WALLABY GREATS TO LAUNCH GOLD COAST SEVENS

Rugby 7s, August 2: Wallaby greats Elton Flatley and Garrick Morgan will act as guest captain-coaches for tomorrow's "Hyperion Celebrity Sevens" match at Northcliffe Beach, to officially launch this year's Hyperion Gold Coast International Sevens.

The Gold Coast will again play host to a star-studded lineup of international teams that will fight out the two-day tournament at Albert Park, Surfers Paradise on November 13 and 14.

And tomorrow some of the stars of rugby's fast and furious game of Sevens will pack down with a host of celebrities of Gold Coast sport and the media.

For many of the celebrities the opportunity to play with two of the greats of the game is not something that occurs every day....and not usually on one of Australia's iconic Gold Coast beaches.

Flatley, who is currently residing on the Gold Coast, played 38 Tests for the Wallabies at fly-half or inside centre between 1997 and 2005 and was an intricate part of Australia's 2003 World Cup campaign.

Morgan, the current coach of the Gold Coast Breakers, represented Australia in the second row, playing 24 Tests between 1992 and 1997. He debuted with a one-point win against the All Blacks in 1992.

Champion Ironmen Shannon Eckstein and Zane Holmes and "Mr Boating and Fishing" Paul Burt will be among some of the stars of sport and the media who will be joined by Gold Coast Bulletin Confidential reporter Katrina Jones, Kurrawa's five-time Australian beach flags champion Melissa Howard and women's World Cup winning Sevens star Selena Worsley.

Eckstein, who has confirmed his rating as one of Australia's most talented all-round sportsmen on "Australia's Greatest Athlete", is looking forward to lining up for a different activity to help promote the event on his home beach at Northcliffe.

"It sounds like it's going to be a lot of fun - like most people we often have a kick around with the footy on the beach - you see clubbies up and down the coast lining up in pickup games of touch," said Eckstein, the five-time Nutri-Grain Ironman star said.

Last year's Hyperion Sevens event saw the cream of the Pacific Island teams up against Australia's best in both the men's and women's tournaments.

In an all-Fijian affair, the South Sea Drifters ran out winners over the Uprising Beach Resort in a hard fought Cup final while Brisbane's talented Eastsyde Women's outfit run out four tries to one winners over the Kristy Giteau inspired Sydney team.

Rugby Gold Coast organisers are again excited about this year's tournament with early confirmations to be announced on Tuesday.

"Playing touch footy on the beach is nothing new but touch Sevens should be very exciting indeed - I'm sure some of the beach sprint stars will be keen to test out the rugby boys," said tournament director Luca Liussi.

"It should be an ideal setting for our launch and I can think of no better place to showcase the sport of Sevens than on a Gold Coast beach."