Double silverware for GB Sevens
Both the GB Royals and GB Lions claimed silverware at the Mitsubishi Motors Exeter 7s at Sandy Park today.
The GB Royals came from 12-0 down to beat fellow Olympians France 33-17 in the cup final while the GB Lions lifted the plate with a 31-19 victory over Germany.
Head Coach Simon Amor said: “I’m delighted with the courage the guys have shown, they came together as a group only six weeks ago and they have been absolutely outstanding.
“They have fought and fought and fought not just across this weekend but throughout the whole programme. I am proud of them and I am proud of the staff that have come together and made it all happen.
“To win the cup here is a credit to everyone that has been involved in the GB programme, I am really pleased.
“We have some absolutely unbelievable players, there is so much talent to pick from and now we need to work out which combinations work the best.
“They have given us some massive selection headaches and that is exactly the place we wanted to be in, Gareth Williams and I have some really tough decisions to make.”
The coaches will decide this week which 12 players will travel to Rio, and compete in the Olympics for Team GB, with the squad announcement made on Tuesday 19 July.
GB Sevens play in the final round of the Rugby Europe Sevens Series next weekend in Gdynia after experiencing a great atmosphere at their home tournament.
“The support here at Sandy Park has been amazing,” added Amor. “Thank you to the crowd – hearing them chant ‘GB’ all weekend was just brilliant.”
GB Royals defeat France to claim title:
GB got off to a slow start in the cup final and found themselves 12-0 down to France but a moment of class from Ollie Lindsay-Hague saw him chip over the defensive line and gather to touch down under the post, reducing the deficit to 12-7.
France responded through Pierre Gilles Lakafia who scored in the corner after a missed tackle and France looked set to go into the break with a 17-7 advantage.
With just two seconds left of the opening period however Alex Davis brushed off two tacklers to dot down and make it 17-14 at the interval.
The second half was a completely different story and the Royals scored 19 unanswered points to claim the title.
First James Rodwell galloped through the France midfield to score and not long after Ruaridh McConnochie made a try-saving tackle in the corner having earlier run the whole length of the pitch to score for the fifth time this weekend to make it 26-17.
And with only seconds remaining, the electric Lindsay-Hague spotted a gap in the defence and darted through to round off the win.
The Royals had already beaten France this weekend after defeating the 2015 Exeter Sevens champions 17-10 in Pool B yesterday – when there was also 31-0 and 43-0 victories over Portugal and Poland respectively.
It was the Royals who kicked off the GB-related action today when they took on Georgia in the quarter-finals and tries from Luke Morgan, McConnochie, Luke Treharne and Charlie Hayter ensured it ended in a comfortable 24-7 win.
Their semi with Russia was a much closer affair and Jamie Farndale’s try meant the Royals went into the break just 7-5 ahead.
Vladislav Sozonov then put the Russians in front but with just over two minutes remaining, Farndale finished off a great team move to secure a 12-10 victory.
GB Lions lift the plate:
The GB Lions also started their weekend in dominant fashion as they won their group courtesy of a 31-5 victory over Belgium and 31-0 and 41-0 wins against Italy and Germany.
But they struggled to break down Russia in their quarter-final this morning and entered the break with the game pointless, after Tom Mitchell was unable to touch down Dan Bibby’s chip.
Dan Norton’s quick feet eventually put them five points ahead in the second period but German Davydov’s try and subsequent conversion handed the Russians a 7-5 win.
That meant GB Lions went into the Plate, where they bounced back in style in the semi-final – dispatching Georgia by a 22-7 scoreline.
They then put in an equally dominant display against Germany in the final to increase Amor’s selection headache.
The Lions were leading 12-7 at the break and really hit their straps after the interval to extend their lead to 31-19.
The Mitsubishi Motors Player of the Tournament and Royals captain, Treharne, explained how the whole GB squad have been driving up standards in build-up to Rio and praised the Lions for their plate win.
“It has been a really tough six weeks in camp and all 27 of the boys have really been pushing each other,” Treharne said.
“Much of the play this weekend shows that the hard work in training has been paying off and the Lions winning the plate is also an excellent effort. Hopefully we have all given the coaches plenty to think about!”
GB Royals
Cory Allen
Alex Davis
Jamie Farndale
Alex Gray
Charlie Hayter
Warwick Lahmert
Ollie Lindsay-Hague
Ruaridh McConnochie
Luke Morgan
Scott Riddell
James Rodwell
Luke Treharne (c)
Cup Final:
GB Royals 33-17 France
Tries: Lindsay-Hague (2), Davis, Rodwell, McConnochie
Conversions: Treharne (4)
Cup Semi-Final
GB Royals 12-10 Russia
Tries: Farndale (2)
Conversion: Treharne
Cup Quarter-Final
GB Royals 24-7 Georgia
Tries: Morgan, McConnochie, Treharne, Hayter
Conversions: Treharne (2)
Saturday Pool Fixtures:
GB Royals 31-0 Portugal
Tries: Morgan (2), McConnochie (2), Treharne
Conversions: Treharne (3)
GB Royals 43-0 Poland
Tries: Lahmert, Hayter, Farndale (2), Morgan (2), Lindsay-Hague
Conversions: Treharne (3), Lahmert
GB Royals 17-10 France
Tries: McConnochie, Davis (2)
Conversion: Treharne
GB Lions
Mark Bennett
Dan Bibby
Phil Burgess
Sam Cross
James Davies
Richard de Carpentier
Lee Jones
Gavin Lowe
Tom Mitchell (c)
Dan Norton
Mark Robertson
Marcus Watson
Plate Final:
GB Lions 31-19 Germany
Tries: Watson (2), Lowe, Robertson, Burgess
Conversions: Mitchell (3)
Plate Semi-Final
GB Lions 22-7 Georgia
Tries: Norton, Robertson, de Carpentier, Watson
Conversions: Mitchell
Cup Quarter-Final
GB Lions 5-7 Russia
Try: Norton
Saturday Pool Fixtures:
GB Lions 31-5 Belgium
Tries: Bennett (2), Davies (2), Norton
Conversions: Mitchell (3)
GB Lions 31-0 Italy
Tries: Bibby (2), Bennett, Burgess, Jones
Conversions: Lowe, Mitchell (2)
GB Lions 41-0 Germany
Tries: Norton, Burgess, Mitchell, Robertson, Bennett, Bibby, de Carpentier
Conversions: Mitchell (3)
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