ENGLAND SEVENS WIN SILVER AT HSBC PARIS SEVENS
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Loading...England Sevens finished second at HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series in Paris after a 14-24 defeat to South Africa in the final.
Earlier in the day at the Stade Jean-Bouin, Tom Mitchell’s late try gave England a 19-17 win over Fiji in the quarter-final before a 26-12 victory against Canada secured a place in the final.
England had finished second in Pool D on day one after a 28-21 win over hosts France, a 28-19 victory over Argentina before drawing 19-19 with the USA.
The 19 points earned by Simon Amor’s side for their result in Paris means they finish fifth overall in the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series standings this season, ahead of the Rugby World Cup Sevens in San Francisco next month.
Facing a South Africa side who needed a win to retain their series title, England barely had any of the ball in the opening minutes but were putting in a solid defensive effort.
It took Werner Kok’s clever footwork to break the deadlock and give the Blitzboks the lead, but England’s reply was immediate as Ollie Lindsay-Hague and Dan Norton combined, with the former taking a pass back on the inside to run in unopposed.
Norton’s 299th career try was something special to give England the lead as he powered off the left wing with a couple of sidesteps to create space, before racing under the sticks.
With over two minutes of extra-time played in the first-half, Ryan Oosthuizen gathered a bouncing ball out right and the extras were knocked over as it sat 14-14 at the break.
The Boks struck first again after the break as Dewald Human crossed before Justin Geduld knocked over a penalty as they established a 10-point lead.
England were unable to break through a well-marshalled Blitzboks defence again as they secured not only the Paris title but were crowned champions of the series.
“We’re delighted to get to the final and I’m really pleased with the effort and the attitude of the guys right the way through; I thought we played some really great rugby,” said head of England Sevens Simon Amor.
“Unfortunately we weren’t able to adapt when the weather came down in the final, but it’s a great learning experience for some of our younger ones – particularly Ryan Olowofela who has really made some great progress, and of course Harry Glover and Ethan Waddleton. The experience of them playing in the final is so important for our pathway and as we progress on towards the World Cup.
“That’s what this season has been about for us – there’s been a huge amount of learning going on and we’ve adapted the way that we’ve played the game. I’m really pleased with the progress that we’ve made in key areas but we can still definitely be a lot better.
“With some of the young guys coming through and showing their talent, we’ll be working really hard with them to make them world-class players. We just need to fine tune a few areas to give them and ourselves a really good chance of ending this season on a high at the World Cup.”
England Sevens squad for HSBC Paris Sevens:
Dan Bibby
Tom Bowen
Phil Burgess
Mike Ellery
Harry Glover
Charlie Hayter
Ollie Lindsay-Hague
Tom Mitchell
Dan Norton
Ryan Olowofela
James Rodwell
Ethan Waddleton
13th man: Will Edwards
England’s fixtures:
Pool D – England 28-21 France
Tries: Ollie Lindsay-Hague, Ethan Waddleton, Ryan Olowofela, Phil Burgess
Pool D – England 28-19 Argentina
Tries: Harry Glover, Tom Mitchell, Dan Norton, Ryan Olowofela
Pool D – England 21-21 USA
Tries: Ollie Lindsay-Hague, Harry Glover, Ryan Olowofela
Cup quarter-final – England 19-17 Fiji
Tries: Harry Glover, Dan Norton, Tom Mitchell
Cup semi-final – England 26-12 Canada
Tries: Dan Norton, Ollie Lindsay-Hague (2), Tom Bowen
Cup final – England 14-24 South Africa
Ollie Lindsay-Hague, Dan Norton
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