England Women finish fifth in Amsterdam Sevens

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

A 17-12 victory over Spain in the play-offs saw a young England Women’s side finish fifth in the Amsterdam Sevens on Sunday.

With only six players in the squad who lifted the IRB Challenge Cup crown in London last weekend, England struggled in the second day of sevens action leaving them to play off against Spain for fifth place.

England, however, showed great determination to secure the fifth place finish against a full strength Spanish side with a try in extra time from Sevens newcomer Kate Hancock. Fellow Sevens debutant Natasha Brennan also touched down twice, with Natasha Hunt kicking one conversion.

England were left battling for fifth place after losing 7-12 to the USA in the final pool game on Saturday. England had started the day well with a 24-0 victory over Wales. Lichfield’s 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 Brennan, Rachael Burford, captain Sonia Green and Abigail Chamberlain touched down. Alice Richardson and Hunt added three conversions.

But in their final encounter on Saturday 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.

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England 29 France 25: England Women crowned European Cup champions

Posted on May 21, 2012 in England Women

England Women added the European Cup crown to the Six Nations Grand Slam title they have already won this season with a thrilling 29-25 victory over France in Rovereto, Italy on Saturday night.

An injury time try for Worcester wing Lydia Thompson, who made her England debut just seven days ago in the tournament opener, secured the victory in the dying minutes of the game.

The match, which was billed as the winner takes all clash, was a typical England versus France encounter with both sides fired up and giving everything they had to secure the win and the crown.

But in the end it was England’s tenacity that paid off as they came from a 22-25 deficit to take the title away from France in style.

England Head Coach for this tour Graham Smith, who blooded seven new caps over seven days, said: “This has been a tour of opportunity for all the players involved and I can safely say every single player involved has taken this opportunity with both hands.

“This was a scintillating game, but as a coach a hard game to watch. We certainly controlled the first half but after the restart it was a different matter and France took control when we couldn’t get our consistency going and we did not defend as well. We also gave away too many penalties and France were able to take those points and that put us in a precarious position.

“However, we never gave up and after making some changes from the bench we took our opportunities, with Sally Tuson scoring a late try and then Lydia Thompson touching down for the crucial score in extra time.

“We are obviously delighted to have won the European Cup and defended our title but I am more delighted about the fact that we have underlined what talent we have coming through our system. It has also been great to have Simon Middleton on board as Assistant Coach for this championship. He has made a real impression and we are fortunate to have a coach of his calibre involved in the England set-up.”

England took the European Cup crown the hard way going 3-0 behind in the early stages after French full-back Jessy Tremouliere converted a penalty when England were penalised for holding on.

France and England then battled it out in a typical clash between these two sides, which saw them neck and neck for the next forty minutes. England had their chances, with both Katherine Merchant and Thompson going close but France defended staunchly and kept their fierce rivals out.

In the end France’s line did break when Bristol flanker Marlie Packer made some space before offloading to Thompson, who had both the power and the pace to dive over the try-line. Emily Scarratt (PICTURED) added the conversion to hand England a 7-3 lead at the break.

After the restart though, France turned the tables and a 42nd minute try for substitute Elordie Portaries, after a good line-out, catch and drive, saw them take a 7-10 lead.

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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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England Sevens name expanded full-time squad for 2012-13

Posted on May 18, 2012 in England Sevens

England Sevens have increased the number of full-time players and the off-field resources available to Head Coach Ben Ryan next season.

The full-time player roster increases from 12 to 16 with new contracts awarded to backs Dan Bibby (UWIC), James Lightfoot-Brown (Exeter Chiefs), Tom Mitchell (Oxford University) (pictured), Marcus Watson (Saracens), Jeff Williams (RC Chateaurenard), and forwards Mike Ellery (Moseley) and Jack Preece (Birmingham Solihull).

Assistant coach Russell Earnshaw now has a full-time post after previously combining his role with that of Director of Rugby at Birmingham Solihull.

Some of the newcomers will appear in European competitions this summer ahead of a busy 2012-13 season which will see the HSBC Sevens World Series followed by the Rugby World Cup Sevens in Moscow next June.

Mitchell, 22, Bibby, 21, Watson, 20, and centre Williams, 23,  all made their England Sevens debuts this season. Mitchell appeared in six tournaments, Watson in five, Bibby in two and Williams in one, scoring a debut try against Australia at last weekend’s Marriott London Sevens.

Lightfoot-Brown, 19 in June, is a former England Under 18 scrum half who joins after spells in the Exeter and London Irish academy ranks. Ellery, 22, is an athletic back row forward in outstanding form in the Championship this season while openside breakdown specialist Preece, 22, captained Bees in National One this season.

Departing are former captain Greg Barden, who has retired, hooker Simon Hunt and wing Nick Royle.

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RFU Podcast: Rowntree, Joseph, Wilkinson, Balshaw, Dallaglio

Posted on May 18, 2012 in Latest Rugby News

Graham Rowntree analyses the unique challenges facing England on this summer’s tour to South Africa in this week’s RFU Podcast.

We also hear from a stellar cast including Jonny Wilkinson, Iain Balshaw and Lawrence Dallaglio as well as England youngster Jonathan Joseph.

England forwards coach Rowntree has first-hand experience in South Africa as forwards coach with the British & Irish Lions in 2009 and insists any side that wants to win there has to earn the right to play at the breakdown.

He also analyses the prospects for newcomers like Tom Youngs, Graham Kitchener and Joe Launchbury who are all part of Stuart Lancaster’s 42-strong touring squad.

Centre Joseph, coached by new England man Mike Catt at London Irish, tells us he’s ready to stake his claim on tour and in the Killick Cup game against the Barbarians on May 27 at Twickenham Stadium.

World Cup winners Jonny Wilkinson (Toulon) and Iain Balshaw (Biarritz) talk about being on opposite sides on Friday night at the Stoop in the final of the Amlin Challenge Cup.

The Dallaglio-Flintoff Cycle Slam is due to finish on Friday after an epic 2,872km trek from Greece to London raising money for Cancer Research UK and Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Dallaglio reports on his progress and weighs up the prospects for Leinster and Ulster at Twickenham Stadium in this weekend’s Heineken Cup final.