Captain Max Woodward and veteran Salom Yiu Kam-shing have been named to the Hong Kong team to compete in the inaugural Melrose Claymores tournament at the Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens from April 5 to 7.
Coach Jevon Groves continued to place his trust in Woodward, who will be assisted by the experienced Yiu as well as fellow veteran campaigners Cado Lee Ka-to, Michael Coverdale and Alessandro Nardoni.
James Sawyer and Fong Kit-fung will both be debuting.
"There are a few changes but we are giving some of the boys an opportunity and managing some players who picked up injuries in Uruguay [during the Challenger series]. We are really excited to see what they can do," Groves said.
On the other hand, women's team coach Andy Vilk has named a wider squad of 16 players eligible for the final 12-woman squad for the Melrose tournament due to the congested calendar.
The group is led by experienced stars Natasha Olson-Thorne, Nam Ka-man and Chong Ka-yan, young talent like sisters Micayla and Chloe Baltazar and several other potential first caps ahead of the final selection.
"To run out in the stadium in front of our home crowd playing against some of the world's best teams, those are moments that I treasure," Olson-Thorne said.
In addition to preparing for Melrose Claymores, the teams are attempting to qualify for a full-time place as core sides at the World Rugby Sevens series.
The men's team are in fifth place in the Challenger series, one spot adrift of a required top-four finish ahead of the promotion playoff in Madrid, while the women's team are in eighth place.
The Hong Kong men's and women's squads for next week's Melrose Claymores tournament are presented to the media.
