NEW signing Danny Gray is confident he can revive his England Sevens form tonight as he bids to steal a march on his Worcester fly-half rivals ahead of next season.

Gray arrived at Sixways on July 1 from French outfit Montauban and will pull on the Warriors jersey for the first time tonight in the JP Morgan Asset Management Premiership Rugby Sevens Series at Sale Sharks’ Edgeley Park ground.

Despite his England Sevens experience and a CV containing spells at Exeter Chiefs and Bristol, Gray will face stiff competition for a starting berth in the Premiership this season with the ever-reliable Andy Goode and Joe Carlisle also vying for the number 10 jersey.

While quick to accept the size of the task facing him to lock down a Sixways starting spot, Gray is feeling bullish about getting that quest off to the perfect possible start tonight.

“I have not played sevens at a really high level for a little while now but, with the experience with England that I have, hopefully that will stand me in good stead,” said Gray.

“I have been training hard and the fitness should be there and hopefully that means I can get off to a good start in my Worcester career.

“I have always considered myself to be a good playmaker in the sevens game and am able to pull the strings and hopefully I can do that tonight.

“There are a lot of talented players in our line-up that hopefully I will be able to bring into the game and start my Worcester career off well.

“I have played against both Andy and Joe and they are quality players.

“I know that I might have to be patient, but I am excited to get the season started at Sale.”

As is customary ahead of a Premiership campaign, the newly-promoted Warriors are the bookies favourites to drop straight back down to the Championship.

But 28-year-old Gray — who will line up against Leicester, Sale and Newcastle tonight — has seen enough to beg to differ with those predictions.

“When I got offered the opportunity to come to play with Worcester and under Richard Hill it was an easy decision,” added Gray.

“It has all gone well so far in training, there are a lot of very good players and we’re looking forward to the new season.”

Tickets for every round of the JP Morgan Asset Management Premiership Rugby Sevens Series are available through Ticketmaster at ticketmaster.co.uk or by calling 0844-8472492.