England Women Sevens tough it out in Amsterdam

Posted on May 21, 2012 in England Sevens, England Women

England Women face a tough uphill battle to secure a place in the finals of the Amsterdam Sevens on Sunday after failing to finish top of their pool on Saturday.

A 7-12 defeat to the USA in the final pool game of the day saw England finish fourth in the standings on day one, pitting them against IRB Challenge Cup Sevens London finalists the Netherlands and Dubai winners Canada on Sunday in the final pool stages.

England, fielding only six players who lifted the IRB Challenge Cup London title last weekend, started the day well with a 24-0 victory over Wales. Lichfield’s Natasha Hunt ran in a hat-trick of tries and Jennifer Brightmore also touched down. Sarah McKenna added four points from the boot.

In England’s second match they were as dominant, inflicting a 26-0 victory over South Africa. This time Natasha Brennan, Rachael Burford, captain Sonia Green and Abigail Chamberlain touched down. Alice Richardson and Hunt added three conversions.

But in their final encounter the young England side struggled against the on-form Eagles. Brennan touched down for her second try of the tournament and Richardson converted but two tries from the USA and a conversion was too much for England to overcome.

England Women Sevens Head Coach Barry Maddocks said: “Obviously we are disappointed to drop a game and we now have a tough morning ahead of us with games against the Netherlands and Canada who we know are very good sides.

“Basic errors let us down, at times we just didn’t perform and against the USA we were turned over more than we should have been. To be fair to the USA they deserved to win on the day.

“For us we have got a lot of hard work to do if we are to qualify for the final, but days like this are an important learning experience especially for a young squad like this. However, we will be very much up for this tomorrow. The players will definitely be giving it everything they have.”

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Norton creates new try-scoring record as England get third place in HSBC sevens series

Posted on May 14, 2012 in England Sevens

Dan Norton set a new England record in the HSBC Sevens World Series with tries in victories over France (28-0) and the USA (15-5) on the opening day of the Marriott London Sevens.

Norton scored a record 36thtry of the season as England saw off France 28-0 in the opening game of the Marriott London Sevens.

Former Bristol and Gloucester wing Norton has now scored more times in a sevens campaign than any other England player in the 13-year history of the HSBC Sevens World Series, overtaking Rob Thirlby (35) in a list that includes the likes of Ugo Monye and David Strettle.

England’s other scores came from Sam Edgerley, who picked up to two tries – and a yellow card during the second half – with Tom Mitchell touching down once and kicking four conversions.

England stuttered early on against France with a number of unforced errors but Edgerley broke from long range, Mitchell exploited some good defensive work that turned over the ball and Edgerley again reacted fastest to snatch the ball and race in from inside his own half to put England 21-0 clear at the interval.

The half back was sent to the sin-bin mid-way through the second half, though, but England did well with only six on the field with James Rodwell covering the ground with ball in hand before Turner twisted and turned the French and before putting Norton away.

Former Gloucester and Bristol wing Norton took his total to 37 this term, more than any Englishman has scored in a single season of on the world series, overtaking Rob Thirlby’s tally of 35 in 2003-04.

Sam Edgerley (2) and Tom Mitchell added tries for England against France with Mitchell converting all four.

Edgerley and Mitchell were also on target against the USA, who briefly threatened when Rocco Mauer levelled the game.

Dan Fish got the consolation try against Spain having scored the clincher against Zimbabwe when Richard Smith and Rhys Jones also scored.

England had stuttered during both their opening games with a high error count but they were untroubled once Edgerley – a Latin and Greek student at University College London – raced in from long range.

Mitchell exploited some good defensive work that won a turn-over for the second try and Edgerley again reacted fastest to snatch the ball and race in from inside his own half to put England 21-0 clear at the interval.

The half back was sent to the sin-bin mid-way through the second half, though, but England did well with only six on the field before Mat Turner put Norton away.

England were more composed against the USA, a patient passage of build-up play culminating in Mitchell’s opening try.

Mauer levelled but Edgerley then took advantage of some ball-winning work from Chris Cracknell to dart over, then more thoughtful build-up play allowed Norton to stroll over for this season’s try No.37.

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Odejobi ruled out of Marriott London Sevens

Posted on May 10, 2012 in England Sevens

England’s Mark Odejobi has been ruled out of the Marriott London Sevens after sustaining a broken bone in a foot.

And Isoa Damudamu – injured in last month’s Army v Navy Babcock Trophy match – faces knee surgery and a long spell out of the game.

Former England Under 20 wing Odejobi was injured after coming off the bench in the second half of England’s 40-7 victory over Kenya on day one at Scotstoun.

It leaves Head Coach Ben Ryan with one place to fill in the 12-man squad for the Marriott London Sevens at Twickenham this weekend.

Former captain Andy Vilk (Rugby Lions), Bristol-based Simon Hunt and newcomer Jeff Williams, a centre who played in the French Federale 1 league with RC Chateaurenard this season, are all in contention for the final spot as England aim to take another step forward after beating Australia, South Africa and Fiji before falling to champions New Zealand in the Glasgow final.

“It’s a tough break for Mark who’d come back from injury and trained hard with us – and he was only on the field for three minutes,” said Ryan.

“But we’ll go with what we’ve got and bring in one of the three who’ve been training with us  regularly.

“Andy Vilk and Simon Hunt are experienced sevens internationals who’ve played and won big tournaments with England while Jeff has impressed us with the way he’s fitted into the group in the last month.”

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Edinburgh bid farewell to seasoned stalwarts

Posted on May 1, 2012 in Edinburgh, Scottish Rugby

Edinburgh Rugby are calling on supporters to bring the curtain down on the 2011/12 season with an emotional farewell to ten faithful servants of the club this weekend at Murrayfield and Scotstoun.

Season tickets holders can bring a friend for free (using voucher C) to the club’s last match of the season against Italian side Treviso (kick-off 7.30pm), which will double as a send-off party for ten departing players.

Edinburgh Rugby fans can then complete a great weekend of rugby with half-price party stand tickets for day two of The Emirates Airline Glasgow 7s at Scotstoun Stadium this Sunday 6 May (details below).

Six months after retiring from the international scene, 109-times capped Chris Paterson will bring an end to one of the most famous playing careers in Scottish rugby history.

The full-back has spent more than ten years at the club, during which time he wrote his name into the history books of Edinburgh Rugby while breaking just about every record for his country.

The nation’s top points scorer and record male cap holder will take up a new non-playing role with Edinburgh Rugby and Scottish Rugby with further details announced next week.

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Scene set for Old Deer Park semi-final thanks to Richmond CC

Posted on Apr 30, 2012 in Championship, English Rugby, London Welsh

London Welsh are looking forward to hosting the 2nd leg of their Championship semi-final with Bedford at their home ground, Old Deer Park, thanks to the co-operation of their fellow tenants, Richmond Cricket Club.

It had been anticipated that the Exiles would have to find an alternative venue for the game, but because of what London Welsh, managing director, John Taylor, calls ‘a wonderfully generous gesture” from the cricket club and the Royal Richmond Archery Club, the Exiles are able to play on home soil on May 13.

“We are hugely grateful to Richmond Cricket Club for making this possible,” said Taylor.

“We realise that it’s a big sacrifice for them to give us back the ground for the weekend, but one of the things that could be crucial at this knock-out stage of the Championship is a proper ‘home’ advantage in our home leg.

“We can return Old Deer Park to being a rugby venue in a day and turn it back to a cricket venue in a day – we think that is effort and money well spent. We need every advantage we can get and it really does make a huge difference, and we are very grateful to them.”

Officially, Welsh handed over control of Old Deer Park to Richmond CC at midnight the day after the club’s final play-off pool fixture against Bristol on April 15.

A huge logistical operation will be required to transform Old Deer Park from a cricket ground into a rugby ground within the space of hours, and back again, but Taylor feels it’s absolutely necessary.

“We felt this is such an important one-off game that we approached them with a special request as to whether it might be possible. They re-jigged some of their junior cricket matches so that they could free up the ground,” added Taylor.

“The Royal Richmond Archery Club were also very co-operative because they have a big day that day. But with everyone co-operating we are able to play the game Bedford game at Old Deer Park.”

Chris Goldie, Chairman of Richmond Cricket Club, said: “Over the last two years, Richmond Cricket Club and London Welsh have worked very hard to ensure that both clubs can thrive together at Old Deer Park and our relationship has never been better.

“We recognise the importance of this match and fully understand that ‘home’ advantage could be a decisive factor in London Welsh’s challenge to reach the play-off finals for the first time.

“We have had to reorganise some of our activities scheduled on that day – our large Colts section will move to Kings House School for the morning for example – but we have done so willingly as friends and supporters of the rugby club.”

Should Welsh make the final, however, the club will not be able to play the home leg of the final at Old Deer Park, as both legs are scheduled for Wednesday evenings and must be played under floodlights.