Hayter wants happy homecoming

His rugby career may have already taken him to Australia, Dubai, New Zealand, Japan and Hong Kong this season, but England Sevens star Charlie Hayter admits he is most excited for a Westcountry homecoming in Exeter next month.

The 26-year-old has enjoyed a stellar first full season with England’s Sevens squad, bagging 12 tries in eight World Series events including one in May’s London leg against Brazil.

But with the European series in full swing after tournaments in Lyon and Moscow, Bath-born Hayter cannot wait to return to his roots for the third leg in Exeter on July 11-12.

And the winger believes the home crowd and raucous atmosphere at Sandy Park will make a huge difference, especially after experiencing the buzz of playing in front of a packed Twickenham last month.

“We’re really looking forward to the Exeter tournament,” he said. “It’s another chance to play in front of a home crowd, and Exeter is a fantastic hub of rugby at the moment so we can’t wait to get out there.

“The atmosphere was unbelievable at Twickenham earlier this season, as it is every year, and the boys have been saying they expect the atmosphere to be as good in Exeter as well.

“We really want to use the home crowd to our advantage as it is massive for us. They really make a big difference and hopefully we can put in a good performance and they’ll see us through.

“Coming from the south west myself in Bath, you grow up with the rugby atmosphere and it is a real hotbed down there.

“I’ve been lucky enough to play at Exeter a couple of times before, and the crowd always get behind you there. It’s an intimidating place to play when you’re an away team so it’s good we’ll have their support.

“We always want to go into every tournament trying to win it, and we really want to put our mark on our home tournament. So hopefully we can put on a good show down in Exeter.”

After an up-and-down start to the 2015 World Series, England sensationally wrapped up fourth spot in the standings in London to secure Team GB an automatic qualifying berth at Rio 2016.

It will be the first time rugby will be played at the Olympics since 1924 – and its debut in the Sevens format – and Hayter is confident the sport will continue to grow with the rich vein of talent coming into the squad.

He added: “It’s really exciting where the game is going. More and more crowds are getting involved and people are getting excited about sevens rugby.

“It was brilliant to qualify at Twickenham. We had been working towards it all season, it was always in the back of our minds, and that was the cherry on top of the cake for the season.

“Now a lot of new faces have come into the side to get some experience in the European series. It’s a sign of the exciting talent we have. Most of the boys here who are now playing on the World Series started in these European tournaments.

“Quite a few of the guys played out in Moscow and Lyon and put on a really good show out there, so hopefully they can take another step up with the tournament now in Exeter. It’s great to have the competition within our squad, and that lines us up well for the Olympics and beyond.”

The Rugby Europe Seven at Sandy Park, catch them if you can! July 11 & 12. Tickets available by clicking here