Dan Norton is the latest stellar name to be confirmed as part of the inaugural World Tens Series being held in Bermuda.

The World Sevens Series’ all-time leading tryscorer, with more than 350 tries, will join England team-mates Tom Mitchell, Tom Bowen and Alex Davis as part of the London Royals squad.

The Gloucester-born winger, who was most recently playing for London Irish in the Gallagher Premiership, is relishing the opportunity to play in a professional competition after seeing his preparations for the Olympic Games dashed by the Covid-19 crisis.

“In light of what has happened over the last few months and going from preparing to play in the Olympics to then not having any rugby for a number of months, was a strange place to be, so it will be great to head out to Bermuda and play in a professional environment again,” Norton told the World Tens official website.

“This is something we have done from a young age, so to be preparing again for that professional competition is something all the boys are looking forward to.”

Despite being from a predominantly sevens background, the 32-year-old, who had a fleeting experience with the tens discipline, is excited at the prospect of testing himself again in the format.

“It has been said that it is a hybrid between the sevens and 15s formats, but from speaking to the boys, I think we are all looking forward to the unknown,” Norton added.

“There will be some technical and tactical differences, but being able to blend that in is something that is definitely quite exciting.

“I’m looking forward to playing with my friends in the sevens programme, but also playing alongside guys I haven’t played with before.

“Alex Gray hasn’t played rugby in a few years but has great skills and will be an asset. There is the speed of a Tom Bowen and the big boys who can change direction like Rich De Carpentier and Alex Davis, obviously not forgetting the Great Britain captain Tom Mitchell. It’s a strong squad and we are all looking forward to it.”

The ten-a-side series, comprising eight privately owned teams from around the globe, will be hosted on island over three weekends at the National Sports Centre. The first round of matches is scheduled for October 24 and 25, followed by the second round on October 31 and November 1. The final will be on November 7.

Seven of the eight teams have already been confirmed. They are Ohio Aviators (Columbus), Asia Pacific Dragons (Singapore), SX10 (Cape Town), London Royals, Rhino (Southern California), Phoenix (Middle East) and Miami Sun.