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Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2015:12:07:15:45:48 by Kath....

CAMERON COWELL and Ruaridh McConnochie will make their HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series debuts when the season kicks off in Dubai next week (December 4-5).

The duo feature alongside an experienced line up, captained by Tom Mitchell, and have been drawn in a pool with Wales, Kenya and Australia.

Men’s Head Coach Simon Amor said: “Last year was a positive season and one of the most pleasing aspects was seeing the likes of Marcus Watson and Jeff Williams earn their contracts in the Premiership. It’s great to see them going well, with an impressive four tries from Marcus last weekend.

“There are some voids to be filled and I’m delighted with the way that Cameron and Ruaridh, who have both been on our radar and worked with us for over a year now, have progressed over a very long pre-season. They have real potential and I’m confident that they are going to give it everything and perform well for the programme.




McConnochie set to earn his first cap
"The management, and especially Strength and Conditioning Coach Dan Howells, have done a great job in getting the whole squad ready so we are in a strong place to give a good account of ourselves.”

The new series structure will see England compete in ten tournaments over the next six months and they face a tough draw in pool D in Dubai. “The first tournament is always fascinating seeing who the new players are and the new styles of rugby,” added Amor.

“Australia are very consistent and potentially with some superstars to feature, they will be a big challenge. Kenya, with a new coaching set-up, will be buoyed by their recent success in qualifying for the Olympics and will pose a very physical challenge. We are familiar with Wales, a team with a lot of pride, and Gareth Williams is a very good coach so it will be a great pool.”

Depth has been created in the men’s programme this year by the introduction of academy and development squads. These young players will also travel to Dubai to compete under the banner of The Royals in the invitational tournament where they will play Spain, Germany Development and Canada Maple Leaf.

Amor said: “Dubai is such a unique set up with thousands of players. It is a brilliant opportunity for us to get both our senior team squad and young academy talent there as one programme, improving and working hard for each other.

“It is also encouraging that we have players from Premiership Academies competing for us in the Royals. It demonstrates the positive relationships that England Sevens has with the regional academies and how we are supporting the development of young players for their clubs."

England Men: Tom Bowen; Dan Bibby; John Brake; Phil Burgess; Cameron Cowell; Richard De Carpentier; Alex Gray; Dan Norton; Ruaridh McConnochie; Tom Mitchell (capt); James Rodwell; Josh Watkins

Fixtures: Friday, December 4 (all times local, GMT +4 hours) - Wales (11.14pm), Kenya (2.58pm) and Australia (8.42pm)

All games live on Sky Sports 3 with coverage from 5am GMT Friday and 5.30am GMT Saturday.

The Royals: Henry Cheeseman (Harlequins), James Cordy-Redden (C), Sam Egerton, Harry Glover, Oskar Hirskyj-Douglas, Lewis Jones (Yorkshire Carnegie, Leeds Beckett Uni), Warwick Lahmert, Seb Nagle-Taylor, Gift Sankoh, Steph Reynolds (Gloucester), Ethan Waddleton, Tom Whiteley (Saracens)

Fixtures: Friday, December 4 (all times local, GMT +4 hours) - Spain (1pm), Germany Development (3.40pm), Canada Maple Leaf (6.20pm)

England Sevens finish second in Dubai


England were undone 28-17 by an impressive Fijian side in the final of the Emirates Airline Dubai Sevens today.

England showed exciting potential and strength of character throughout the first tournament of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series but were unable to make it over the last hurdle.

Simon Amor’s side progressed into the final in dramatic fashion beating USA 24-19 in stoppage time and nudging past Argentina 14-7 in the final minute of the quarters.

Head Coach Amor said: “I’m disappointed that we lost the final but certainly not with how we went about it – the squad gave it everything. We have some young and inexperienced guys playing in their first big tournament and I’m delighted with the effort that they put in and their attitude throughout the whole weekend has been excellent. We are in a good place that we can build upon.


Bowen scored twice against Fiji

“We’ve worked very hard on developing mental strength, character and culture and this group work very hard for each other which, first and foremost, is what you ask for as a coach. I really am delighted for them reaching the final.”

Tom Bowen chased down a Dan Bibby chip to race over the line and give England an early 7-0 lead over Fiji but the islanders soon proved why they are so lethal in attack. Strong running and unpredictable footwork allowed them to rack up three tries within a matter of minutes to make it 28-7 at half time.

England fought hard to claw back the deficit and when Bowen went over for his second with seven minutes left to play there was a glimmer of hope. The clock however continued to tick and with Fiji denying England the chance to gain territory, Phil Burgess’ late try was little consolation.

In the semi-final however England were successful in their comeback after going down 12-0 in the first four minutes against USA. Josh Watkins and Richard De Carpentier both scored to make it level at the break. USA added a further seven points within minutes of the restart, only for Alex Gray and Bibby to cancel them out with a try and successful conversion.

Deep into stoppage time captain Tom Mitchell took control and drew in defenders before popping the ball off to Burgess who cut a sublime line off his shoulder to accelerate in for the winning try.

England’s quarter final brought similar levels of excitement and great strength in the contact by De Carpentier set up Bibby to dart through the Argentinian defence and over the line in the closing minute. Tries either side of the break from Burgess and Santiago Alvarez had the teams tied for the majority of a nail biting second half.

Final:
England 17-28 Fiji
Tries: Tom Bowen (2), Phil Burgess
Conversions: Dan Bibby

Semi-final:
England 24-19 USA
Tries: Josh Watkins, Alex Gray, Phil Burgess. Conversions: Dan Bibby (2)

Quarter-final:
England 14-7 Argentina
Tries: Phil Burgess, Dan Bibby. Conversions: Tom Mitchell (2)

Yesterday's pool stage results:

England 26-5 Wales.
Tries: Dan Bibby (3), Dan Norton. Conversions: Dan Bibby (3)

England 19-12 Kenya.
Tries: Dan Norton, Ruaridh McConnochie, Tom Bowen. Conversions: Dan Bibby, Tom Mitchell

England 21-5 Australia.
Tries: James Rodwell, Tom Mitchell, Phil Burgess. Conversions: Dan Bibby (3)