ENGLAND finished third at the Gold Coast Sevens after a record 47-0 play-off win against South Africa.

They impressed from the start of the tournament’s second day in beating Fiji 26-12 before being edged out in the semi final 14-5 by eventual champions New Zealand.

Then they finished on a high against a tired South Africa team by running in seven tries with two apiece from forwards Phil Burgess and James Rodwell, a brace from fly half Dan Bibby and a fourth of the day from Mike Ellery.

It represented a healthy start to the nine-event HSBC Sevens World Series for England after only a fortnight’s work with new Head Coach Simon Amor.

England had reached the knock-out stages with day one wins over Spain (54-7) and France (26-12) before going down against South Africa 22-14 in the final pool match.

Amor had asked for big defensive improvements on day two and got it as the next three opponents were all pressed into errors.

Fiji, with former England coach Ben Ryan in charge this season, scored first through Samisoni Viriviri in the quarter final but lost Ilai Tinai to the sin bin with Mat Turner and Ellery taking advantage to secure a 14-5 half-time lead.

Ellery struck again midway through the half, then England added a fourth try in quick succession through substitute Rob Vickerman to put them out of sight before Vuniani Vucago Bainitabua’s late consolation.

That shift of defensive focus was clear against New Zealand, who were pushed back in the first half before a penalty award set up Ellery to twist over.

The World Champions were down to six men when Tim Mikkelson was sin binned for tackling Dan Norton off the ball but Scott Curry gave them a 7-5 lead on the stroke of half time.

And despite having chances – notably when Dan Norton couldn’t hold John Brake’s long inside pass on the counter – Mikkelson grabbed the decisive try with just over a minute to go.

South Africa were undoubtedly up against it following an epic semi final defeat against Australia that went deep into extra time.

And England didn’t give them any respite from the off with Amor shifting former Moseley No.8 Ellery into midfield to add extra physicality.

Rodwell got over on the left, former Cornish Pirates man Burgess went through the middle for a first England Sevens try and Bibby’s alertness saw him evade tacklers for a 21-0 half-time lead.

After the break Tom Mitchell’s thumping tackle freed the ball for Rodwell to get over for his second, then Bibby’s outside break carried him away for another try and Burgess struck again after a powerful carry from Chris Cracknell took out defenders.

Fittingly Ellery finished things off wide on the right from Dan Norton’s assist as England banked 17 valuable points ahead of legs two and three in Dubai and Port Elizabeth at the end of the year.



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 2013:10:13:16:20:52 by Kath..

Tom Powell leads England in Bucharest

ENGLAND have the chance to secure a second European title at this weekend’s Bucharest Grand Prix Sevens.

And six more contracted players are in action in Kenya for the Royals development side at the Safaricom Sevens in Nairobi.

The tournaments are the final warm-up events before the HSBC Sevens World Series kicks off on the Gold Coast in Australia next month.

Forward Tom Powell leads the senior side in Romania as England look to complete the defence of their European crown having won the first leg, the Lyon GP Sevens, in June.

All 12 of the squad featured in last season’s World Series with 2012-13 leading scorer Dan Norton returning to action after touching down an England record 52 tries last term.

England take on Italy, Wales, Romania, Portugal and Georgia in the pool stages.

The Royals side in Kenya – guided by England Women’s Sevens coach Barry Maddocks – includes full-timers Sam Edgerley, Rob Vickerman, Mark Odejobi, James Rodwell, Mat Turner and new signing Callum Wilson.

England Sevens (Bucharest GP, all contracted players): Tom Powell (captain), Dan Bibby, John Brake, Phil Burgess, Chris Cracknell, Mike Ellery, Alex Gray, Christian Lewis-Pratt, Ollie Marchon, Tom Mitchell, Dan Norton, Marcus Watson

Royals (Safaricom Sevens): Andrew Boyce (Worcester), Sam Edgerley (England Sevens), Ruaridh McConnochie (Nuneaton & University of Gloucestershire), Mark Odejobi (England Sevens), James Rodwell (England Sevens), Auguy Slowik (Bristol Rugby), Mathew Turner (England Sevens), Rob Vickerman (England Sevens), Marcus Webber (Bristol Univ).

Captain Tom Powell scored England's winner against hosts Romania

ENGLAND completed a clean sweep of pool game wins on the opening day of the FIRA Bucharest GP Sevens in Romania.

They beat HSBC Sevens World Series rivals Wales 40-7 and Portugal 26-14, as well as defeating Italy 19-0 and hosts Romania 14-7.

With one group game against Georgia to come, they are already assured of a place in the semi finals with one of Russia, Germany or France their likely opponents.

Former England Under 20 captain Alex Gray, wing Ollie Marchon and fly half Christian Lewis-Pratt all touched down in the 19-0 victory against Italy.

England then stepped up a gear against 2013 Hong Kong finalists Wales, running in six tries with Dan Norton scoring twice and Tom Mitchell, Tom Powell, Mike Ellery and Phil Burgess also touching down.

Hosts Romania gave England their toughest test after Andrei Bucurescu cancelled out John Brake’s early score before captain Powell settled things in the final minute.

England trailed for the only time on Day One against Portugal after Pedro Avila’s early try but responded with a brace of tries from former Cornish Pirates flanker Burgess and further scores from Marcus Watson and Mitchell.

England’s development side, the Royals, reached the quarter finals of the Safaricom Sevens in Kenya.

They went down 12-10 to Kenya Harlequins in their opening match – Rob Vickerman and Sam Edgerley scoring – but hit their stride after that.

They beat Homeboyz 36-7, Mat Turner scoring a hat-trick, then saw off Grenoble 35-17 in a game featuring two tries from Bristol youngster Auguy Slowick.

LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 30: Tom Mitchell of England in action during the England Sevens training session at The Lensbury Club on September 30, 2013 in London, England. (Photo by Tom Shaw - RFU/The RFU Collection via Getty Images)

England Sevens Head Coach Simon Amor reports on the build-up to the HSBC Sevens World Series which kicks off with the Gold Coast Sevens in Australia on Saturday

I'VE BEEN impressed by how hard the guys have worked both back in England and now we’re on the Gold Coast waiting to kick off the HSBC Sevens World Series. We’ve frontloaded the time we’ve been here and pushed them with seven sessions in the first four days to acclimatise to the conditions and deal with the jet lag.

As a team we’re very much still in a development phase. There are lots of lessons to learn and lots of time in the classroom reviewing what we do. But the team has responded well and we’re now two weeks into the new programme. Things haven’t become habits and defaults yet. We’re still making mistakes but we’ve certainly improved a great deal over the last week.

I know the boys will play with incredible passion this weekend and the commitment and the work ethic they’ve shown in training has been very impressive. Defence has been a big focus, that’s definitely one of the key areas for us and I am looking to see our one on one tackling in particular being positive this weekend.

I don’t know too much about South Africa, who we face in our final pool match, but we’ll learn more about them throughout the first day. We’ve seen France and Spain in the FIRA European tournaments. France are an incredibly physical, big side and will want to get their revenge for the result in the summer while Spain are quick and like to move the ball across the width of the field and will challenge our defensive shape and decision making. They’re both good sides and big tests for us to go out and execute our game plan against.

The Gold Coast is a superb place. It’s absolutely beautiful with the beaches and the canals. The location and quality of the training facilities we’ve had at Southport School have been superb too. All in all it’s a great venue for the start of the series. Now it’s up to us to continue to focus on improving our performance every day and taking our game forward.

The captaincy is something that will be reviewed throughout the season as I get to know more about the dynamics of the squad. Tom Powell leads in this first tournament and we’re blessed in as much that we have a lot of strong leaders. Rob Vickerman’s done a terrific job over the last two years, Chris Cracknell’s led the team recently, and Tom has done so in Europe successfully, so I’m keen to see how things progress throughout this first tournament and then assess what comes after that. It’s all about making sure England plays to its potential.

England Sevens try scorer Dan Bibby


ENGLAND made their best start in three years at the Gold Coast Sevens with wins in their opening two matches on the first day of the new HSBC Sevens World Series.

Dan Bibby grabbed a hat-trick of tries as they opened their account with a 54-7 win over Spain, then leading scorer Dan Norton struck twice as France were beaten 26-12.

The wins made sure England will be in the quarter finals on day two with the final pool match against South Africa (10:02 GMT) deciding who finishes top of Pool B.

New Head Coach Simon Amor was given the perfect start as England cut loose against Spain, who beat them in the Bowl final here last year, by running in eight tries.

Tom Mitchell struck twice in the opening three minutes before Bibby and most-capped forward James Rodwell made it 26-0 at the interval.

Amor used all five substitutes in the second half – including a first appearance at this level for former Cornish Pirates flanker Phil Burgess – and the tries kept on coming.

Spain were hustled into mistakes and former Fylde playmaker Bibby completed his hat-trick with replacements John Brake and Mat Turner also touching down.

Christian Lewis-Pratt converted all four second-half scores and Spain didn’t get on the board until Jacobo Martin struck in the final two minutes.

France offered a more physical challenge in game two as England changed their line-up with starts for Burgess, Turner, Lewis-Pratt, Mike Ellery and captain Tom Powell.

Turner and Norton struck early on – Lewis-Pratt converting one – but France had levelled the scores by the break through Vincent Inigo and Renaud Delmas.

Lewis-Pratt’s first try of the tournament pulled them away again and former Bristol and Gloucester wing Norton – 52 tries last season – made sure 90 seconds from time.

------------------------------------------------------------ ENGLAND made their best start in three years at the Gold Coast Sevens with wins in their opening two matches on the first day of the new HSBC Sevens World Series.

They beat Spain 54-7 and France 26-12 to progress to the quarter finals before going down 22-14 against South Africa in their final Pool B match.

The result means they go into tomorrow's quarter finals where they will face Fiji, who are now under the management of their former boss Ben Ryan.

Dan Bibby scored a hat-trick of tries as they opened their account against Spain, while leading scorer Dan Norton struck twice as France were beaten.

South Africa then took advantage of some defensive lapses despite well-crafted England scores from Tom Mitchell and James Rodwell.

New Head Coach Simon Amor was given the perfect start on Day One at Skilled Park as England cut loose against Spain, who beat them in the Bowl final here last year, by running in eight tries.

Mitchell struck twice in the opening three minutes before Bibby and most-capped forward Rodwell made it 26-0 at the interval.

Amor used all five substitutes in the second half – including a first appearance at this level for former Cornish Pirates flanker Phil Burgess – and the tries kept on coming.

Spain were hustled into mistakes and former Fylde playmaker Bibby completed his hat-trick with replacements John Brake and Mat Turner also touching down.

France offered a more physical challenge in game two as England changed their line-up with starts for Burgess, Turner, Lewis-Pratt, Mike Ellery and captain Tom Powell.

Turner and Norton struck early on – Lewis-Pratt converting one – but France had levelled the scores by the break through Vincent Inigo and Renaud Delmas.

Lewis-Pratt’s first try of the tournament pulled them away again and Norton – 52 tries last season – made sure 90 seconds from time.

England started purposefully and patiently against South Africa before Mitchell surged through the middle to score.

But they conceded penalties and missed a couple of tackles with Stephen Dippenaar, Cornal Hendricks, Justin Geduld and Kyle Brown all taking advantage.

Amor’s side finished with a length of the field strike, Rodwell going under the posts after half-a-dozen players handled for one of the tries of the day .



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013:10:12:16:57:07 by Kath..

Can't be much worse than last year.:/