ENGLAND MEN SEVENS SECURE SPOT IN RUGBY WORLD CUP SEVENS SEMI-FINAL

Jul 22 • General News, Sevens Rugby • 1688 Views • Comments Off on ENGLAND MEN SEVENS SECURE SPOT IN RUGBY WORLD CUP SEVENS SEMI-FINAL

England Men Sevens defeated Rugby World Cup Sevens hosts USA 24-19 in the Championship quarter-final and will now face South Africa in the semi-final on Sunday 22 July, 8.40pm BST (live on WorldRugby.org).

It was a crossfield kick from Tom Mitchell which was latched onto by Phil Burgess in extra time that sealed England’s dramatic win and a spot in the semi-final.

United States started well and an early converted score for Madison Hughes gave them a 7-0 lead.

Dan Norton’s pace on the left wing saw him sear over and Tom Mitchell’s conversion levelled the score. A second Norton score in the same corner gave England a 12-7 lead at the break.

Ollie Lindsay-Hague scored straight from the second-half restart before the hosts fought back with tries from Folau Niua and Perry Baker, levelling the score at 19-19 and taking the game into extra time.

However, a moment of magic from Mitchell to spot Burgess in space, and then find him with a perfectly-executed crossfield kick to allow him to touch down in the corner won the game for England and set up a last four meeting against the World Series champions South Africa on Sunday, 8.40pm BST.

“It was always going to be a tight one playing the USA at home here in San Francisco but that was an unbelievable effort from the squad where we demonstrated a massive amount of trust to stick in it and believe in ourselves,” said England Men Sevens captain Tom Mitchell.

“When it goes down to extra time like that it’s something we’ve worked on and something that we’ve talked about – it’s about sticking in the moment together and I think we really leaned on that to get the final score at the end.

“We’re so grateful for all the England fans out there – there were lot of St George’s flags flying around in the crowd and to look up and see that is amazing so far away from home. That’s what’s special about sevens – you realise you can connect with people around the world who are supporting England.”

England Men Sevens’ results:

Round of 16 – England 19-15 Samoa
Tries: Phil Burgess, Mike Ellery, Richard de Carpentier

Championship quarter-final – England 24-19 USA
Tries: Dan Norton (2), Ollie Lindsay-Hague, Phil Burgess

Championship semi-final – South Africa v England (Sunday, 8.40pm BST live on World Rugby.org)

England Men Sevens squad for Rugby World Cup Sevens:

Phil Burgess
Alex Davis
Richard de Carpentier
Will Edwards
Mike Ellery
Harry Glover
Ollie Lindsay-Hague
Ruaridh McConnochie
Tom Mitchell ©
Will Muir
Dan Norton
James Rodwell