RUGBY SEVENS record try scorer Dan Norton recently joined London Irish on a short-term deal after nine years out of 15s.
The 32-year-old has over 350 tries for England Sevens, also winning a silver medal at the Rio Olympics in 2016 and a gold medal with England Sevens at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
However, the Sevens star has only played a solitary Premiership game for Gloucester back in 2008 but is ready to light up the Premiership with his electric pace.
“My game is to try and get my hands on the ball as much as possible and to try and scare people and to score some tries and help the team, that is my aim,” Norton told The Irish Post this week.
“That may change differently with more people on the pitch, but my goal is to still go out there and do my best for myself and for the team.”
He added: “I want to push myself to be as good as I can and hopefully add value. I am just going to do my best and put myself in the best position to play well and be a good addition to the squad.”
Norton has already been impressing both coaches and players since arriving at The Exiles last month, with his speed with which he has adapted and athletic ability.
“He has been terrific since he has come in and has picked things up incredibly quickly,” assistant coach Brad Davies said.
“If we can get him out on the field and in a little bit of space there is probably no better finisher.”
Declan Danaher, another assistant coach at London Irish, also sang Norton’s praises this week.
“He is explosive, a good athlete and is incredibly coachable,” Danaher said.
“Dan is very aware of what is going on in front of him and once he does get an opportunity to get into space then he wants to score tries.”
Fellow Exile player Ben Meehan is yet another who is excited for the potential Dan has in 15s.
“He is lightning quick, he looks electric, he trained yesterday with the backs units and looked decent,” the Australian scrum-half said.
“He is an athlete and one of those guys who you need to get the ball to in space and just let him do his thing.”
Norton played his first match for London Irish yesterday (August 31), where the Exiles lost 12-40 to Saracens at The Stoop.
