Right place, right time as smokey Bacon earns Sevens debut

Men's Sevens coach John Manenti is hoping rookie Jordan-Lee Bacon can continue his remarkable rise after he was selected for his Australian debut in Dubai on December 2-3.A quick Google search of Bacon only directs you to a blank Hudl page from his time at Oakhill College, such is his meteoric rise through the ranks.CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR EARLY BIRD AND HOSPITALITY TICKETS FOR THE HSBC SYDNEY SEVENSThe Eastwood product has worked his way through the Colts system, eventually catching the eye of Manenti to join the Sevens program as a training member.This was parlayed into selection for Australia A at the Oceania Challenge event earlier in the month.In a team stacked with Sevens regulars such as Ben Marr, Tim Clements and Stu Dunbar, Bacon was the standout as he lit up the competition with a hat-trick against Vanuatu before backing it up with an explosive solo effort against Papua New Guinea.“He’s not a pathway player, someone identified through the system, he’s one of the best centres in the colts competition,” Manenti told Rugby.com.au. “We invited him to train with a couple of other guys a couple of weeks ago, did really well and on the back of that, we picked him for Oceania where he was the standout performer in our group.“On the back of that and some injuries, his timing is pretty well and it’s worked out well for him. It gives him an opportunity…he’s coming in with a fair bit of Sevens work and knows our plays after spending some time with us before Oceania.“He was strong in the carry, good speed, defend well and absorbed things very quickly. He gives us multiple positions to cover, can play as a forward if he has to and he's a centre/wing by trade which is handy after a couple of injuries there.“It’s a nice, familiar selection that knows what we’re doing.”It continues Manenti's quest to build depth in the program with a limited amount of full-time contracts.The men's side will play four events within the space of two months, playing back-to-back legs in Dubai and Cape Town before heading to Hamilton and Sydney in January.With Darby Lancaster (shin) and James Turner (quad) on the sidelines for the next fortnight, Manenti was looking for the likes of Bacon to step up instantly if called upon.“He’s had some luck go his way, he’s hot right now and we’ve had some injuries…most of that Oceania group has spent time with us for a week or two at different stages over the last two months as we build that block of players to be ready to go if I have injuries in Dubai, I've got those guys on standby ready to go," he believes.“I’m trying to extend that group and we're still working out contracts. Kye Oates came in for Hong Kong, he was one of those guys in that training group."We’re starting to build those numbers around backups even though they aren’t contracted, they are spending time with us, spending time in the program and getting to learn how we work and play."Click Here: cheap all stars rugby jersey