New Zealand have retained their HSBC Sevens World Series title, ending the season with a third place finish at the Marriott London Sevens to finish on 167 Series points, six ahead of closest rivals Fiji.

The New Zealanders sealed a 10th Series title with a ruthless 36-0 quarter final win against South Africa, but fell to a brilliant Fijian performance in the semi final. However, the New Zealanders recovered to end the season on a high note, beating Argentina in the play-off for bronze.

The Fijians stormed to the London title to cap a season of achievement for them, matching New Zealand’s three Cup titles and underlining just how tight things are at the top of the Sevens game.

A record two-day Sevens crowd of 103,027 attended Twickenham over the weekend, a fitting climax to another thrilling season of international Rugby Sevens.

"It’s pretty special, we worked extremely hard to get this one and I think everyone knows how competitive the Sevens Series is now. We came here with an 11-point lead but still with an opportunity of blowing it," said NZ captain, DJ Forbes.

"The quarter final win (36-0 win against South Africa) was probably our only complete game of rugby this weekend, but there was a lot of passion, a lot behind it to make sure we wrapped up the Series.

"At the end of the day it comes down to consistency and that’s where we were probably a little bit ahead, but taking nothing away from Fiji, they’ve done extremely well to win here.

"I guess for us you could see that we’re used to playing under pressure, regardless of where we’re playing. If you’re wearing a black jersey everyone expects you to do well."

IRB Chairman Bernard Lapasset said: "Once again New Zealand have proved that, over the course of an entire season, they are the finest Sevens side in the world and our congratulations go to them.

"And yet even on this, their day of triumph, they were denied in the Cup semi-finals by their closest challengers Fiji, which again underlines just how competitive our global Game of Rugby Sevens has become.

"In the women’s event too we have seen a wonderful tournament from the Netherlands in reaching a first Cup title and congratulations to England on winning their second title of the season.

"Twickenham has provided a wonderful and fitting stage for the finale of another superb season, capped off by another record crowd for a two-day event. We can look forward to a bright future as we gear towards the 2016 Olympic Games."

Australia took the Plate in London, beating England, who finished the season in third place ahead of Samoa in fourth and South Africa in fifth.

A record two-day Sevens crowd of 103,027 attended Twickenham over the weekend, a fitting climax to another thrilling season of international Rugby Sevens.

The Fijians stormed to the London title to cap a season of achievement for them, matching New Zealand’s three Cup titles and underlining just how tight things are at the top of the Sevens game.

The New Zealanders sealed a 10th Series title with a ruthless 36-0 quarter final win against South Africa, but fell to a brilliant Fijian performance in the semi final. However, the New Zealanders recovered to end the season on a high note, beating Argentina in the play-off for bronze.

Sixth placed Australia won the Plate, Wales lifted the Bowl, France were triumphant in the Shield whilst England won their second IRB Women’s Sevens Challenge Cup.

Australia pip hosts England to Plate

England narrowly missed out on the consolation of a Plate trophy when Dan Bibby missed a conversion and a penalty drop goal in the second half of the Plate final, allowing impressive Australia to hang on to a 14-12 victory and collect 13 Series points.

However, Mat Turner’s try in the final did put him one ahead of teammate Dan Norton as the season’s leading try scorer.

England reached the Plate final after a Turner try and Tom Mitchell conversion clinched a late 17-15 victory against South Africa. Australia reached the final after the Tokyo Sevens winners overturned a 12-5 half time deficit to beat Spain 17-12 in the semi.

Wales beat Scotland in Bowl

Twelve points from Alex Walker hands Wales a 27-5 victory against Scotland in the Bowl, as the reigning RWC Sevens champions collect eight points for the Series.

Two second half tries, one after the final buzzer had sounded, from Dan Fish booked Wales’ place in the Bowl final after a 28-26 victory against Portugal. They met Scotland following Graham Shiel’s side recorded a 31-19 victory against Zimbabwe in the second semi final thanks to two tries from Michael Fedo.

Earlier, 11 points from Alex Walker helped Wales beat USA 28-19 in the second Bowl quarter, entering this competition having lost to Spain and Fiji on day one.

Carl Murray scored twice for Portugal in the day’s opening match against RWC Sevens 2013 hosts Russia. The sides last met in the core team qualifying quarter final in Hong Kong, with Portugal narrowly winning 17-10 on their way to claiming one of the three places for next season’s Series, and recorded a 24-17 victory in London.

In the third match Scotland beat crowd favourites Kenya 21-5 before Dubai Sevens runners-up France suffered a 19-17 defeat to Zimbabwe with Jacques Leitao scoring the winning try for the Cheetahs.

England claim London women’s crown

England’s women produced a superb performance to win their home IRB Women’s Sevens Challenge Cup event, beating Netherlands 34-7 in the final.

England’s greater power and precision proved too much for first time Cup finalists the Netherlands as the hosts eased to a 34-7 victory in the IRB Women’s Sevens Challenge Cup at Twickenham.

England have now won two of the three IRB-sanctioned Challenge Cup events this season, having defeated Australia in the previous final in Hong Kong. They lost out to Canada in the first event, in Dubai.

The Netherlands’ Anne Hielckert had opened the scoring in this Twickenham final to momentarily quieten the crowd. But England’s Hong Kong heroine Joanne Watmore combined power and balance to pierce the Netherlands’ defence twice before Alice Richardson produced a step and hand off to put England 17-7 up at the break.

Watmore completed her hat trick with the first play of the second half to dash any hopes of a Netherlands comeback before Kat Merchant touched down twice late on to complete an impressive victory.

"We came out in the semi final and had a really tough game (against Canada)," said England captain Michaela Staniford. “We made it hard work for ourselves and we didn’t perform, so coming out for the final and putting to bed some of those wrongs and hopefully putting on a show for the crowd was what we really wanted to do.”

For Netherlands coach Gareth Gilbert, whose players are full-time athletes funded by the Dutch Olympic Committee, the final was a promising step forward.

"You’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg so far with regards to the (Dutch) programme. The progress we’ve seen in the last year with these players has been unbelievable. A lot of these ladies have stopped their jobs and their family lives in order to train and play rugby. They train 20 hours a week, which they need to if we are going to compete with the big nations." Gilbert said.

Dramatic route to Cup final

Earlier on day two, England defeated Russia 19-10 and Netherlands triumphed 19-0 over France in the Cup quarter finals.

The Cup semi finals produced two dramatic matches. England Sevens debutant Emily Scarratt scored the decisive try in extra time to edge the hosts to a 19-12 win over Canada. Then the Netherlands produced arguably the shock of the competition, edging RWC Sevens 2009 champions Australia 14-12.

Canada claimed third place with a 19-14 victory over Australia. USA won the Plate, defeating Russia 22-7. South Africa, for whom Zenay Jordaan was the tournament’s highest points scorer with 43, edged past France 14-7 to end up seventh. China defeated Portugal 43-5 to win the Bowl and Kazakhstan prevailed 19-17 over Brazil in the battle for 11th place.

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.

Quarter final England v Fiji

England were edged out of a quarter final thriller 21-14 by Fiji after succumbing to an injury time score on the second morning of the Marriott London Sevens.

World Player of the Year nominee Mat Turner’s two tries had put England on the front foot and they were pushing for the winning score until they were penalised at the breakdown. Fiji then went the length of the field for Jamilai Naikadawa to clinch victory.

The result puts Fiji into the semi finals against New Zealand, who clinched a 10^thHSBC Sevens World Series title when they thumped South Africa 36-0. Argentina meet Samoa in the other half of the draw.

Third-placed England now take on South Africa in the semi finals of the Plate competition.

On day one, England had beaten France 28-0 and the USA 15-5 before a 14-7 defeat against Samoa halted their progress.

Against Fiji – who will finish the series in second place – England produced their most incisive attacking work of the weekend.

They trailed to Setefano Cakau’s early try but a composed build-up with good work from Sam Edgerley and Chris Cracknell put Turner away with Tom Mitchell converting.

They hit the front in the second half with Dan Norton involved on the left before Turner was put away down the middle for a 14-7 lead.

Fiji levelled two minutes from time through Isake Katonibau but England dominated the closing moments with Turner and Rob Vickerman bursting into the Fiji 22 before the Islanders got out of jail.

Plate semi England v South Africa

Mat Turner’s try edged England past South Africa 19-17 and into a Plate final against Australia on day two of the Marriott London Sevens.

The World Sevens Player of the Year nominee also struck twice in the 21-14 cup quarter final defeat against Fiji settled when Jamilai Naikadawa struck in the final move of the match.

Tom Powell and Sam Edgerley then got the scoreboard moving against the Blitzbokke only to England to find themselves trailing 17-12 in the final moments and pinned on their own line.

But Edgerley twisted his way out of trouble and Turner shrugged off a tackle before accelerating 70 metres to the line with Mitchell’s conversion completing the escape act.

The result sent England into the Plate final against Australia, who held off Spain 17-12.

Earlier New Zealand duly clinched their 10^thHSBC Sevens World Series title by beating South Africa 36-0.

Tournament roundup

England finished the HSBC Sevens World Series in third place overall after being beaten 14-12 in the Marriott London Sevens Plate final by Australia.

Mat Turner’s fifth try of the weekend meant he finished as the series leader with 38 in the campaign from the nine events – one ahead of teammate Dan Norton – and debutant Jeff Williams struck in the second half but Dan Bibby missed with a late penalty shot at goal as Australia hung on the lead earned by tries from captain Ed Jenkins and Ed Stubbs.

New Zealand wrapped up a 10thseries title for coach Gordon Tietjens by reaching the semi finals, where they were beaten by Fiji, who lifted the London title with a 38-15 win over Samoa and claimed second place in the overall rankings.

They were cheered home by a day two crowd of 42,977, taking the total attendance to a record series high of 103,027 for the weekend.

Earlier Fiji had edged out England of the cup 21-14 at the quarter final stage with a last-play try from Jimilai Nakadawa. England then staged their own great escape act when World Player of the Year nominee Turner clinched a 19-17 win over South Africa in the Plate semi final.

Overall they didn’t hit the heights they reached in winning Dubai in December or in reaching the Glasgow final last weekend, but head coach Ben Ryan was upbeat about their progress.

“We gave Fiji their sternest test and were one ruck under their posts from reaching the semi final, so things could have been a little bit different, but that’s the way sevens goes,” said Ryan, whose sport assumes Olympic status after the end of the London 2012 Games

“We’re proud of our efforts over the last 12 months and I’m really enthusiastic about the potential in the side. We’ll stay together as a group and I’m sure we’ll improve.”

Wales beat Scotland 27-5 to win the third tier Bowl competition with tries from Richard Smith, Alex Walker, Dan Fish and Rhys Patchel. Andrew Turnbull replied.

After their shock 22-7 defeat against Spain on the opening day, Wales beat the USA 28-19 and Fish’s late try grabbed a 28-26 win over Portugal. Scotland cruised past Kenya 21-5 and Zimbabwe 31-19.

England’s secured a second IRB Women’s Challenge Cup win of the season by beating the Netherlands 34-7 with a hat trick of tries from Joanne Watmore, two from Katherine Merchant and one from Alice Richardson.

World Player of the Year nominee Mat Turner’s two tries had put England on the front foot and they were pushing for the winning score until they were penalised at the breakdown. Fiji then went the length of the field for Jamilai Naikadawa to clinch victory.

The result puts Fiji into the semi finals against New Zealand, who clinched a 10thHSBC Sevens World Series title when they thumped South Africa 36-0. Argentina meet Samoa in the other half of the draw.

Third-placed England now take on South Africa in the semi finals of the Plate competition.

On day one, England had beaten France 28-0 and the USA 15-5 before a 14-7 defeat against Samoa halted their progress.

Against Fiji – who will finish the series in second place – England produced their most incisive attacking work of the weekend.

They trailed to Setefano Cakau’s early try but a composed build-up with good work from Sam Edgerley and Chris Cracknell put Turner away with Tom Mitchell converting.

They hit the front in the second half with Dan Norton involved on the left before Turner was put away down the middle for a 14-7 lead.

Fiji levelled two minutes from time through Isake Katonibau but England dominated the closing moments with Turner and Rob Vickerman bursting into the Fiji 22 before the Islanders got out of jail.

Elsewhere Wales recovered from yesterday’s shock defeat at the hands of Spain to beat the USA 28-19 with Richard Smith, Adam Thomas, Craig Price and Alex Walker all scoring.

Scotland logged a 21-5 win over Kenya with tries from Michael Fedo, Bryon McGuigan and Andrew Skeen. Both teams advance to the Bowl semi finals against Portugal and Zimbabwe respectively.

England have called newcomer Jeff Williams and former captain Andy Vilk into their squad for this weekend’s Marriott London Sevens.

Head coach Ben Ryan had needed to make one change for the final leg of the HSBC Sevens World Series after former England U20 wing Mark Odejobi fractured a bone in his foot last weekend.

But half back John Brake is suffering from concussion caused by a blow to the head in the Glasgow final against New Zealand, so both the powerful Vilk and France-based Williams join the group.

England face France (12:42), the USA (16:00) and Samoa (19:28) in tomorrow’s Pool B matches with Fiji or Wales their potential opponents if they reach the quarter finals.

Former Northampton Saints and Sale Sharks centre Vilk, 30, captained England Sevens in 2007-08 before moving to Treviso and has been playing under Neil Back at Rugby Lions this season.

Williams, 23, is a centre with RC Chateaurenard in the Federale 1 division in France this season who previously played for the Hamiltons club and the Sharks Academy in South Africa.

“We’re lucky to be able to call on two quality players who’ve spent a lot of time with the squad,” said England head coach Ben Ryan.

“Andy’s very experienced with more than 30 tournaments under his belt at this level while Jeff’s got a good pedigree, has impressed us in training and by the way he’s fitted into our group so well.

“We feel we’re on an upward curve at the moment and we played some great rugby in Glasgow so we’re eager to finish on a high on what should be a fantastic occasion at Twickenham.”

England are third in the table behind New Zealand and Fiji going into the final leg of a series in which the eight tournament titles have been shared by five different teams.

England Sevens: Dan Bibby (UWIC), Chris Brightwell, Chris Cracknell, Sam Edgerley (Rosslyn Park), Tom Mitchell (Oxford University), Dan Norton, Tom Powell, James Rodwell, Mathew Turner, Rob Vickerman, Andy Vilk (Rugby Lions), Jeff Williams (RC Chateaurenard)

HSBC Sevens World Series standings (top six): 1 New Zealand 150pts, 2 Fiji 139, 3 England 123, 4 South Africa 115, 5 Samoa 114, 6 Australia 99, 7 Wales 83, 8 Argentina 77

LAST stop London! After 75,000 miles clocked up travelling around the globe, our final destination in the HSBC Sevens World Series this year for the first time ever is Twickenham Stadium and the Marriott London Sevens.

I can tell you it was a dream to just have a short flight from Glasgow to London as it’s not uncommon for us to cross multitudes of time zones as we move from one venue to another. I think as a result this weekend you will see a lot of energy from all the teams on the pitch as they can use the time this week to recharge and get ready for 100,000-plus supporters this weekend in the finale of the series.

Last weekend was a big step in the direction of travel for this team and England Sevens. We have always wanted to play a fast attacking style but it has taken time to really hit its straps. It’s not a quick fix and it takes time to put in this sort of cultural model into play.

I guess we put down a major marker of how determined we are to play this way by our approach in extra-time in the semi final against Fiji.

We caught the ball off our own kick off and then went 18 passes, one ruck, about 40 metres backwards and across the width of the field three times before finding the space to exploit and score the winning try.

I was so pleased to see all the hours of practice pay off and it was even better it was tested under the duress of extra time against such a fantastic team like Fiji.

The final felt like one that got away and with around 90 seconds left and 19-14 down against New Zealand we felt all we needed was to get hold of the ball and our attack would grab the decisive winner.

Alas, we were penalised near our line and effectively with it the game was over and our chance gone. Yes, we had three tough games against Australia, South Africa and Fiji in the run to the final but we felt fresh and ready for the battle.

So, we left disappointed but also quietly pleased now we know that our style is bedded in and as more games are played the confidence will grow and we will improve more and more.

It’s been the first time we have also had a group playing that we know are in the programme next year as well, so collectively everyone is driving hard in the same direction. It is a hugely exciting time and I’m sure we will inevitably hit some choppy waters this weekend and in the future but the progress the lads have made has been brilliant and I’m so proud of their efforts.

So, to this weekend and our chances. New Zealand will be desperate to win the series in style and Fiji will want to remind everyone just how good they have been this year.

Samoa, I felt, played some superb stuff in Scotland and they too will be keen to take out another tournament. Wales also continued all their huge strides this year and have really become a fantastic side under Paul John. I think all the European sides will have a good showing in the final event. I also hope you can see how well i have side-stepped my own question!

I’m sure our team will be doing just the same against opposing players as they play at full throttle this weekend, dodging and weaving their way forward.

The team this year have been incredibly hard-working in wanting to get better and they are a huge credit on and off the field to England Rugby.

They play their socks off for their country and that’s all I ask this weekend. I’m sure as the tournament goes on, I’ll turn more and more from coach into a fan as I let them go out onto the Twickenham turf and just go for it. Come on England!

England beat Tokyo champions Australia 19-14, third-placed side South Africa 19-14 and second-placed Fiji 26-21 – in an extra-time thriller – before falling 29-14 against HSBC Sevens World Series leaders New Zealand.

Winning five games out of six – with a patient, fluid style – left Ryan “very proud” and the team heads for next weekend’s Marriott London Sevens at Twickenham determined to take another step forward.

The overall result moves England ahead of South Africa to third place in the series table with pace men Dan Norton (35 tries) and Mat Turner (33) at No.1 and No.2 in the try charts.

“There was very little difference between the two teams,” said Ryan after late tries from Lote Raikabula and DJ Forbes secured victory for New Zealand that takes them to the brink of another world title.

“It was an even contest, finals always are, and we’ve not quite got to grips with beating New Zealand on a regular basis this year.

“We’ve probably given them the hardest run any team has but we won’t settle for anything other than dominating this series and I was pleased with the direction of travel we’ve been on in the last two days.

“It’s the first time probably that we’ve really seen what we’re putting into effect in training come out in our attacking play and we played some sensational stuff in the style I want England to play for a long time to come. It’s a disappointed group and they’re determined to go out to the Marriott London Sevens and win the tournament.

“I’m very proud of this group and they are all going to be around together for a long time to come. We’re going to hit lots of finals, we’re going to win lots of tournaments and perhaps this is the start of what’s going to be a great chapter.”

Former Bristol and Gloucester wing Norton, who scored tries against South Africa and New Zealand on day two, wants to set the record straight in front of another record 100,000-plus crowd at Twickenham.

He said: “We played some good rugby this weekend, some positive rugby, but obviously it’s a shame to lose out in the final. Credit to New Zealand, they capitalised on our mistakes and played well.

“We’ve been trying to spread the ball more and stretch teams a little bit more and keep our fast guys on the end – and we’ve been able to capitalise on over-working teams and been getting a reward from it.

“I feel it’s going to be a good end to the season, hopefully another record crowd again at Twickenham and I hope we can get more momentum and hit another final at least and take another step forward.”

Turner finished as the tournament’s joint leading scorer with eight tries from six games and was enthused with the change of direction that saw England beat Fiji at their own game.

He said: “It’s a very exciting programme to be involved in and this weekend we’ve brought in this new way of playing.

“We’re finally realising how each person plays and playing to each other’s strengths, and it seems to work. Next week’s another whole week to train with it and then we’ve got a home crowd to play in front of.

“We’re buying into the whole idea of not wanting to set up a breakdown. We want to run teams left and right and offload and, it sounds funny to say it, but we beat Fiji playing the way Fiji play sevens.

“They’re willing to go backwards to go forwards and we’ve all bought into that style and that’s what we’re going to stick with.”

England edged out by New Zealand in Glasgow Sevens final

England’s exciting run of victories at the Glasgow Sevens ended in a 29-14 defeat at the hands of HSBC Sevens World Series leaders New Zealand.

James Rodwell and Dan Norton scored tries to haul Ben Ryan’s side back to within five points midway through high-quality second half.

But Lote Raikabula scored the clincher after England were penalised at the breakdown and DJ Forbes grabbed his second of the match in the dying seconds to put New Zealand within touching distance of another world title.

England now head for home and the Marriott London Sevens aiming to finish on a high in the final event of the series at Twickenham next weekend.

They finished the Glasgow event with five wins out of six and impressed on day two by beating South Africa 19-14 and Fiji 26-21 in the knock-out stages to climb to third in the overall table.

Mat Turner continued his prolific try-scoring run by taking his tournament tally to eight by touching down twice in both the quarter and semi finals.

Norton leads the overall series try table with 35 and Turner is second with 33 with New Zealand’s Frank Halai and Tomasi Cama back on 28.

Turner’s brace and Norton’s chip-and-chase effort secured the win against South Africa, who rallied with Cornal Hendricks and Franco du Preez touching down.

The semi final against Fiji was a thriller with Turner, Tom Mitchell and Rob Vickerman scoring and the scores locked at 21-21 when Mitchell missed a long-range penalty on the hooter.

But the Islanders weren’t given a sniff of the ball in sudden-death extra time as England patiently created the opening for Turner’s run to the line.

On the opening day England had booked their passage to the quarter finals by beating Kenya (40-7), USA (19-12) and Tokyo champions Australia (19-14) on day one at the new Scottish venue.

Stuart Lancaster today paid tribute to Rob Vickerman after the former Leeds Carnegie and Newcastle Falcons centre was named England Sevens captain.

Vickerman has been appointed by England Sevens Head Coach Ben Ryan to lead the side in the remaining two legs of this season’s HSBC Sevens World Series – the Glasgow Sevens this weekend and the Marriott London Sevens at Twickenham on May 12-13.

England Head Coach Lancaster recruited the teenaged Vickerman while at Leeds and described the 26 year-old as an “outstanding professional in both forms of the game”.

Lancaster said: “I’d like to congratulate Rob on his appointment and wish him, Ben Ryan and the England Sevens players and management the best for the final two legs of the series.

“I started working with Rob when he was a teenager at the Leeds Academy. He was and still is one of the best players I have coached with an intuitive understanding of time and space on a rugby field. He has developed into an outstanding professional in both forms of the game, first at Leeds, then at Newcastle Falcons and now as a full-time sevens player with England.

“He’s a great communicator on and off the field, someone who leads by example and I’m sure he’ll be a great ambassador for England Rugby.”

Vickerman banked more than 50 top-flight appearances for Leeds and Newcastle before joining England’s full-time sevens squad.

He accepted the captaincy honour by singling out Lancaster’s influence and added that his mentor’s success as England head coach came as no surprise to him.

“Stuart’s a person who was never going to end up anywhere other than where he is now,” said Vickerman. “He’s a real leader of men, he’s very aware of how he manages and of his principles he’s learned at Leeds and with the RFU.

“He’s helped me in leaps and bounds and has been one of the most influential people in my life, not just my career, so it’s great to see him doing well.

“There was no doubt in my mind that he would succeed with England. To anyone who has worked with him and knows his philosophies in terms of the culture in the team, it’s no surprise.”

England are fourth in this season’s HSBC Sevens World Series table after seven of the nine legs, behind New Zealand, Fiji and South Africa in the standings.

The current series is arguably the most competitive ever. Five different nations have won individual titles – England defending their Dubai crown in December – and the challenge is to finish the campaign on a high.

Ryan’s side face Kenya, the USA and Australia in the pool stages and Vickerman insists the change of leadership won’t affect his or the team’s focus.

“The captaincy is a great honour and something I know my family will be very proud of but it takes nothing away from what we are looking to achieve as a team,” he said.

“Sevens is a completely different format from 15s and it’s far more about seven people leading on the pitch, 12 leading in the squad and then a wider squad of 20 performing week-in, week-out in training.

“It’s a lovely accolade for my family more than anything else and it’s going to make no difference to the way I play.

“The goal this week is to perform. We want to be in an environment where we’re enjoying what we’re doing, we’re working hard and being enthusiastic.”

England Sevens: Dan Bibby (UWIC), John Brake, Chris Brightwell, Chris Cracknell, Sam Edgerley (Rosslyn Park), Tom Mitchell (Oxford University), Dan Norton, Mark Odejobi (Brunel University), Tom Powell, James Rodwell, Mathew Turner, Rob Vickerman.

HSBC Sevens World Series standings (top six): 1 New Zealand 128 pts, 2 Fiji 122, 3 South Africa 105, 4 England 104, 5 Samoa 101, 6 Australia 84

The Ireland Team will play two full internationals in the Aviva Stadium against South Africa and Argentina, who will both be battle hardened following their participation in the newly established southern hemisphere Rugby Championship, the new format of the Tri Nations.

South Africa was the first international visitor to the newly built Aviva Stadium in November 2010, winning 23-21 and will again open the international rugby season when they travel to the northern hemisphere under the guidance of their new Coach Heyneke Meyer.  Ireland also last took on Argentina that same November in sub zero temperatures, with Ireland winning the game 29-9.

In between these two full internationals, the O2 Ireland Wolfhounds will play Fiji in Thomond Park Stadium, bringing an Irish team to Limerick for the first time since Ireland played Canada in 2008.

Broadcast and ticketing details for all three games will be announced in the coming weeks.

2012 Guinness Series Fixtures:

Ireland v South Africa

Aviva Stadium
Saturday, 10th November
Kick off 17:30

O2 Ireland Wolfhounds v Fiji

Thomond Park Stadium
Saturday, 17th November
Kick off 17:30

Ireland v Argentina

Aviva Stadium
Saturday 24th November
Kick off 14:00

The awarding of the marquee international tournament demonstrates the JRFU’s commitment to successfully delivering major Rugby events in the run up to Rugby World Cup 2019. It also underscores the massive growth potential within Asia – a Region that has experienced an 18 per cent uplift in participation since 2007.

The announcement comes off the back of the JRFU’s successful hosting of the Tokyo leg of the HSBC Sevens World Series – the first international Sevens event to be hosted in the country in 11 years. It is also a strong endorsement of the Union’s operational and organisational skills as Rugby World Cup 2019 planning and preparation continues to advance on track.

It also provides a welcome and timely boost for Rugby across Japan after the 2011 IRB Pacific Nations Cup was reluctantly moved from the country to allow the Union to concentrate on assisting the Rugby community affected by the devastating earthquake and tsunami in March last year.

Five of the six matches will be played in Japan with double-headers featuring in the first two rounds of matches giving fans the opportunity to see the stars from all four teams. The opening matchday on June 5 will see Samoa v Tonga (17:10 local time) and Fiji v Japan (19:10) in Nagoya while the second matchday will take place on June 10 in Tokyo with Fiji v Samoa (12:10) and Japan v Tonga (14:10). The final round will be split over two weeks to accommodate Scotland’s tour to the Pacific Islands with Samoa v Japan in Tokyo on June 17 (14:10) and Fiji v Tonga rounding off the action in Lautoka, Fiji on June 23 (15:40).

“We are delighted that Japan is to host this major international championship. The awarding of this event not only underscores the great appetite for showcase Rugby events in Japan, but also demonstrates the JRFU’s intentions to reach out to new Rugby fans across Japan and wider Asia as we look towards Rugby World Cup 2019," said IRB Chairman Bernard Lapasset.

“These are exciting times for Rugby in Asia and the Pacific Islands. The IRB Pacific Nations Cup was introduced in 2006 to provide an expanded high-level competition calendar for Fiji, Japan, Samoa and Tonga and therefore increase the competitiveness of Rugby World Cup. In that regard it has been a success story for the IRB and Participating Unions, demonstrating that our strategic investment programme is working. The IRB Pacific Nations Cup is now a hugely anticipated event in the Rugby calendar in its own right.”

“Scotland will tour Samoa and Fiji as the 10-year IRB tours and test schedule kicks off which highlights the IRB’s commitment to providing the likes of Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and Japan with more tests than ever before in a calendar year. In total we have invested more than GBP 15 million in Rugby in Oceania between 2009-2012."

Growing the Game in Asia is a key priority for the IRB ahead of Rugby World Cup 2019 and the JRFU continues to make significant progress towards hosting Rugby’s showcase event. The IRB Pacific Nations Cup 2012 follows successful hosting of a record-breaking IRB Junior World Championship in 2009 and Tokyo’s debut as a HSBC Sevens World Series venue.

Japan Rugby Football Union Chairman Tatsuzo Yabe said: "These are exciting times for Rugby in Japan and throughout Asia and I am delighted that the Japan Rugby Football Union will host this year’s IRB Pacific Nations Cup, one year after the difficult decision was taken to relocate the tournament following the Tohoku earthquake. This will be a tournament for the people of Japan in memory of all who tragically lost their lives and were affected."

"We are fully committed to delivering a very successful tournament that will showcase international Rugby as we continue to build towards Rugby World Cup 2019. Working in partnership with the IRB and RWCL, the JRFU has a long term plan to grow Rugby and host major international Rugby events that will continue to lay the operational and management foundations for a successful Rugby World Cup 2019 that will be the gateway to Rugby’s boom across Asia."

"The IRB Pacific Nations Cup will also provide valuable opportunities for the Japan national team, led by newly appointed head coach Eddie Jones, to compete with top level Rugby nations," added Yabe.

Eddie Jones commented: "This is a new era for Japan Rugby and the Japan national team as we build towards Rugby World Cup 2019. The hosting of the IRB Pacific Nations Cup on home soil represents a great opportunity for us to move forward – to develop a truly Japanese style of Rugby with a young squad full of talent.

"We are looking forward to competing in the competition and bringing top class international Rugby to the Japanese people. Samoa and Tonga are ahead of us in the IRB World Rankings and we respect Fiji greatly. It will be very competitive."

The IRB Pacific Nations Cup dovetails with the sister IRB Pacific Rugby Cup to deliver a local player and coach development pathway for the Pacific Island Nations. This year A sides from each of the three nations have played against Super Rugby development team opposition in Australia and New Zealand. The competition resumes in October with the final round robin matches between the Island teams.

The former Sale Sharks flanker replaces Chris Cracknell, who sustained a shoulder injury in yesterday’s semi final defeat against Fiji at the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens.

Brightwell, 27, is a full-time England Sevens player and appeared at the Gold Coast Sevens in November, the opening event of the HSBC Sevens World Series.

There is one other change to the squad – centre Isoa Damudamu returns home because of his commitments with the British Army so Rosslyn Park half back Sam Edgerley comes in for his first appearance at this level.

England will face Hong Kong champions Fiji again in the pool stages at the Prince Chichibu Stadium in Tokyo this weekend.

Hosts Japan and Dubai finalists France are their other opponents in Pool A with Pool D big guns South Africa and Samoa the potential quarter final opponents.