Gone are the gold locks for the 2008/09 season for David Seymour who got the chop at the end of the 2007/08 season quite literally. His trademark pony tail was replaced with a more conservative style in the close season, but his performances on the pitch are anything but.

His high work rate and pace have made him a valuable asset for both Sale and Saracens who he joined from Chinnor.

He enjoyed a quick rise into the Saracens first team having arrived on a full-time academy contract in 2004/05, but after just a few weeks of pre-season training, he was promoted to the first team squad and made his debut as a replacement for Richard Hill in the London Double Header.

He quickly established himself as a regular in the first team and that season also made his debut at England U21 level in both the Six Nations and World Championships in Argentina.

His pace also caught of the eye on the World 7s circuit and he was a regular with the England squad and also won silver at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne in 2006 and two weeks later the side followed that up by winning the Hong Kong Sevens.

Since joining Sale, Dave has found a new lease of life and is now regarded as one of their "finds of the season" often appearing on the statistics sheet for tackles and hard-yards made.