England to face series leaders New Zealand

England will face series leaders New Zealand in a challenging pool at the Emirates Airline Edinburgh Sevens on May 31 and June 1.

Number one seeds New Zealand have had a dominant series, winning the first five cup titles and are still 32 points clear of second place South Africa. The two sides last met in George where England very nearly came away with the win scoring four tries to finish 24-26.

England kick off against Portugal before taking on Russia and will face the Kiwis’ in their final match of day one.

England v Portugal, ko 9.34am

England v Russia, ko 12.40pm

New Zealand v England, ko 4.20pm.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2008:05:20:16:36:43 by Kath..

Seven lucky supporters will walk away from the Emirates Airline London Sevens on Sunday May 25 wearing a money can’t buy England shirt.

The seven fans will be made to feel part of the team when they are each presented with their very own England player jersey in the Twickenham dressing room, on the second day of the event.

As winner of this once in a lifetime prize the lucky entrant and six of their friends will also have: VIP travel to Twickenham Stadium and home again in an executive shuttle from National Express dot 2 dot, top price seats next to the players’ tunnel, £100 worth of refreshment vouchers, as well as a host of other goodies to make the day one to remember.

To enter just visit www.londonsevens.co.uk (closing date is May 11, 2008)

To follow England Sevens and to buy tickets for the Emirates Airline London Sevens 24 & 25 May, Tickets from £10 go to www.londonsevens.co.u

Don't forget London 7s Finals on BBC this weekend

all England summer rugby on TV here

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24/5/08 Day 1 - England

IRB London 7s 1134 am onwards Twickenham

0900-1900, BBCi & BBC Sport website

25/5/08 Day2 - Finals Day

IRB London7s TBA Twickenham


1100-1930, BBCi & BBC Sport website
1730-1930, BBC TWO & BBC Sport website

England sevens aim to make selection count

"There's a new word out there now, 'mondiality', which the Olympic movement is after," Ben Ryan, the England sevens coach, said and there is little doubt that rugby provides it.

Moldova and Spain join the party for the Emirates Airline event on Saturday and Sunday, while the current ranking in the International Rugby Board's grand prix includes Kenya in fifth place, two higher than the powerhouses of England and Australia.

[www.timesonline.co.uk]

Biggs gets England off to a winning start

England made the best possible start to the Emirates Airline London Sevens, at Twickenham today with a 29-7 victory over Spain to launch their Pool B campaign on a winning note, thanks to a hat-trick of tries from winger Tom Biggs.

The England seven were expected to win with comfort but in the event the men in white struggled in the first half and led by only three points at the break with the scoreline at 10-7, with two tries from Biggs countered by a solo effort from Spain's scrum half Pablo Feijoot.

But in the second half it was all England as Leeds wing Biggs led a try charge by completing his hat-trick, Ben Gollings' touchline conversion pushing the scoreline to 17-7.

Then when England sevens debutant Lee Dickson skipped in for his side's fourth try it was all over for Spain. England still had time for a further score, and this time it was the Gloucester centre Jack Adams who touched down after gaining possession from Gollings' restart kick.

England now face France who lost lost 40-0 to the number one seeds in Pool B , South Africa.

England Tom Biggs, Rob Webber, Chris Cracknell, Lee Dickson, Tom Youngs, Jack Adams, Ben Gollings Subs Ben Foden for Dickson, Uche Oduoza for Biggs, Ollie Phillips for Webber.

England made the best possible start to the Emirates Airline London Sevens, at Twickenham today with a 29-7 victory over Spain to launch their Pool B campaign on a winning note, thanks to a hat-trick of tries from winger Tom Biggs.

The England seven were expected to win with comfort but in the event the men in white struggled in the first half and led by only three points at the break with the scoreline at 10-7, with two tries from Biggs countered by a solo effort from Spain's scrum half Pablo Feijoot.

But in the second half it was all England as Leeds wing Biggs led a try charge by completing his hat-trick, Ben Gollings' touchline conversion pushing the scoreline to 17-7.

Then when England sevens debutant Lee Dickson skipped in for his side's fourth try it was all over for Spain. England still had time for a further score, and this time it was the Gloucester centre Jack Adams who touched down after gaining possession from Gollings' restart kick.

England now face France who lost lost 40-0 to the number one seeds in Pool B , South Africa.

England Tom Biggs, Rob Webber, Chris Cracknell, Lee Dickson, Tom Youngs, Jack Adams, Ben Gollings Subs Ben Foden for Dickson, Uche Oduoza for Biggs, Ollie Phillips for Webber.

Five-try England fry French

England booked their place in the quarter finals of the Cup with a 33-5 win over France to emphasise their resurgence since the low point of Adelaide last month.

This was a confident display from an England side that had power, pace and precision finishing against which the French had few answers.

England looked to have scored a try with only seconds of the game played when Ben Foden latched on to a pass to cross unopposed. But an earlier knock-on had been spotted and the score was chalked off.

But England did not have to wait long for their opening points, a fine try and conversion from Ben Gollings after the stand-off had shown delicate footwork through a clutch of defenders. Then Foden added score number two, the Sale Sharks player’s 20th try in international sevens, Gollings converting.

Just before half time England extended their lead with a try from Ken Barrett to give them a 19-0 interval advantage. The gap then extended to seven points after Gollings converted a try from Worcester wing Uche Oduoza , who used his pace to outstrip the French defence.

France finally got into the game with an impressive solo effort from Anthony Poujol but the fightback was shortlived as Foden signed off a comprehensive England victory with his second try, Gollings adding the conversion.

England’s opponents in the tomorrow’s quarter finals will now depend on the outcome of the final pool match today against South Africa.

England : Rob Webber, Ben Foden, Andrew Vilk, Kevin Barrett, Ben Gollings, Uche Oduoza, Ollie Phillips Subs Tom Biggs for Oduoza, Chris Cracknell for Webber, Tom Youngs for Barrett

England through to the Cup

South Africa 22-7 England

England will face New Zealand in the Cup quarter finals of the Emirates Airline London Sevens at Twickenham in Sunday’s second session after finishing second in the pool behind winners South Africa.

Having won their opening pool matches against Spain and France, England needed to defeat South Africa for overall victory in their group. But in the event the Springbok seven had all the aces, not least of which was pace throughout the team.

England made a good start against South Africa answering a Springbok try by Gio Aplon with a fine effort from Ollie Phillips and the conversion by Ben Gollings for a 7-5 interval lead.

But thereafter it was South Africa who did the scoring with tries by Aplon, current Springbok cap Kabamba Floors, and MJ Mentz for a 22-7 win.

Said Coach Ben Ryan: “I’m reasonably happy about facing New Zealand in the quarters. The odd defeat does you some good. What we have to do against New Zealand is retain possession and sharpen are act at the breakdown.

“New Zealand have efficiency and don’t make many mistakes. And their defence is suffocating” added Ryan.

England (v South Africa) Ollie Phillips, Ben Gollings, Uche Oduoza, Rob Webber, Lee Dickson, Ben Foden, Andrew Vilk Subs Tom Biggs, Tom Youngs, Kevin Barrett

England play New Zealand at 12.28pm in the Cup quarter final Sunday May 25.

England book a place in the Cup semi final

New Zealand 12-17 England

A sensational try by Leeds winger Tom Biggs in the last second of the tie gave England a heroic win over New Zealand in the first of today’s quarter finals at the Emirates Airline London Sevens.

The result means that England will face Samoa in the semi finals at 4.44pm.

England had to recover from conceding two tries to the fired-up New Zealanders, by Nigel Hunt and Chad Tuoro to trail 12-0. But when Zar Lawrence was yellow carded, England took advantage of their numerical advantage, winger Uche Oduoza drawing in three defenders before off-loading to Ben Foden for the Sale Sharks player to slip in at the corner.

Then just seconds into the second half scrum half Kevin Barrett brought England right back into the game with a close range try converted by Ben Gollings to level the scores.

England looked to have blown their chances when Chris Cracknell was sent to the sin-bin but the six-man English team dug deep to stop New Zealand from profiting.

Then with seconds remaining substitute winger Tom Biggs latched on to loose ball before outstripping the New Zealand defence with a marvellous diagonal run for a match-winning try in the corner that takes England to the next round.

England: Andy Vilk (Sale Sharks), Chris Cracknell (Cornish Pirates), Ben Gollings (Sunnybank, Australia), Uche Oduoza (Worcester Warriors), Ben Foden (Sale Sharks), Rob Webber (London Wasps), Kevin Barrett (Exeter Chiefs).

Replacements: Tom Biggs (Leeds Carnegie)

Scorers: Foden (t), Barrett (t), Biggs (t), Gollings (c)

Frustrating finish for England

England 12-14 Samoa

England’s progress in the Emirates Airline London Sevens came to a frustrating halt after a 14-12 defeat by Samoa in the Cup semi finals.

It was a desperately disappointing ending for an England team which had reached the penultimate stage of the Cup by dismissing World Series champions New Zealand.

England were put on the defensive straight from the kick-off but their determined tackling kept the Samoans at bay. But just seconds before half time Samoa made the breakthrough they needed with a try and conversion from Reupena Lavasa for a 7-0 interval advantage.

Then when England were hit by a well-worked try for Alafoti Fa’osiliva and the conversion England were facing a hard uphill struggle to get back on terms.

But as he did against New Zealand Leeds wing Tom Biggs came off the bench to score a magnificent try , almost identical to his winning contribution against the All Blacks.

Ben Gollings just missed the difficult touchline conversion which meant England needed to score twice. It was an almost impossible task in the time left but Ben Foden showed that his side would fight to the last by bursting through midfield to score an impressive try, before kicking the conversion.

But immediately the final hooter sounded and England’s brave effort had just fallen short.

England coach Ben Ryan, however, believes his side have bounced back after “the depths of despair in Adelaide”. Speaking at the end of the London Sevens Ryan said : “I think we took a huge step forward this weekend. This was the first time in five years that England have beaten New Zealand in international sevens.

“I had hoped that the confidence we gained from that win would have been the springboard for a semi final win. But it was not to be. One or two small errors and some faulty decision-making cost us the game.

“We played well in the first half but one turnover allowed Samoa to score just on half time and that gave them the upper hand.

“There is no doubt the addition of England Saxon players like Rob Webber made a huge difference. If we could have them on a regular basis then I’m sure England would have the potential to push the button. We can win world titles if we have quality players” concluded the England coach.

England: Andy Vilk (Sale Sharks), Chris Cracknell (Cornish Pirates), Ben Gollings (Sunnybank, Australia), Uche Oduoza (Worcester Warriors), Ben Foden (Sale Sharks), Rob Webber (London Wasps), Kevin Barrett (Exeter Chiefs).

Replacements: Tom Biggs (Leeds Carnegie), Lee Dickson (Newcastle Falcons), Ollie Phillips (Newcastle Falcons)

Scorers: Foden (t,c), Biggs (t)