Thursday night sees the return of the J.P. Morgan Sevens series, with Saracens’ very own Allianz Park holding the London leg of the tournament.

Sarries have had their fair share of success in the shortened form of the game, having made it out of the pool stages on each outing so far in the Premiership Sevens including a series victory in the inaugural year as well as back to back Melrose Sevens titles.

With the tournament now less than a week away, squad announcements have started to appear with Saracens naming a squad more than capable of regaining the title.

The most notable names in the Men in Black's line-up come in the form of England wing Chris Ashton and the tournaments’ leading try scorer, James Short.

The rest of the Sarries squad for Saturday contains a mix of experience and youth, captained by former England Sevens representative Nils Mordt as well as England Under-20 internationals Scott Spurling and Matt Hankin.

New signings, such as Championship player of the year Tim Streather and returnee Michael Tagicakibau are involved. Bedford Blues' dual-registered players Ben Ransom and Luke Baldwin add their speed. A-League regulars Eoin Sherriff and Sam Stanley complete the squad.

Allianz Park will provide perfect playing conditions for Sevens with the artificial turf allowing for a faster game, something that the Saracens’ speedsters will hope to take full advantage of.

It will also be quite an occasion off the pitch with local rivalries being renewed, giving fans a chance to mingle before the opening game of the season in which the clubs and their fans will meet again at Twickenham.

Saracens will have high hopes for this tournament - they have put forward arguably the strongest squad of the pool stages.

However anything can happen and big names and reputations count for nothing when it comes to the shortened form of the game.

One thing that is for sure is that the evening will provide anticipation, excitement and plenty of tries - the perfect way to kick off hopefully a successful, silverware-winning year for Mark McCall’s men.