Brazell finished eighth in the 2004 Olympic 400 metres hurdles final and went on to play wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals in the NFL. 

The 27-year-old from Houston  is called up to the squad with only a few weeks of rugby experience alongside fellow NFL convert Leonard Peters, who has been playing for five months.

Caravelli said: "We took Bennie with us to our camp in Suva, Fiji and he had literally seen a rugby ball for four days before we put him in the [Suva] tournament, and we gave him three to four minutes in every game.

"He doesn't know all the rules yet, but I challenge all of my coaching peers to find a guy who they can throw into a tournament in Fiji with four days of rugby experience.

"The one thing you look at with these guys is that they are amazing athletes and we have quite a few of them coming through."

Peters, 28, who was born in American Samoa, has played for New York Jets and Chicago Bears and converted to rugby last year, representing the US in the opening events of the IRB World Seven Series in Dubai and South Africa.


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