England 7s Fixtures 2014 - Scotland

What do you think? You can have your say by posting below.
If you do not already have an account Click here to Register.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014:05:06:17:46:46 by Kath..

Blanchet scores his first try for England (Photo: Getty Images)

England face Fiji in the quarter final of the Emirates Airline Glasgow Sevens after drawing 7-7 with Canada and finishing second in their pool on points difference.

On day one of the penultimate round of the HSBC Sevens World Series, they beat France (21-5) and Japan (33-24) with Howard Packman scoring on his debut.

England have met Canada in the last two tournaments and have won by the narrowest of margins, Tokyo (14-10) and Hong Kong (14-12), but in today’s pool decider errors proved costly against the physical side.

Canada’s 7-0 half time lead was cancelled out by Tom Powell who charged through the defensive line to gather a perfectly weighted chip by Tom Mitchell.

With exciting and frantic play, both sides came close to scoring again but neither were clinical enough to take their chances.

In their opening match against France, England were held to a 0-0 half time score despite having the majority of possession.

A more focused side emerged after the break and within four minutes of the restart Dan Norton, Marcus Watson and Phil Burgess had touched down. Mitchell converted all three but a late try by France took the final score to 21-5.

Determined to bounce back from their earlier 52-0 defeat to Canada - a result which later became influential in the outcome of the pool - Japan applied the pressure on England and with impressive periods of play and well executed off loads, they proved why they have qualified for next season’s core status.

There were maiden tries for England U20s player, Packman and Exeter Chiefs' Sam Blanchet who scored twice, showing his pace and power to run the length of the field, from one corner to the other, for his second.

Twice Japan closed the gap to two points as England struggled to keep composure but crucial tries from Alex Gray and Mitchell kept the score board in England’s favour and they clinched the victory.

Coverage of day two begins on Sky Sports 3 tomorrow at 10am with England kicking off at 12.20.

Dan Norton takes on the Fijian defence (Photo: Getty Images)

England lifted the plate at the Emirates Airline Glasgow 7s today after beating Kenya 26-5.

There were tries for James Rodwell, Marcus Watson and two for speedster Dan Norton as England showed their full attacking potential.

Earlier Simon Amor’s young side staged a second half come-back against Fiji in the quarter final of the cup but fell just short 14-12. This put England into the plate semi where convincingly beat Australia 21-7.

Reflecting on the penultimate round of the HSBC Sevens World Series, England Sevens Head Coach Amor said: “Apart from the first two or three minutes of the Fiji game, we’ve played well today. I’ve been encouraged by some of the young guys, they’ve had more game time and we’ve seen them step up.

“Our execution and the technical accuracy of our tackling and passing has been much better. I’m really pleased with how the team have responded following yesterday’s results.”

It was a disappointing day one for England who drew with Canada 7-7 after clinching victories against France (21-5) and Japan (33-24). Finishing second in the pool on points difference meant a tough quarter final draw against Fiji.

Two early tries for the Islanders put England on the back foot but in a spirited second half Tom Mitchell and Phil Burgess touched down. The missed conversion by the captain, with less than a minute to play, proved costly however and England dropped into the plate.

Demonstrating individual skill and well executed set plays England dominated the semi final against Australia. Alex Gray was the first to score before a looping run from Mitchell released Norton on the outside for England’s second.

Mitchell, this season’s HSBC Sevens World Series’ leading point scorer, then added to his tally, accelerating down field to extend the lead to 21-0. Australia grabbed a late consolation try.

England took the momentum into the final and Rodwell powered over the line within two minutes. A long kick from Mitchell gave England field position, after a period of sustained pressure from Kenya, and from there the ball moved wide to Norton who scored in the corner.

The wing added a second straight after the break before Watson put the game out of reach despite Kenya's last ditch efforts, 26-5.

Showing the impact that home support can make, Scotland reached the cup semi-final where they narrowly lost out to Canada (10-7) and were eventually forced to settle for fourth place, despite pushing Fiji hard in the play-off (17-10).

It was Canada’s first ever sevens cup final but they were out played by series leaders New Zealand
(54-7). Elsewhere it was a mixed day for Wales but they came away with silverware after beating Japan (29-12) in the Shield.

England remain fourth in the HSBC Sevens World Series and head to London next weekend where a successful tournament could still see them pip Fiji to third place. In a tough draw they play Argentina, Wales and New Zealand on day one.

Saturday is a record breaking sell out but tickets are still available for the Sunday: www.rfu.com/marriottlondonsevens