Dubai it was like all my Christmasses had come at once. The St George team, who reached the final, has a very similar structure and culture as England and I got to know Tony, Danny and Charlie which meant at least I knew some people in the England squad when I arrived on Monday.”

Brake is actually rooming with Tony Roques, who at 28 is the eldest member of the squad. 

Brake said: “I learned a lot from playing with Tony out in Dubai as he is a very experienced sevens player who has been involved with England for years. It is quite funny that I am rooming with him as he is 10 years older than me! He says I am keeping him young! But he is great and gives me a lot of advice. We spent some time going through various tournaments on DVD last night and I feel I am picking everything up well.”

As a former Millfield student, Brake is no stranger to rugby and was four years below another England Sevens squad member Will Matthews (who is not in San Diego due to injury). He does admit that rugby may not have always been his first choice however. 

“When I went to school it was football that I intended to play. I was hoping to join QPR and move to London and play football. I did play rugby when I was younger – beginning with Canterbury RFC where my dad was a coach – but football was my first choice at that age. It was only when I got to Millfield and there was such a focus on rugby that my love of rugby really began. Millfield always played in the Rosslyn Park Schools Sevens and I played in it five times – winning three times and coming runners up twice.”

Brake excelled at rugby and was selected for England U18s alongside his England Sevens and club team mate Smith.  He then joined the Saints Academy in his last year at school and became full time last year.  

David Smith in training with England captain Simon Amor

Smith, younger by a couple of months than Brake, made his debut last week in Wellington and has been able to give his Saints team mate and friend some advice after also being the benficiary of a late call-up.

He said: “I have told him what an amazing experience it is and told him to enjoy it. You learn so much by spending time training with England and playing against the top countries. Hopefully the crowd will love us a bit more than last week in New Zealand.

Smith began his rugby with Colchester U9s. He has played England U19s for two seasons but, other than Middlesex Sevens, was a relative newcomer to the shortened version of the game. 

“My selection was a surprise as I was just suddenly called into training, and then told I was coming to Wellington and San Diego. I haven’t played that much sevens as my school focused on XVs, but I have enjoyed the sevens I have played and really enjoyed the Middlesex Sevens at Twickenham in the summer.”

Smith is a relative newcomer to professional rugby having joined the Saints Academy from Colchester Royal Grammar School last year. He is a member of the RFU’s Intermediate National Academy, but has yet to play a Premiership game for Saints. 

He said: “I think I am ready for international sevens and am grateful that the coaches obviously agree and have selected me. I am looking forward to embracing the challenge given to me. I may only be 18 but I have learned a lot from playing with the U19s and as one of the older players in that squad I feel I have learned a lot of leadership skills which will help me take responsibility on the sevens field.

“My ambition at the start of the season was to have a solid season for the A league and to play well with the England U19s, but now I have definitely added further England Sevens tournaments to my list of objectives for this season.”

Keep up to date with David and John’s progress this weekend at rfu.com/sevens

* Saints centre Chris Wyles, born in America but brought up in north London, has been called up to the USA Eagles training squad for a week-long session between February 18 and 24.