England 7s Fixtures & Results Edinburgh 2008

England get off to a flying start

England 22-0 Portugal

England got off to a flying start against Portugal conceding no tries in their first match of the Emirates Airline Edinburgh Sevens.

Worcester Warriors speedster Uche Oduoza scored his first of two tries within 40 seconds of the starting whistle, his second coming just before the break leaving England leading 12-0.

England started the second half slowly, but after some good defending they were rewarded in the sixth minute with a third try, which came from a chip and chase by substitute Ollie Phillips.

Gloucester Rugby's Jack Adams was fourth over the line to seal the victory for England.

England play Russia at 12.40pm.

England: Chris Cracknell (Cornish Pirates), Tom Youngs (Leicester Tigers), Jack Adams (Gloucester Rugby), Andy Vilk (Sale Sharks, captain), Kevin Barrett (Exeter Chiefs), Ben Gollings (Sunnybank, Australia), Uche Oduoza (Worcester Warriors)

Replacements: Tom Biggs (Leeds Carnegie), Ollie Cook (Doncaster Knights), Ollie Phillips (Newcastle Falcons)

Scorers: Uche Oduoza (2t), Ollie Phillips (t), Jack Adams (t), Ben Gollings (c)

England rush too late

England 17-17 Russia

England's second match ended 17-a-piece due to a late try by Russia at the Emirates Airline Edinburgh Sevens.

Russia dominated the first half keeping England on their toes throughout, starting with a try in the fourth minute and then another just before the break leaving England trailing 0-12 at half-time.

It was another Ollie Phillips chip and chase that finally got England on the score board, with Ben Gollings converting within 30 seconds of the second-half.

Within two minutes, England went into the lead with tries from Newcastle Falcons' Micky Young and substitute Uche Oduoza, Gollings failed to convert either leaving Russia trailing 17-12 on the final buzzer. But, with the ball still in play Russia took their opportunities to score the final try of the match but failed to convert taking the game to a tie.

England will play New Zealand at 4.20pm

England: Tom Biggs (Leeds Carnegie), Ollie Cook (Doncaster Knights), Micky Young (Newcastle Falcons), Tom Youngs (Leicester Tigers), Ollie Phillips (Newcastle Falcons), Andy Vilk (Sale Sharks, captain), Ben Gollings (Sunnybank, Australia)

Replacements: Jack Adams (Gloucester Rugby), Kevin Barrett (Exeter Chiefs), Uche Oduoza (Worcester Warriors)

Scorers: Ollie Phillips (t), Micky Young (t), Uche Oduoza (t), Ben Gollings (c)

England reach the semis

South Africa 0-10 England

England will face Wales in the Cup semi final after a dominant performance against South Africa at the Emirates Airline Edinburgh Sevens.

As the rain came down at Murrayfield England found their way to the try line scoring all of their points in the first half.

Gloucester Rugby’s Jack Adams was first over the line scoring from an England scrum within the first two minutes. From the re-start Ben Gollings made a charge, passing to scrum half Kevin Barrett who flew passed the Boks defence to score his second try of the tournament, putting the scores at 0-10 at the break.

South Africa tried to make the most of their opportunities in the second half but were penalised twice for forward passing. England defended well, conceding no points sending them into the semi final.

England face Wales at 4.30pm.

England: Chris Cracknell (Cornish Pirates), Tom Youngs (Leicester Tigers), Jack Adams (Gloucester Rugby), Andy Vilk (Sale Sharks, captain), Ben Gollings (Sunnybank, Australia), Uche Oduoza (Worcester Warriors), Kevin Barrett (Exeter Chiefs)

Replacements: Tom Biggs (Leeds Carnegie), Ollie Phillips (Newcastle Falcons), Ollie Cook (Doncaster Knights), Micky Young (Newcastle Falcons), James Rodwell (Moseley FC)

Scorers: Adams (t), Barrett (t)

England make the final cut

Wales 0 – 7 England

Englandare through to the Cup final for the first time this season after a nail-biting showdown with Wales at the Emirates Airline Edinburgh Sevens.

England’s Ben Gollings took advantage of a Wales sin-bin to score the only try of the match sending them through to face New Zealand in the final.

It was Wales’ number 10 Jonathan Edwards who was sent off for foul play in the third minute of the first- half, allowing England’s number 10, Ben Gollings to break through. Gollings scored right under the posts and converted his own try.

Englandwill face the All Blacks at 6.18pm. This will be the third time that the two teams have faced eachother in two weeks, England narrowly missed out yesterday but will be hoping for a repeat of last weekend’s London Cup quarter final where they won 17-12.

England: Chris Cracknell (Cornish Pirates), Tom Youngs (Leicester Tigers), Jack Adams (Gloucester Rugby), Andy Vilk (Sale Sharks, captain), Ben Gollings (Sunnybank, Australia), Uche Oduoza (Worcester Warriors), Kevin Barrett (Exeter Chiefs)

Replacements: Tom Biggs (Leeds Carnegie), Ollie Phillips (Newcastle Falcons)

Scorers: Gollings (t,c)

England miss out on Cup glory

New Zealand 24-14 England

Bitter disappointment for England this evening as they lose out to New Zealand in the Cup Final of the Emirates Airline Edinburgh Sevens.

In a supremely physical match, the Kiwis took the lead 19-0 in the first-half with tries from Solomon King, David Smith and Chad Truro but England hit back just before the break, giant wing Uche Oduoza crossing the line to keep England’s spirits high.

England had much of the possession in the second-half, substitute Ollie Phillips slipping through the New Zealand defence to score his third try of the tournament taking the scores to 19-14. But a last minute effort by Nigel Hunt sealed England’s fate.

Said Coach Ben Ryan: “We have done really well here at Murrayfield. Our quarter final performance against South Africa today was one of the best displays for a long time.

“We let the New Zealand game run away from us a little in the first-half, but we fought back in the second half and it could have gone either way.

“This is our first final this season and a lot of the process is about being used to finals. The boys have come on so much, 12 months ago when I took charge we got absolutely battered by New Zealand, so this shows how far we have come.

“England can be a real force next season, come the next World Series and the World Cup in Dubai England will hopefully be right up there at the top of the tree.”

England: Chris Cracknell (Cornish Pirates), Tom Youngs (Leicester Tigers), Jack Adams (Gloucester Rugby), Andy Vilk (Sale Sharks, captain), Ben Gollings (Sunnybank, Australia), Uche Oduoza (Worcester Warriors), Kevin Barrett (Exeter Chiefs)

Replacements: Tom Biggs (Leeds Carnegie), Ollie Phillips (Newcastle Falcons), Ollie Cook (Doncaster Knights)

Scorers: Oduoza (t), Phillips (t) Gollings (c)

Well it's not a win but better than I expected.