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England open Emirates Airline Sevens with France victory
Saturday May 23, 2009

England, lying second in the IRB World Sevens Series, passed the first test in their bid for overall supremacy in the Emirates Airline London Sevens at Twickenham today (Saturday) by defeating France 20-14 in their tournament opener.

The six point margin somewhat flattered France who lost the try count 2-4, England having made victory more difficult by failing to convert any of their tries.

But in the end that mattered little as England showed power, pace and not a little panache in creating their scores. Scrum half Kevin Barrett opening England's account with a try on the blind side after his team mates had worked the ball cleverly to create an opening.

England were then rocked back when France showed their attacking skills from turnover ball that ended with a try by Thomas Combezou, converted by Paul Albaladejo.

But before time England regained the lead with a fine off-load from Chris Cracknell that allowed skipper Ollie Phillips to scuttle in for his side's second try, again unconverted for a 10-7 interval lead.

Any hopes France had of changing matters were crushed when Cracknell used his strength to power over from short range and then substitutes Uche Oduoza and Ben Gollings combined well to give record points' scorer Gollings a try.

France save some face with a late consolation try and conversion by Albaladejo but it had no bearing on the final outcome. England now face Georgia who were heavily beaten by Samoa.

England : Tom Biggs, Rob Vickerman, Micky Young, James Rodwell, Ollie Phillips, Kevin Barrett, Chris Cracknell Subs used Greg Barden, Uche Oduoza, Ben Gollings.

England through London Emirates Airline 7s cup quarter finals

Twickenham lauded England after their 61-0 win over Georgia in their second pool match of the Emirates Airline London Sevens today (Saturday), moving the
host country to the top of Group B. And with Samoa and France drawing it means that England have qualified for the quarter finals of the Cup.

Earlier Georgia had lost 47-0 to Samoa, so it was up to England to go one better. Nine tries and eight conversions later England had achieved their target with a display of sevens rugby that was all about pace and precision against which Georgia had little answer.

Record IRB Sevens points scorer Ben Gollings opened the England scoring with a try and conversion before two chip and gather tries by Tom Biggs and Micky Young and a further conversion by Gollings put England 19-0 ahead.

Then with half time approaching James Rodwell added his name to the try list, Gollings' conversion giving England a 26-0 interval advantage.

The try traffic continued after the break as Biggs added a second score, followed by tries from Rob Vickerman, Young, and then two from substitute wing Uche Oduoza, Gollings succeeding with all five second half conversions.

England Tom Biggs, Rob Vickerman, Micky Young, James Rodwell, Neil Starling, Ben Gollings, Dan Norton Subs used Uche Oduoza, Kevin Barrett

England 31-14 Samoa

England finished day one of the Emirates Airline London Sevens with a third win after defeating Samoa 31-14 in the last of the Pool D ties at Twickenham to top their group.

The result means that England will face the Pool A runners-up, Australia, in the fourth of the Cup quarter finals kicking off at 13.34.

England's performance against Samoa confirmed that Ben Ryan's squad are capable of challenging for the top honours in the last two rounds of the IRB Sevens World Series.

Tries by Kevin Barrett, Ben Gollings and Chris Cracknell gave England a 17-7 lead but a response by Samoa just after the break resulted in a try for the islanders by Mikaele Pesamino.

England, however, had enough left in the tank to deliver a strong finish and with tries by Micky Young and Rob Vickerman it was job done.

"Beating Samoa by such a big margin was particularly pleasing. It was our biggest win against them. Too often in the past we've been on the wrong side of the ledge" said coach Ben Ryan.

He added : "We struggled a bit in our opening tie against France but that was because they were strong. They were energetic and played with pace. Personally I hope that is a sign of things to come from France because we need strong European teams in sevens.

"We know we will have work hard against Australia in the quarter final. They played very well and were a bit unlucky to lose against South Africa" said Ryan, who praised the less experienced players , Dan Norton, Micky Young and Neil Starling for their consistent performances on day one of the tournament.

England Squad: Tom Biggs (Leeds Carnegie), Rob Vickerman (Leeds Carnegie), James Rodwell (Moseley RFC), Ollie Phillips (Newcastle Falcons), Kevin Barrett (Exeter Chiefs), Ben Gollings (Gold Coast), Chris Cracknell (Exeter Chiefs), Micky Young (Newcastle Falcons), Dan Norton (Moseley RFC), Greg Barden (Royal Navy), Uche Oduoza (Unattached), Neil Starling (Northampton Saints).

Cup quarter finals South Africa v France, New Zealand v Fiji, Scotland v Portugal, England v Australia Bowl quarter finals Wales v Georgia, Argentinav USA, Kenya v Canada, Samoa v Germany

Mickey Young impressed on his return to England Sevens colours. Photo from irb.com

England reach Cup semi final
Sunday May 24, 2009
Issued by Jessica Chambers
England 26-12 Australia

England reached the semi finals of the Emirates London Sevens at
Twickenham this afternoon with what was an expected and ultimately
comfortable victory over Australia by 26-12.

First half domination of possession made it easier for England who
opened their account with a try by James Rodwell after clever approach
work by Chris Cracknell and Rob Vickerman.

Ben Gollings, who needs just 19 to reach 2000 points in the IRB World Series, converted and then added the extra points to a solo try
from pacy winger Tom Biggs. Then just before the break Gollings
demonstrated his try-scoring skills with a score from his accurate chip
ahead to give England a 19-0 half time lead.

Australia threatened a comeback with a converted try early in the
second half by Clinton Sills, but a clever kick by Ollie Phillips gave
Vickerman a decisive score in the corner, Gollings' conversion pulling
England clear with a 26-7 lead.

The Wallabies were able to add a second try through Shaun Foley but it
mattered little as England emerged victorious to set up a semi final
against Scotland at 5.06pm.

England Squad: Tom Biggs (Leeds Carnegie), Rob Vickerman (Leeds Carnegie), James Rodwell (Moseley RFC), Ollie Phillips (Newcastle Falcons), Kevin Barrett (Exeter Chiefs), Ben Gollings (Gold Coast), Chris Cracknell (Exeter Chiefs), Micky Young (Newcastle Falcons), Dan Norton (Moseley RFC), Greg Barden (Royal Navy), Uche Oduoza (Unattached), Neil Starling (Northampton Saints).

They've had a good tournament. Getting out of a toughish group with Georgia, Portugal & Samoa.

Then beating a growing Australian side, as well as a particularly good Scottish side in the semi.

New Zealand proved far too good for them in the Final though.

Or maybe not, it was 19-0 at Half Time but England have produced a brilliant fightback.

Stunning finish, amazing game. Both sides deserve congrats.

Great for England to win in front of a home crowd

Congratulations to the England team

Congrats to the England team from producing one of the best sevens matches i have ever seen, i was lucky enough to be in Twickenham to watch it firsthand. I’ve heard of this live text updates form UR7s.com it pretty good take a look and let me know what you think. [ur7s.com]