England Sevens win bronze in Singapore
England finished third at the Singapore sevens after defeating Australia 14-12 in the bronze medal match.
Simon Amor’s side beat Kenya 13-12 in a tight quarter-final encounter but lost out 17-5 to eventual winners Canada in the Cup semi.
England fielded a youthful side in the battle for third and Callum Sirker claimed his second World Series try after cutting inside the Australian defence before flying through to score, Will Edwards converted.
Liam Mcnamara then finished off a length of the field break for Australia to level the score and on the stroke of half-time Henry Hutchinson went over in the corner to give his side a 12-7 lead.
Early in the second period, Edwards spotted a gap and broke through before releasing Harry Glover for his second World Series’ try – the Newcastle University student stepping up from the role of 13th man in place of the injured Richard de Carpentier.
Edwards’ conversion gave England a two-point lead and despite late pressure from Australia, they held on for victory.
Head Coach Simon Amor said: “We were far from our best performance this weekend – our decision making wasn’t good enough and that is something we need to address going forwards. However to keep on scrapping and fighting and to get on the podium with the number of injuries we have is pleasing.
“To see the young guys go so well is exciting when looking to the future. A number of them started in that final game against Australia, there’s no better place to develop experience than in a medal match against tough opposition, and it was impressive the way that they all stepped up.”
Earlier, England progressed through to the Cup semi-finals after a dramatic 13-12 victory over Kenya.
Kenya scored first after Samuel Oliech finished off a break from their own 22m line and the conversion took the score to 7-0.
James Rodwell was then sent to the bin for a deliberate knock-on and Frank Wanyama took advantage of the
extra man, spotting a gap on the blindside before sniping down the right wing for Kenya’s second.
Phil Burgess scored his 50th try for England with a score in added time of the first half, powering over after a show and go created space for him to cross.
Dan Norton showed blistering pace to dart through from his own half for try number 249 on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series but crucially Dan Bibby missed the conversion as Kenya held a two-point lead.
England was then awarded a penalty in front of the posts in injury time and Bibby held his nerve and sent over the kick to set up a semi-final clash with Canada.
Amor’s side put Canada under early pressure but failed to break the line, twice conceding penalties for not releasing inside their opposition’s 22m.
It needed a moment of magic from Ollie Lindsay-Hague to sear through midfield and score on the stroke of half-time but Bibby missed the conversion.
Isaac Kaay powered over after the break as Canada’s physicality proved too much for England and the conversion gave them a two-point lead.
Justin Douglas flew down the left wing for Canada’s second try taking the score to 12-5 and in the final seconds Mike Fuailefau thundered through to seal the 17-5 victory.
England squad for Singapore:
Dan Bibby, Tom Bowen, Phil Burgess ©, Richard de Carpentier, Will Edwards, Will Glover, Charlie Hayter, Ollie Lindsay-Hague, Ruaridh McConnochie, Callum Sirker, Dan Norton, James Rodwell.
13th man: Harry Glover
England’s day two results:
Cup quarter-final:
England 13-12 Kenya
Tries: Burgess, Norton
Penalty: Bibby
Cup semi-final:
Canada 17 – 5 England
Try: Lindsay-Hague
Bronze medal match:
Australia 12 – 14 England
Tries: Sirker, H.Glover
Conversions: Edwards (2)
England Sevens Pool B Results:
England 14-24 France
Tries: Lindsay-Hague, McConnochie / Conversions: Bibby (2)
England 40-10 Japan
Tries: Bibby, McConnochie (2), Norton, Bowen, Sirker / Conversions: Bibby (3), Edwards (2)
England 17 – 12 South Africa
Tries: Hayter, Bowen, Norton / Conversion: Bibby
Related Posts
-
England men’s sevens squad named for Singapore and Vancouver
-
England Sevens programme update and London Sevens tickets on sale
-
« England U18 score seven tries in win over Scotland Final squad for Oceania U20 tournament named »
