Gordon Langkilde recalled to Samoa 7s squad

Former Samoa sevens player Gordon Langkilde has been recalled to the national team more than two years after assaulting three players at the Sevens World Cup in San Francisco.

The 25 year old pleaded guilty to misdemeanour charges in 2018 after attacking opposition players in the tunnel following Samoa's defeat by Wales.

Tom Williams suffered a broken nose and cheekbone while Luke Morgan and Ben Roach also suffered facial injuries.

Gordon Langkilde was required to pay compensation to the victims and agreed to withdraw from playing all rugby for a year.

His suspension was completed in April and the Satapulala club player returned to playing sevens in Samoa post lockdown.

He's one of 45 players named in an extended training squad by new Samoa men's sevens coach, Muliagatele Brian Lima, after impressing for A'ana Chiefs, who finished fifth in the just completed Samoa National Sevens Series.

He is also on a list of players to return to the Samoa Rugby Academy, which is set to restart later this year.

Tepatasi were crowned Samoa National Sevens Series champions after winning the fourth and final leg in Apia at the weekend.

The 2021 World Sevens Series is scheduled to kick off in January after the Dubai and Cape Town rounds were cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The extended Samoa Sevens wider squad will gather on Wednesday at the Samoa Rugby Union High Performance Centre at Tuanaimato.