Hillingdon-born Marcus Watson has been selected to represent Great Britain when rugby appears at the Olympic Games for the first time in 108 years.

Rio 2016 will see rugby sevens feature at an Olympics for the first time, after the XV-man sport last featured at a Games in 1908.

Team GB have selected 24 rugby players, with Emily Scarratt captaining the women's side and Tom Mitchell skippering the men.

One of those selected is Watson after he lit up Aviva Premiership Rugby last season by scoring five tries - including a double against reigning champions Saracens – and was previously a full-time sevens player.

Newcastle's director of rugby Dean Richards said: "We are incredibly proud that Marcus will be part of the Olympic Games and we wish him all the best for his time over in Brazil.

"It is fantastic that rugby sevens has been welcomed into the games, it will help promote the sport to a new audience and for Marcus it is an amazing opportunity."

The men have been drawn against Kenya, Japan and New Zealand in their pool, while the women face Brazil, Japan and Canada.

Each tournament will last three days with the 12 teams being whittled down to the four who will fight it out in the medal matches.

Tom Mitchell leads the men's squad which features a wealth of sevens experience, including James Rodwell, who set a record for competing in his 69th consecutive HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series tournaments.

England's Dan Norton, the fourth highest Seven Series leading scorer of all time, is also included and their head coach, Simon Amor, said the British public has already started to embrace the Team GB sevens side.

Hillingdon Times:

"At the recent tournament in Exeter, the crowd were chanting ‘GB', something that has never been heard in the rugby sevens world before, and it was yet another reminder of how privileged we are to now be part of one Team GB and the largest sporting event in the world," he said.

"Through the extraordinary GB spirit that has been created over the last seven weeks, all the players involved in the wider training squad have pushed themselves, and each other, to the limit.

"They have fought and fought for places each day. It has been incredibly competitive and the group has become very close in a short space of time."

Great Britain sevens squad:

Men: Mark Bennett, 23, Glasgow; Dan Bibby, 25, Putney; Phil Burgess, 28, Farnborough; Sam Cross, 23, Newport; Alex Davis, 23, Bristol; James Davies, 25, Carmarthen; Ollie Lindsay Hague, 25, London; Tom Mitchell, 27, Wandsworth; Dan Norton, 28, Bristol; James Rodwell, 31, Cotteridge; Mark Robertson, 31, Galashiels; Marcus Watson, 25, Weybridge. Travelling reserves: Luke Treharne, 23, Llanelli; Ruaridh McConnochie, 24, Kingston upon Thames.

Women: Claire Allan, 31, Ealing; Abbie Brown, 20, Exeter; Heather Fisher, 32, Birmingham; Natasha Hunt, 27, Gloucester; Jasmine Joyce, 20, Haverfordwest; Katy McLean, 30, South Shields; Alice Richardson, 29, Worcester; Emily Scarratt, 26, Leicester; Emily Scott, 24, Corringham; Danielle Waterman, 31, Bristol; Joanne Watmore, 29, Chester; Amy Wilson-Hardy, 24, Poole. Travelling reserves: Megan Jones, 19, Cardiff; Kay Wilson, 24, Caterham.