Strawberry Hill's Will Attfield thought his shot at professional rugby had passed him by until ex-London Scottish director of rugby Simon Amor made his dream come true.

The 17-year-old Hampton School full back was released by London Irish at the end of last season after failing to progress through to the club's senior academy.

But he was celebrating this week after becoming one of seven players to be handed an academy contract with the England Sevens programme headed up by Hampton School old boy Amor.

Attfield had impressed at an England Acadamies trial where youngsters showcase their skills in the hope of landing professional deals with clubs from across the country where he caught his new boss' eye.

He joined up with the England Sevens development squad and has not looked back.

“Simon came up to me after the tournament to ask if I would be interested in joining the England Sevens squad – I was speechless and very emotional because this has always been my dream," said Attfield.

"My mum and dad were watching from a distance and I didn’t even need to tell them the good news – they could see it written all over my face.”

Amor added: “Will is clearly a very talented and exciting young rugby player with lots of potential and I hope that he will develop into a world-class sevens competitor.

"He reads the game well, has a great skills set and is good all-round player – ideal for the Sevens game.”

Attfield starts his professional career next month as he prepared for national and international sevens tournaments across the globe - including Dubai, Kenya and Singapore.

“This is a fantastic and well-deserved opportunity for Will after a brilliant season in both the fifteen and seven-a-side formats of the game," said Hampton School director of rugby Sean Thomson.

"He was critical to Hampton’s successes this season and we wish him all the best in his professional rugby career.

"Will’s achievement reflects the level of talent we currently have at the school, but more importantly it will show our younger boys what they can hope to achieve if they work as hard as Will.”