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Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2014:03:30:16:05:29 by Kath..

Rodwell runs out ahead of the team to mark his 50th cap

JAMES RODWELL scored in his 50th consecutive world series tournament as England beat Argentina 19-12 on day one of the Cathay Pacific HSBC Hong Kong Sevens.

The crucial try by England’s most capped forward came just after half time to put his side back in the lead 14-7. The remaining points came from Tom Mitchell who touched down and converted twice.

England play their remaining two pool games tomorrow against Portugal (03:56 GMT) and Canada (10:32 GMT) with coverage live on Sky Sports 3.

Head Coach Simon Amor was full of praise for Rodwell who had the honour of running out ahead of the team into the brightly lit and lively stadium.

“For any player to get 50 tournaments is special, to get 50 consecutive tournaments is pretty much unheard of in the game of sevens,” said Amor. “James Rodwell has been outstanding for us this season and for many seasons for England. He is a real pleasure to have in the team, he is a great leader for us and an incredibly valued member of the squad.

“I was really pleased for him to get the try but more importantly pleased to just scrape through. The first game in Hong Kong is always a very difficult one. It is late in the day, the emotions from the players is very high. Six of the players were making their Hong Kong debuts here today and the atmosphere is unbelievable, they will never have played in anything like this before. Our decision making was pretty poor in that game but the players will learn from it and they will be better as a result.”

Powerful running by new-comer Jack Clifford released Dan Bibby who popped the ball to Mitchell in support on the shoulder. The captain scored and converted for a seven point lead after four minutes.

Argentina instantly responded as missed tackles by England allowed Diego Palma to break down the wing and cross in the corner. Martin Rodriguez added the additional two points to level the scores heading into half time.

A great inside line by Rodwell put him in under the posts before Dan Bibby flicked the ball through his legs to Mitchell who skipped through the remaining defenders for England’s third try.

Argentina had the final say however when a long pass left England exposed on the far side and allowed Juan Ignacio Brex to reduce the deficit.

Earlier in the afternoon pool opponents Canada beat Portugal 35-7 but it was a tough start for the other home unions with Wales going down 42-7 to Fiji and New Zealand beating Scotland 33-0.

A record 28 teams are competing this weekend in Hong Kong with the main HSBC Sevens World Series tournament, consisting of the 15 core teams plus Asia’s third-ranked side Sri Lanka, taking place alongside the 12 team international qualifier competition, the winner of which will be promoted into the World Series next season.

Rodwell in action against New Zealand in the final of the Hong Kong Sevens

England finished runners-up in the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Sevens losing out 26-7 to HSBC World Series Champions New Zealand.

In front of a packed 40,000 crowd Tom Powell crossed the line just before half time to keep England in the game 14-7 but they were unable to contain a dominant New Zealand team who ran in two further tries.

It was a tough route to the final but England overcame South Africa 14-7 in the quarters and two times Hong Kong defending champions Fiji 17-7 in the semis.

The last time England reached this stage of the competition was 2006 when Head Coach Simon Amor was captaining the side. Reflecting on the weekend he said: “I’m incredibly proud, to play all three of the big teams on one day, with seven of the players making their Hong Kong debut, is a big achievement.

“We have made so much progress in recent weeks and months but unfortunately we weren’t quite good enough in that final game. We didn’t get some of our decision making quite get right but that’s just a reflection of where we are in terms of our learning curve.

“You get so few opportunities to play in front of 40,000 with an atmosphere as incredible as it is here and I thought the courage and the way the guys played for the shirt and their country, and really fought togetherthroughout the weekend was just outstanding. It says so much about them as a group. We’ll keep on building and hopefully next year we can go one stage further,” he added.

New Zealand’s Ben Lam was first to score in the corner, despite the defensive efforts of Dan Norton, before Tim Mikkelson extended New Zealand’s lead.

With the rain pouring down and decisions not going their way, England struggled to replicate the dynamism of earlier performances. Quick thinking by Powell to tap and go when a penalty was awarded in front of the posts, and a Tom Mitchell conversion, halved the deficit heading into the break.

Having been beaten to third place by England in Tokyo last weekend, New Zealand stepped up another gear in the second half with DJ Forbes and Sam Dickinson the next to break through England’s defence.

The crowd erupted when Marcus Watson cut a sharp line off Mitchell’s shoulder to run the length of the field and touch down, but the pass was deemed forward and the try disallowed.

Three scores behind and with the clock ticking, New Zealand continued to apply the pressure in both attack and defence. England ran out of options for a disappointing end to an exciting and encouraging tournament for the squad.