Unemployed Yorkshire player eyes Commonwealth gold

Powell, who was educated at Dinnington Comprehensive School, will represent England at the Commonwealth Games in Dehli, from October 3-14, in the Rugby Sevens tournament.

He will be part of a team aiming to topple current holders of the Commonwealth title New Zealand - who are the only nation

to have won the sevens competition at the games.

The 24-year-old forward currently has no domestic club contract but has played for Cambridge and Northampton as a lock, flanker and No 8.

James Shanahan, his former director of rugby at Wests Renault Park, Cambridge, had a glowing report for Powell's attributes when it comes to Sevens.

"He has a good turn of pace and footwork and puts people around him into space, making him an ideal sevens player," he said.

Powell, in his three years at Cambridge, earned himself a reputation as a try-scorer, going over the line on average once every two and a half games before the start of the 2009-10 season.