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“The little bit we saw of him when he came with us to Singapore and Hong Kong gave me hope that we can develop (his game),” McGrath added. “He’s got a real desire to make it work as well, which is fantastic.

“We may not see the best of him in the short-term, but in the longer-term he’ll be a real addition to the program.”

Adam Zaruba could rejoin the squad in January, depending on his NFL fortunes. Cut by the Philadelphia Eagles in September, the six-foot-five 265-pound would-be tight end is still exploring his NFL options.

After a sluggish start — with three 13th-place finishes in the first four stops — the Canadian men recovered to finish eighth overall on the World Series. The high point came in Singapore where Canada hoisted the cup, its first-ever win in 140 events on the circuit.

The new season kicks off in Dubai in early December. The 10-event World Series, which stops in Vancouver in March, is augmented by the Commonwealth Games in Australia in April and the showcase World Cup Sevens in San Francisco in July.

Because of the crowded schedule, teams like New Zealand and England are looking to bring separate squads to tournaments to keep their players fresh.

“We haven’t got that luxury,” said McGrath. “We’ve got to find a way to keep everybody fit and healthy … We’ll take our best team to everything because we want to win everything.”

Veterans Harry Jones, John Moonlight and Nathan Hirayama will share the captaincy with speedster Justin Douglas looking to build on a breakout year. Douglas had 40 tries in 10 tournaments, to rank third behind American Perry Baker (57) and England’s Dan Norton (51).