By Luke Baker, Sportsbeat

HENRY Purdy was part of the Gloucester Rugby side that lifted the Singha Premiership Rugby 7s trophy last year and the 21-year-old admits the Cherry & Whites are dead set on retaining it.

Kingsholm plays host to Group B on August 20 as Gloucester take on Exeter Chiefs, Bath Rugby and London Irish bidding to make it to finals day.

And while he might not have been given the nod for this year’s edition, Purdy is confident that Gloucester still have a side worthy of their tag of two-time defending champions in the competition.

"I'm massively excited that the Singha Premiership Rugby 7s is back again. Gloucester enjoy hosting it and take it pretty seriously as the record shows,” said the former Leicester Tiger.

"Last year was a new season for me at Gloucester and my first opportunity to represent Gloucester and it was a team of young boys that really enjoyed playing together.

"I think it's a great tournament, it's a great spectacle for the crowd. It's awesome for players and fans.

"It would mean a massive amount to Gloucester to lift the Singha Premiership Rugby 7s again. It's an opportunity for a lot of young guys to put a marker down.

"Last year was an awesome occasion and a lot of the boys who played well ended up having decent seasons. There are a lot of young boys who would love to be in that tournament so I'm sure whoever will represent Gloucester Rugby will do well.

"Whatever squad gets put out for the sevens will be a mixture of talent and maybe a couple of guest players as well. Some young faces and a lot of speed.”

Last year, having just signed from Leicester, Purdy was eager to impress in the shorter form of the game to show his new coaches what he could do.

And he clearly did so as the versatile back ended up making 16 Aviva Premiership Rugby appearances last season, scoring seven tries in the process.

The Singha Premiership Rugby 7s Series is the only 7s competition where you can see all 12 Premiership Rugby clubs competing against each other and Purdy hopes the next generation of Gloucester stars can follow his lead.

"It's a massive opportunity for the young boys. Lots of the boys who are younger than myself won't have played in front of a crowd that big. They are noisy and sevens is an opportunity to get the ball in hand and show what you've got,” he added.

"In the shorter version of the game there is a lot more space, so you can really show your skill set. I thoroughly enjoyed it last year as a lot of the boys did and I think the young boys will relish it.

"At Kingsholm the atmosphere is always pretty cool. I think the fans will be hungry for some rugby after a summer off. It's quite a while until the premiership starts."

Tickets for the Singha Premiership Rugby 7s Series are now on sale. For full details see premiershiprugby.com/7s