Former England Sevens captain Amor was appointed last week as the successor to Ben Ryan, who chose to step down from the role following a successful six-year spell that saw him lead England to the semi-finals or better in the HSBC World Series 28 times.

Alongside him announcing the partnership were England players Chris Cracknell and Michaela Staniford, as well as Rugby Football Union (RFU) head of international player development Joe Lydon, Heathrow Express managing director Keith Greenfield and RFU chief commercial officer Sophie Goldschmidt, who spoke of the benefits of the new partnership.

"It was a priority for us to secure a partner for the England Sevens and Heathrow Express is the perfect fit," Goldschmidt explained.

"The England squads compete in several markets which replicate the customer base of Heathrow Express, and they share our passion and commitment to growing the sport.

"Last year's highlights included the England men winning the tournament in Wellington and the women in Houston, as well as more than 113,000 supporters attending the Marriott London Sevens.

"It is an exciting time for the sport and we are looking forward to working with Heathrow Express to build on recent successes and introduce even more people to the game."

With the new HSBC World Series season set to kick off on Australia's Gold Coast in just over three weeks' time, England will be looking to bounce back from their overall lowest points total since the 2007-2008 season and mount a serious challenge on New Zealand, who are eyeing up a fourth consecutive crown.

England Sevens will have their shirts emblazoned with the Heathrow Express logo following the announcement of the partnership


And according to Greenfield, partnering with England Sevens offers an array of opportunity for Heathrow Express, which provides high-speed travel between central London and Heathrow Airport taking just 15 minutes - the same amount of time it takes to play a game of sevens rugby.

"Heathrow Express is delighted to be on board with the England Sevens teams on their exciting journey," he said.

"Having recently celebrated our 15 year anniversary as the 'smarter way' for passengers to travel between central London and Heathrow, we are looking forward to working with the RFU, and using the partnership to further promote the sport and Heathrow Express over the coming years.

"Today's announcement marks an increase in our investment in rugby at an exciting time for the sport, as the country builds up to hosting the biggest World Cup ever staged in 2015."

As part of the partnership, Heathrow Express will become the official transport partner for England Sevens, beginning this weekend when the men's side travels to Bucharest to compete at the European Rugby Association (FIRA–AER) Sevens Grand Prix.

Head coach Amor hailed Heathrow Express as a "wonderful sponsor", before speaking of his eagerness to get started in his new role and help develop the English sevens side further.

"I'm delighted, it's such a wonderful opportunity for myself," he said.

"I think it's important to recognise where the team is at at the moment, there's some real potential there and credit has to be given to Ben Ryan and the work he has done for the last part of this programme.

"It's about another step forward in this process, with this group and with this programme, and it's a long-term vision for the programme which we will look at."

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