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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011:12:10:18:27:02 by Kath..

England unchanged for third leg of HSBC Sevens World Series
Thursday December 8, 2011
Issued by Simon Mills

England have named the same squad that lifted the Dubai Sevens title last weekend for the Nelson Mandela Bay Sevens in Port Elizabeth that kicks off tomorrow.

Head coach Ben Ryan keeps faith with the 12-man group with forward Chris Brightwell the 13th man who can be called on if England suffer any injuries during the tournament.

Half-back John Brake is still sidelined by the broken finger sustained on the eve of the Gold Coast Sevens in Australia a fortnight ago.

England, second in the HSBC Sevens World Series rankings, face the USA (10.21 GMT), Samoa (13.27) and Argentina (17.54) in three tough Pool A encounters on the opening day.

Ryan is pleased with the commitment he's seen in training with his players all fighting for places in the starting line-up.

"We're in a good situation because of the competition within the squad," he said.

"We used the same starting side in all six games in Dubai. They've been playing against our reserves and there's been a real cutting edge in training.

"No-one thinks they're God's gift and everyone wants to start. We all know it's one last tournament and we'll give it everything and then have our rest over Christmas.

"The group we're in will take any chance of complacency away. Samoa, Argentina and the USA are all sides who have beaten us in the past three years.

"Everybody will want to have a crack at us now but we think we're on an upward curve. We need to be consistent and that means performing well at lots of tournaments."

This is the first time three tournaments have been played back-to-back in the World Series and when England return home on December 12 they will have travelled more than 33,000 miles on 10 separate flights across a dozen time zones in less than four weeks.

Ryan said: "The boys were pretty fatigued after the [Dubai] tournament, then by travelling for 17 hours to Port Elizabeth, so lots have been stretched on the treatment table and massaged but all in all they've handled it pretty well and I'm sure we'll be at full throttle on Friday."

England Sevens XII:
Greg Barden (captain), Chris Cracknell, Isoa Damudamu (British Army), Simon Hunt, Christian Lewis-Pratt, Dan Norton, Tom Powell, James Rodwell, Nick Royle, Mathew Turner, Rob Vickerman, Marcus Watson (Saracens)

England win opening game at South Africa Sevens
Friday December 9, 2011
Issued by Simon Mills

Dubai champions England today opened their account at the South Africa Sevens with a 26-7 win over the USA at the start of the third leg of the HSBC Sevens World Series.

James Rodwell, Marcus Watson, Mathew Turner and substitute Nick Royle scored the tries with Watson adding three conversions.

They now face 2010 Series champions Samoa (13.27 GMT) and Argentina (17.54) in two tough remaining Pool A games at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth.

Rodwell opened the scoring following Isoa Damudamu's assist in the first half before Zach Test responded to level for the Eagles and England were forced to defend for long spells before the break.

After it they increased the pressure and tempo, British Army man Damudamu forcing the error that gifted Saracens' Watson a second score before Turner struck following his own neat chip down the right touchline.

Substitute wing Nick Royle picked off an interception for England's fourth try to complete the victory.

Samoa setback for England Sevens
Friday December 9, 2011
Issued by Simon Mills

Dubai champions England today suffered a setback against Samoa in their second pool game at the South Africa Sevens.

Leading try-scorers Dan Norton and Mathew Turner both touched down for England but they conceded four against the 2010 HSBC Sevens World Series champions.

England had begun the day with a 26-7 win over the USA and the Samoa result leaves them needing a win from their final Pool A match against Argentina (17.54 GMT) to make certain a quarter final place at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth.

Paul Perez and Afa Aiaono struck in the first half for Samoa, who had beaten England at the Gold Coast Sevens a fortnight earlier, before Turner sprinted down the right to score with Marcus Watson converting.

Conceding possession and missing a tackle immediately after the interval let Aiaono in for a second try before Norton then struck from long-range to give England a chance at 19-14 down.

But they were hit by another Samoa try from a scrum on their own 22 with Faalemiga Selesele finishing things off.

Earlier England had opened their account against the USA with tries from James Rodwell, Watson, Turner and substitute Nick Royle, Watson adding three conversions.

Rodwell opened the scoring following Isoa Damudamu's assist then Zach Test responded to level for the Eagles and England were forced to defend for long spells before the break.

In the second half they increased the pressure and tempo, Damudamu forcing the error that gifted Watson a second score before Turner struck following his own neat chip down the right touchline.

Substitute wing Royle picked off an interception for England's fourth try to complete the victory.

England Sevens set up quarter final date with Fiji
Friday December 9, 2011
Issued by Simon Mills

England will face Fiji in tomorrow’s quarter finals of the South Africa Sevens after overpowering Argentina 19-0 in their final pool match in Port Elizabeth.

They had begun the day with a 26-7 win against the USA only to suffer a setback when they went down 24-14 to Samoa

But they regained their composure to beat the Pumas with two tries from Dan Norton and one from Simon Hunt with Saracens' Marcus Watson adding two conversions at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.

They patiently worked Norton into position to strike just before the break, then squeezed Argentina into errors with Hunt storming up the left for a second try before Norton’s kick ahead and acceleration past the final defender gave him the third.

“Against Samoa we failed at some of our basics and we were disappointed coming off the pitch,” said captain Greg Barden.

“We knew Argentina would be up for the last game but we showed determination and now we can reset and get ready for another hard game in the quarter final.”

Tomorrow’s game (at 11.28 GMT) pits the winners of the first two legs of the HSBC Sevens World Series against each other. Fiji lifted the Gold Coast title and were beaten by Dubai champions England at the semi final stage last weekend.

England had opened their account against the USA with a 26-7 win secured by tries from James Rodwell, Watson, Mathew Turner and substitute Nick Royle with Watson adding three conversions.

Against Samoa leading try-scorers Norton and Turner both touched down but England conceded four to the 2010 series champions.

Paul Perez and Afa Aiaono struck in the first half for Samoa, who had beaten England at the Gold Coast Sevens a fortnight earlier, before Turner sprinted down the right to score with Marcus Watson converting.

Conceding possession and missing a tackle after the interval let Aiaono in for a second try. Norton then struck from long-range to give England a chance at 19-14 down before Faalemiga Selesele made sure for the islanders.

England into third-place play-off at South Africa Sevens
Saturday December 10, 2011
Issued by Simon Mills

England will face Samoa in a third-place play off at the South Africa Sevens today (17.08 GMT) after their semi final defeat to New Zealand.

Tim Mikkelson’s last minute score earned New Zealand a 19-14 win after England had hauled themselves level midway through the second half with tries from Chris Cracknell and James Rodwell.

Earlier England had beaten Gold Coast Sevens champions Fiji 21-14 to reach the last four with tries from Rodwell, Mathew Turner and Dan Norton.

Against New Zealand they trailed 14-0 at one stage to tries from Solomon King and Joe Webber, both converted by Tomasi Cama, before a comeback that shook last season’s HSBC Sevens World Series champions.

Rodwell and Turner fashioned the opening for Cracknell to smash his way over in the right-hand corner with Saracens’ Marcus Watson converting immediately before the interval.

And they were on a roll in the second half, forcing New Zealand into conceding penalties before Cracknell and Isoa Damudamu attacked down the right with Dan Norton’s off-load putting Rodwell over.

Watson converted to tie up the scores but Cama’s cross-kick put Mikkelson away in the last minute and England couldn’t get out of their own territory from the final play.

Dubai champions England had worked hard to qualify for the quarter finals on the opening day, beating the USA 26-7 and Argentina 19-0 either side of a 24-14 setback against Samoa.

They then produced arguably their best performance of the season to overwhelm the Fijians, pressing them into errors and pinning them deep in their own half for long spells.

Damudamu’s burst up the middle created the opening for Turner to put Rodwell in from close range early on before Osea Kolinisau got away down the left to level the scores.

England struck back immediately, though, with Norton attacking from deep and beating defenders on an 80m burst for the line.

Another patient build-up involving Cracknell and Rodwell gave Turner the time to find his way to the line immediately after the break and put them 14 points clear.

Aminiasi Nava Kuruinovo responded but England ran the clock down and forced a succession of penalties to keep their grip on the remainder of the game.

England finish fourth at South Africa Sevens
Saturday December 10, 2011
Issued by Simon Mills

England were edged into fourth place at the South Africa Sevens after being beaten 17-14 by Samoa in the play-off game in Port Elizabeth.

James Rodwell’s two tries had put England in charge only for them to be overhauled by second half scores from Uale Mai and Alatasi Tupou.

Dubai champions England added 15 points to their account in the HSBC Sevens World Series standings and after three of nine tournaments are well-placed just four points behind joint leaders New Zealand and Fiji.

Earlier in the day England produced one of their best performances of the season to dispose of Gold Coast champions Fiji 21-14 at the quarter final stage.

But Tim Mikkelson’s last minute try for New Zealand edged them out of the semi final 19-14 and into the third-place play-off.

England had worked hard to qualify for the quarter finals on the opening day, beating the USA 26-7 and Argentina 19-0 either side of a 24-14 setback against Samoa in Pool A.

They then began Day Two by overwhelming the Fijians, pressing them into errors and pinning them deep in their own half.

Isoa Damudamu and Mat Turner put Rodwell in from close range early on before Osea Kolinisau levelled. England struck back immediately, though, with Dan Norton attacking from deep and beating defenders on an 80m burst for the line.

A patient build-up involving Chris Cracknell and Rodwell gave Turner the time to find his way to the line immediately after the break and put them 14 points clear before Aminiasi Nava Kuruinovo’s consolation effort.

England trailed New Zealand 14-0 at one point in the semi final – to tries from Solomon King and Joe Webber – before launching a superb comeback.

Rodwell and Turner fashioned the opening for Cracknell to smash his way over in the right-hand corner with Saracens’ Marcus Watson converting immediately before the interval.

And they were on a roll in the second half, forcing New Zealand into conceding penalties before Cracknell, Isoa Damudamu attacked down the right with Dan Norton’s offload putting Rodwell over.

Watson converted to tie up the scores but Tomasi Cama’s cross-kick put Mikkelson away in the last minute and England couldn’t get out of their own territory from the final play.

In the play-off they twice created opportunities for Rodwell to gallop in down the right, Damudamu and Tom Powell providing the assists and Christian Lewis-Pratt adding the conversions.

Mai and Tupou recaptured the lead before Mai was sin-binned for striking but England couldn’t fashion an opening in the frantic final play.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011:12:10:18:21:15 by England 7s News:.