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Tom Varndell returns to Dubai for the Rugby World Cup Sevens determined to reignite his England career in the country it first received lift-off.

The Leicester winger won his fourth Test cap on the summer tour of New Zealand - but he has now dropped out of Martin Johnson's immediate plans and does not even feature for the Tigers.

Varndell was a fresh-faced teenager barely out of school when he took the Sevens world by storm in the 2005-06 season in an England side which also featured Mathew Tait.

Varndell was named man of the tournament on his debut at the Dubai Sevens in 2005 and with Tait he helped England to win silver at the 2006 Commonwealth Games.

Now 23, Varndell has returned to the Sevens squad and is heading back to Dubai for next week's showpiece in the hope of rediscovering the X-factor which made him such a hot property.

"Playing for England is massive. I have four caps and I want more," said Varndell.

"This is where it started before and hopefully I can get it going again. I am buzzing about going to Dubai.

"I love this environment. It is positive, relaxed and lets me play the way I want to play. You are not limited in what you can do.

"My career has been a roller-coaster. Now it is all about getting some consistency in my game and some enjoyment.

"When I am happy and enjoying myself I play well. When I am not enjoying myself I play badly."

Implicit in Varndell's comments is a frustration at how his career has gone, both with Leicester and England.

Although Varndell has one year remaining on his contract at Welford Road, it would be no great surprise if he was to leave for pastures new in the hope of maximising that potential.

England's Sevens coach Ben Ryan is convinced Varndell has a Test future ahead of him - and he is determined to help revitalise a man whose pace will strike fear into every opponent at next week's World Cup.

"I hope we are part of Tom's rebuilding. He is a class act and I certainly feel there is a future for him at senior international level and that is why he is part of the squad," said Ryan.

Varndell's frustration is understandable. He is still only 23 and this will, in effect, be his third coming.

After being fast-tracked into the England Test side on the 2006 summer tour of Australia, the speed in which he was brought crashing back to reality was almost cruel.

Varndell describes being "scalded" by Australia winger Lote Tuqiri and the experience wrecked his confidence to such an extent that within two months he had been loaned out to first division Bedford.

From there, Varndell began his first rebuilding process which culminated successfully in a call-up for England's summer tour to New Zealand.

Varndell started the second Test, scored his third Test try and did enough to be selected ahead of Topsy Ojo and David Strettle in Johnson's elite squad on July 1.

But it proved another false dawn. Varndell could not force his way into the Leicester side and, as a result, Johnson transferred him out of his elite squad at the first opportunity.

"I enjoyed the summer. It wasn't like Australia two years earlier. I had a different mentality and obviously I performed well enough because I was in the EPS squad at the start of this season," reflected Varndell.

"But they can't pick you if you are not playing for your club. That is what Johnno said to me - that they can't justify picking me in the England team which I understood.

"I would be lying if I said it hasn't affected me. After playing for three or four years consistently and to then not get picked is not a nice feeling.

"There have been lots of ups and downs in my career - hopefully this will be massive up for me. It is a World Cup. You have some of the classiest players in the world playing there. It is a massive challenge and I can't wait to get out there."

England head to Dubai ranked level with South Africa on top of the IRB World Series table after reaching four of the last five finals and winning in Wellington last month.

Their campaign begins against Hong Kong next Thursday with further group matches on Friday against Tunisia and Kenya.

Sporting Life / Eurosport