Friend said: "I am thrilled and honoured to be given the opportunity to coach the team. The Australian squad that has been developed over the last few seasons shows great promise, and I'm very excited about working with those players.

"The potential and growth of the game in Australia is enormous, so it's our collective responsibility to play a brand of rugby that excites people and attracts new support. I'm really looking forward to the challenge ahead and making Australians proud to watch their team."

Ben Whitaker, General Manager of High Performance at the Australian Rugby Union, added: "We are fortunate to have been able to recruit a coach of Andy's experience, talent and enthusiasm.

"Andy [Friend] is a very experienced coach with proven abilities in talent identification, individual and team skill development and team leadership. These attributes align well with where the men's Sevens team and the program is at and where it needs to further develop.

"Andy is a coach of outstanding character and has proven through a thorough recruitment process to be highly motivated by the Sevens leadership role. He was able to demonstrate a very strong understanding of the game and a vision for the Sevens program and team.