England 7s Crowned Champions in Dubai 2010
FRANCOIS NEL/Gulf News
By Kath
December 4 2010
England Sevens - Crowned Emirates Dubai Sevens Champions 2010
Image Credit: FRANCOIS NEL/Gulf News
England came from behind to beat reigning World Series champions Samoa in the final of the Emirates Airline Dubai Sevens and take an early lead in the 2010/11 HSBC Sevens World Series.
Ben Ryan's side trailed 14-12 at half time and 21-12 with three minutes remaining, but scored three tries by Simon Hunt, Dan Norton and Mat Turner to seal victory 29-21 in front of an expectant ex-pat crowd
Oliver Lindsay-Hague'
Earlier, Oliver Lindsay-Hague's brace had kept them in the game in response to Samoan tries from powerhouse forward trio Simaika Mikaele, Ofisa Treviranus and Alafoti Fa'osiliva.
England played in sunshine orange coloured strip- Image Credit: MEGAN HIRONS MAHON/Gulf News
England Capatain Ben Gollings who increased his tally
in the all-time list of Sevens points scorers to 2,418 with an inspiring
performance against heavy odds.
Image Credit: FRANCOIS NEL/Gulf News “It’s been sensational. We keep doing
and we keep waiting. Last year we didn’t quite get there, we could not
get to the final. We knew that if we get to the final we could get that
and we did that today,” said the England legend beaming with delight.
“It was massive. It was make or
break. We put ourselves out of the hole against Fiji and we could have
put ourselves in trouble against Australia in the quarter-final, but
luckily we backed ourselves well and we finished. We took on Samoa and
we did it,” said Gollings on their comeback wins against Fiji and
Australia.
“I cannot be more proud for my boys,” he added.
England 7s Crowned Champions in Dubai 2010
Posted by: Unofficial England Rugby Union (IP Logged)
Date: 04/12/2010 18:53
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England Sevens reaction: Ryan, Gollings, Hunt, Norton, Lindsay-Hague, Cracknell, Rodwell
Posted by: England 7s News: (IP Logged)
Date: 05/12/2010 09:08
England Sevens reaction: Ryan, Gollings, Hunt, Norton, Lindsay-Hague, Cracknell, Rodwell
Saturday December 4, 2010
Issued by Simon Mills
England produced a series of stunning performances to lift the Emirates Airline Dubai Sevens trophy after coming from behind three times to beat Australia (24-21), New Zealand (19-14) and Samoa (29-21) in the knock-out stages and start the HSBC Sevens World Series in style.
They did so after losing on the opening day to Portugal and only rescuing a place in the last eight by beating Fiji with a try from the last play of the game.
England Sevens head coach Ben Ryan:
“We dug ourselves out of a great hole against Fiji and we played really well in the last three games. We all sat down last night and said it wasn’t the case of giving ourselves a pat on the back for beating Fiji. It was a reminder that we had to make the most of our chances and learn from what happened which we did. We can fight with the best of them and the boys proved that. We were relaxed and we were ruthless and it’s a good combination and they managed to hang on to that.
“Ollie Lindsay-Hague was brilliant, wasn’t he? He made a big difference as did Chris Cracknell. He was a rock and made some really good decisions. We’ve got some talented youngsters back home and Ollie played with the real exuberance of youth
“We’ve got to remain pretty humble. We’ve won one tournament at the beginning of the year but everyone will regroup and try and have a crack at us next weekend. The proof will be in how we run out in George next weekend.”
Harlequins’ Ollie Lindsay-Hague, 20, was England’s top try-scorer with five:
“It’s probably one of the best feelings I’ve ever experienced in rugby. Winning that was just incredible. Amazing.
“It’s my first tournament win. The closest I’ve been to that was in Hong Kong last year when we got to the semis and lost to Samoa. Starting all the last four games and playing every minute on the final day is what I’d dreamt of all my life.”
Captain Ben Gollings took his world record sevens points tally to 2,418 in Dubai:
“The boys have been sensational this weekend and you can’t ask for any more from them. It was always going to take one win to help us realise our true potential and hopefully we can really roll on from here.
“I’ve experienced plenty of highs and lows but we really had to look hard at ourselves pretty seriously after the performance against Portugal but at the end of the day the boys did what you have to do in this game and that’s to bounce back positively and make amends.
“We’ve got to stay level headed and we’ve set a platform and set a standard and it’s now not right if we don’t meet that standard. There’s still a lot of work to do but the guys were sensational. The young guys really stepped up: Ollie Lindsay-Hague was brilliant, Dan Caprice brilliant, Dan Norton brilliant, Mat Turner brilliant when he came on, everyone played massive parts.”
Chris Cracknell started all four must-win games against Fiji, Australia, New Zealand and Samoa
“We’ve had a very tough couple of days and after [finishing fourth in the Commonwealth Games at] Delhi to come back from the ups and downs that we’ve had is a fantastic experience
“A lot of people doubted us after the Portugal game and we did make things tough for ourselves but we never gave up and we had that fight within us to keep going and got what we deserved.
“We’ve got a great group of guys who have worked very hard to get where we are now and we can keep building and building. Who knows where this year’s going to take us now? It could be the start of an amazing journey.”
James Rodwell was named Player of the Tournament:
“The whole team has put in a fantastic effort coming back from the loss against Portugal. I can’t put my finger on why that happened. We didn’t start as we wanted to against France and Portugal but we kept our patience today.
“We need to cut out the poor performances and keep our standards high. You can’t look beyond the next tournament or you’ll falter but the boys are full of confidence now and for a lot it’s a first tournament win.
“After the Portugal game we were gutted. We have great support here in the crowd and it’s incredible running out to that reception but we just didn’t do them justice in the France game and the Portugal game.”
Bristol Rugby wing Dan Norton’s long-range finish put England in front in the final’s dying seconds:
“We gradually got better and better throughout the day that was pretty pleasing. We just tried to make ourselves as relaxed as we could. We had been trying to score off first phase and we were hectic and not relaxed, trying to throw the ball around too much.
“We want to be series winners and get from fifth to first in the world and with a bit of luck and when performances go well and we do well as a team we showed what we can do. It’s a good start.
“We now know what it’s like to get to a final and how to play when we get there and we have the winning feeling and that should help us. We knew we had fate in our hands and we hold the key to winning the games.
“It was really hard going but the whole atmosphere that’s involved in Dubai pushes us on further. The support we get here is amazing, it’s one of the best tournaments England can play in and it’s a great feeling to have to have won.”
Simon Hunt (Birmingham Solihull) scored the winning try against Fiji and came off the bench to strike again in the final
“This is my first tournament win and I’ve been in a few. It’s been a really up and down couple of days from the loss we had against Portugal and we picked ourselves up again and again and again.
“All 12 of us have worked really hard. It’s definitely been a 12 man thing and I’m very proud of all the boys. We know how well we can play but it’s brilliant that we have won.
“It makes it worth it. All the fitness tests, the rolling around in the dirt, in all the wind and the rain, and putting the hard yards in is all worthwhile when you win. Life didn’t seem so pretty five minutes after Portugal but if we are going to win the series we’ll have ups and downs and it’s about how we deal with which we’ve done superbly here.”
Saturday December 4, 2010
Issued by Simon Mills
England produced a series of stunning performances to lift the Emirates Airline Dubai Sevens trophy after coming from behind three times to beat Australia (24-21), New Zealand (19-14) and Samoa (29-21) in the knock-out stages and start the HSBC Sevens World Series in style.
They did so after losing on the opening day to Portugal and only rescuing a place in the last eight by beating Fiji with a try from the last play of the game.
England Sevens head coach Ben Ryan:
“We dug ourselves out of a great hole against Fiji and we played really well in the last three games. We all sat down last night and said it wasn’t the case of giving ourselves a pat on the back for beating Fiji. It was a reminder that we had to make the most of our chances and learn from what happened which we did. We can fight with the best of them and the boys proved that. We were relaxed and we were ruthless and it’s a good combination and they managed to hang on to that.
“Ollie Lindsay-Hague was brilliant, wasn’t he? He made a big difference as did Chris Cracknell. He was a rock and made some really good decisions. We’ve got some talented youngsters back home and Ollie played with the real exuberance of youth
“We’ve got to remain pretty humble. We’ve won one tournament at the beginning of the year but everyone will regroup and try and have a crack at us next weekend. The proof will be in how we run out in George next weekend.”
Harlequins’ Ollie Lindsay-Hague, 20, was England’s top try-scorer with five:
“It’s probably one of the best feelings I’ve ever experienced in rugby. Winning that was just incredible. Amazing.
“It’s my first tournament win. The closest I’ve been to that was in Hong Kong last year when we got to the semis and lost to Samoa. Starting all the last four games and playing every minute on the final day is what I’d dreamt of all my life.”
Captain Ben Gollings took his world record sevens points tally to 2,418 in Dubai:
“The boys have been sensational this weekend and you can’t ask for any more from them. It was always going to take one win to help us realise our true potential and hopefully we can really roll on from here.
“I’ve experienced plenty of highs and lows but we really had to look hard at ourselves pretty seriously after the performance against Portugal but at the end of the day the boys did what you have to do in this game and that’s to bounce back positively and make amends.
“We’ve got to stay level headed and we’ve set a platform and set a standard and it’s now not right if we don’t meet that standard. There’s still a lot of work to do but the guys were sensational. The young guys really stepped up: Ollie Lindsay-Hague was brilliant, Dan Caprice brilliant, Dan Norton brilliant, Mat Turner brilliant when he came on, everyone played massive parts.”
Chris Cracknell started all four must-win games against Fiji, Australia, New Zealand and Samoa
“We’ve had a very tough couple of days and after [finishing fourth in the Commonwealth Games at] Delhi to come back from the ups and downs that we’ve had is a fantastic experience
“A lot of people doubted us after the Portugal game and we did make things tough for ourselves but we never gave up and we had that fight within us to keep going and got what we deserved.
“We’ve got a great group of guys who have worked very hard to get where we are now and we can keep building and building. Who knows where this year’s going to take us now? It could be the start of an amazing journey.”
James Rodwell was named Player of the Tournament:
“The whole team has put in a fantastic effort coming back from the loss against Portugal. I can’t put my finger on why that happened. We didn’t start as we wanted to against France and Portugal but we kept our patience today.
“We need to cut out the poor performances and keep our standards high. You can’t look beyond the next tournament or you’ll falter but the boys are full of confidence now and for a lot it’s a first tournament win.
“After the Portugal game we were gutted. We have great support here in the crowd and it’s incredible running out to that reception but we just didn’t do them justice in the France game and the Portugal game.”
Bristol Rugby wing Dan Norton’s long-range finish put England in front in the final’s dying seconds:
“We gradually got better and better throughout the day that was pretty pleasing. We just tried to make ourselves as relaxed as we could. We had been trying to score off first phase and we were hectic and not relaxed, trying to throw the ball around too much.
“We want to be series winners and get from fifth to first in the world and with a bit of luck and when performances go well and we do well as a team we showed what we can do. It’s a good start.
“We now know what it’s like to get to a final and how to play when we get there and we have the winning feeling and that should help us. We knew we had fate in our hands and we hold the key to winning the games.
“It was really hard going but the whole atmosphere that’s involved in Dubai pushes us on further. The support we get here is amazing, it’s one of the best tournaments England can play in and it’s a great feeling to have to have won.”
Simon Hunt (Birmingham Solihull) scored the winning try against Fiji and came off the bench to strike again in the final
“This is my first tournament win and I’ve been in a few. It’s been a really up and down couple of days from the loss we had against Portugal and we picked ourselves up again and again and again.
“All 12 of us have worked really hard. It’s definitely been a 12 man thing and I’m very proud of all the boys. We know how well we can play but it’s brilliant that we have won.
“It makes it worth it. All the fitness tests, the rolling around in the dirt, in all the wind and the rain, and putting the hard yards in is all worthwhile when you win. Life didn’t seem so pretty five minutes after Portugal but if we are going to win the series we’ll have ups and downs and it’s about how we deal with which we’ve done superbly here.”