Former Oxford junior Liam Gibson gets his first taste of international action in Dubai this weekend.

Gibson, 22, a winger with National 1 side Plymouth Albion, is in the England squad for the first round of the IRB World Sevens Series.

The former Newbury player teams up with old coach Ben Ryan, who used to teach at St Edward's School, Oxford, after impressing at two England trials in the last few weeks.

Now, Gibson, who lives in Leiden Road, Wood Farm, must acclimatise quickly to the harsh climate in the middle east - a far cry from a cold winter's day back home.

Gibson said: "I had a trial for the England Sevens team, which went really well.

"I was invited back for a second practice session, and it went so well, I got a call-up into the squad.

"The tournament is pretty big, with all the major nations involved, including New Zealand, South Africa and Fiji.

"I've never represented my country in a tournament like this, and I'm really looking forward to it.

"The conditions are going to be extremely hot, so it will take a bit of getting used to - especially as sevens is a pretty quick game."

The tournament is played on a round-robin format, with group winners and runners-up qualifying for the knockout stages.

Gibson added: "England did pretty well last year and got to the knockout stages, so hopefully we can do at least that again."

Gibson will be out in Dubai with the England team until December 10.