By Duncan Mackay

January 19 - Bennie Brazzell (pictured), who has competed in the Olympics and been drafted into the NFL, has been picked by the United States rugby sevens team to make his international debut without having any prior experience of the sport.



Brazzell, a 27-year-old who finished eighth in the final of the 400 metres hurdles at the 2004 Olympics in Athens and spent two seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals, is one of 15 players selected to travel to Fiji for the Suva Sevens, which starts on Thursday.

The event is part of the team's preparations for the Las Vegas Sevens, part of the International Rugby Board (IRB) World Sevens Series, on February 13 and 14.

Eagles coach Al Caravelli has selected Brazzell because he believes he has the athleticism to make the switch.

Besides being a world-class sprinter, he played American football at Louisiana State University before being drafted in the seventh round by the Cincinnati Bengals, where he was on the injured reserve list.

The combination of Olympic level speed and football instinct is just what Caravelli admits to be looking for in cross-over athletes.

Caravelli said: "Bennie may not bring rugby experience to the table, but what he brings to this squad is an enormous amount of athleticism and professional attitude.

"He has a lot of big time, big game experience from the Olympics to the Sugar Bowl.

"Playing in front of 80,000 people does not phase him, it fires him up.

"One thing I’ve learned is that speed isn't everything.

"A track guy can be fast, but can he change direction, slow down and then accelerate quickly?

"Bennie can do that because of his experience as a wide receiver."

The US will face Super 14 team Western Force, Fiji Army and the Fiji Police in the event in Suva.

Afterwards they will stay in Fiji as guests of the Suva Rugby Union and will train several times with and alongside the Fijian team before heading off to the third IRB Sevens World Series event in Wellington, New Zealand on February 5 and 6.

Caravelli said: "We will narrow down our team from 15 to 12 for the IRB Sevens circuit.
 
"Since we are traveling to Fiji with 15 players, I expect the competition for the 12 will be fierce and I’ve asked these athletes to make my job very difficult in selecting who will go into Wellington and Las Vegas."

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