FORMER Hartpury College star Dan Norton has set his sights on claiming World Series glory for England off the back of his Olympic heroics this summer, writes Ross Lawson.

As rugby sevens made its Olympic debut in Rio, Norton ensured he didn’t miss out on the carnival atmosphere as he was selected in the 12-strong squad.

Norton grabbed Team GB’s first Olympic sevens try after just two minutes of an opening 31-7 victory over Kenya before touching down against New Zealand in the group stages.

The 28-year-old scored Team GB’s sole try in a 7-5 semi-final win over South Africa and he also touched down in the final, although Norton and co had to settle for silver as Fiji ran out 43-7 winners.

Despite missing out on an historic gold medal, Norton believes the success of Team GB in Brazil shows the signs are promising for the future of England Sevens, with eight Englishmen in the squad.

And with the new World Series season kicking off in December, Norton is adamant England can go one better than Team GB.

“It was an amazing experience just to be in the Olympics, but to come home with the medal was a nice cherry on the top of that,” said Norton, speaking at a celebration event for Get Set for Community Action.

“I came back and had a week’s holiday straight away, but we already back in training, which was a bit of a shock to the system.

"The season starts in December, so we’ve got a bit of time, but we’re really looking forward to getting back, gearing up for Dubai and being ready for that.

“The medal gives you a huge amount of confidence, and a lot of the guys in the GB team were England guys which is a really good core to have for us going forward.

"We have a good shot at potentially winning the World Series."

Get Set for Community Action is a new UK-wide programme for young people and their communities created by the British Olympic Foundation and British Paralympic Association and made possible thanks to the Big Lottery Fund.

To find out more visit: www.getsetaction.org.uk.