England Sevens finish tenth in Clermont-Ferrand
England came tenth in the Clermont-Ferrand Sevens after losing 12-26 to Italy in the Challenge Trophy final at the weekend.
They found themselves in the Challenge Trophy contest after finishing third in their pool after day one of the French legs of the Rugby Europe Sevens Grand Prix Series. They beat Poland on Saturday but lost out to France and Russia.
George Chatterton and Lailand Gordon – who made their debuts for England in this European campaign – set England up well in their Challenge Trophy semi-final against Poland by scoring the side’s first tries of the day alongside Callum Sirker, securing a spot in the final.
Tries from Jordan Ainslie and Will Wilson against Italy got England off to a strong start in the fight for the ninth place, however, Italy fought back in the second half and claimed a 14-point victory over England.
Commenting on the team’s performance, England Sevens Academy coach, Warren Abrahams, said: “We’ve learned some tough lessons this weekend but always knew that Russia and France alone would be a huge challenge for this young side.
“The positive thing that we can take away from this tournament is that the guys have now experienced what it’s like to play against World Series players and they understand what’s required of them if they want to push on and play at the highest level.
“The main goal that we set out for this series was to identify new talent and nurture them so that they can progress to the next stage, so having exposure to such experienced players this weekend will be instrumental to their development.”
The squad will assemble back at their training base this week and begin preparations for the Mitsubishi Motors Exeter 7s – the final leg of this European series.
Looking ahead to Exeter, Abrahams, said: “Playing in Exeter is going to be an unbelievable honor and experience as this will be the first time that many of these young players have played in front of a home crowd.
“Exeter will be an exciting opportunity for the guys to go out and express themselves and apply everything that they have learned over the past three tournaments.”
England Sevens squad for Clermont-Ferrand:
Will Edwards ©
Will Wilson
Mason Tonks
Jordan Ainslie
Charlie Kingham
Fergus Guiry
Yaree Fantini
Callum Sirker
Lailand Gordon
Tom Ffitch
Ryan Olowofela
George Chatterton
The Mitsubishi Motors Exeter 7s will take place on 15-16 July. Tickets are available here.
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