Inside England Sevens: Ben Ryan column

Posted on Dec 16, 2011 in England, English Rugby, Sevens

The England Sevens head coach reviews the side’s progress after the first three tournaments of the HSBC Sevens World Series in Gold Coast, Dubai and Port Elizabeth. England sit fourth in the table, just four points behind joint leaders Fiji and New Zealand.

It will probably never get repeated but three HSBC World Series tournaments in three successive weekends, in three different continents, was testing to say the least.

Things like time zone changes, climatic pressure and long-haul travel are all part of the normal routine on the international sevens circuit. On top of this we had to walk the fine line between keeping on top of everything on the field in terms of training and conditioning but also ensuring enough mental and physical rest for everyone.

So, how did we think we fared? You can see the results and where we are in the table but are we happy with where we are going?

In most areas, I’d say we are delighted. Although we lost three players to injury in Port Elizabeth, none were significant and everyone should be fit for selection for the NZI Sevens in Wellington in February, our next destination.

Before the trip, I set two goals.

First, make sure by the end of the month we are there around the top of the table fighting for first spot. Only four points between the top four sides shows it’s going to be the most competitive series for years and we are one good result away from topping the pile with a long way to go.

Secondly, we wanted to win one of the opening tournaments. We did so in Dubai the hard way in reaching the final playing very well, beating two big rivals in Fiji and New Zealand and tactically getting it spot on.

It makes a significant difference to have players in your squad who have won tournaments. It breeds confidence and belief and perhaps more importantly, it feeds the desire to keep winning.

However, there were a few fish that did get away. Our loss to New Zealand in Port Elizabeth was hard to take. The Kiwis did exactly what we had done in Dubai a week earlier, bouncing back to win all six games and claim the next title.

Of course they are a good side and Gordon Tietjens made sure everyone was on the same page for the Port  Elizabeth tournament as you know he always will.

The competition between the two sides is intense and the games are always close. They have a formula against us that often gives them the upper hand and we think we have a way of playing them that also brings success so it’s a fascinating duel between the two teams.

I expect their squad to be considerably bolstered for Wellington so it’s going to be a great ding-dong for the season ahead.

The 12 core teams travel the world together which does foster a lot of relationships between sides but the competition and rivalry keeps most of that at arms length as everyone looks towards a winning programme.

Lots of our routines are the same. Fairly early starts and swim sessions seems uniform across the board and pre-match prep seems pretty similar. The differences occur in how we prepare the team physically, the style of play and the analysis.

On top of that a lot of countries now have full-time programmes. After our European adventure in the summer, it was good to see France and Wales play so well and show there isn’t an Oceania stranglehold on the game. Scotland were easily the unluckiest side not to hit the quarter finals and while we might not be quite brothers in arms politically with the rest of the continent, in sevens at least there was a collective feeling amongst us that  European Sevens is on a sharp rise.

Another continued work-on for us is our own style. Defensively we certainly had the most aggressive system in place and the games against Fiji showed what happens when you get your defence spot-on. That was really pleasing and it allows us to build on this in the coming weeks.

It also meant in attack it freed up some of our key players and you saw Isoa Damudamu, Dan Norton and Mat Turner in particular take advantage of that. Yet we still want more from our attack and there are still big work-ons to get to a level where we can unlock anyone at any time.

The technical things we are doing in training are really testing the players to reach new levels in game understanding and some are still very alien to them. It’s a bit of a crusade for me to continue to work on this and get them playing a style that really will add to what we are doing and not to worry about losing key players to injury as invariably will happen.

I’d say we are 50 per cent of the way there and most of it centres around the players getting more comfortable with altering the tempo we play at. It will eventually permeate through to our game and that’s another reason to get very excited about what is happening with England Sevens.

Make no bones about it. We were at a distinct disadvantage travel-wise compared with the other sides in the top four and while we didn’t get things 100 per cent right, it has been a great month.

The sevens game is undoubtedly the fastest moving international sport in the world off and on the field and we can proudly say we are one of the leading lights. The goal, though, is to be much more than that and after a couple of weeks off for the team, we will return to work harder than we ever have. Thanks for all the tremendous support. Come on England!

England Sevens triumph in Dubai final

Posted on Dec 5, 2011 in England, English Rugby, Sevens

England are Dubai Sevens champions again after beating France 29-12 in the final of the second leg of the HSBC Sevens World Series.

A superb second day performance saw Ben Ryan’s side overpower New Zealand 10-7 and Fiji 19-12 before a superb first half display in the final that ultimately clinched the title.

Isoa Damudamu – whose two tries sank Fiji in the semi final – struck early on then Dan Norton’s chip and chase and two touchdowns for Mat Turner put them 24-7 up at the interval and almost out of sight.

But France wing Renaud Delmas scored his second try early in the second half and France enjoyed long spells on top before England escaped to the other end of the field and Rob Vickerman pounced to see them safely home.

Earlier England opened up by beating Series champions New Zealand – then raised their game again against Fiji, who had won the opening leg of the series in Gold Coast.

Fijian-born centre Damudamu provided two vital tries in the first half after Emosi Vucago had opened the scoring for the islanders.

Turner then stretched the lead with a burst from the breakdown but England had to dig deep after Osea Kolinisau struck from long range and scramble for all they were worth in defence.

Earlier Turner and Norton edged them past New Zealand – England’s first win over the champions since their Dubai triumph of a year ago.

Norton’s sensational second half score – his sixth of the tournament – and Turner’s quick-thinking first half effort enabled them to come from 7-0 down after Tomasi Cama had struck early on.

On the opening day England saw off Zimbabwe (43-0), Kenya (19-12) and France (29-12), with Norton’s hat-trick in the final match sending them through as Pool C leaders.

Flying Fijians ace Fatiaki to join Worcester

Posted on Jul 22, 2011 in Premiership, Worcester Warriors

Worcester Warriors have today boosted the midfield ranks at Sixways with the signing of exciting Fiji international Ravai Fatiaki.

Hard-running centre Fatiaki, recently named in the 35-man Fiji squad for the Rugby World Cup, will enhance the midfield options for Head Coach Richard Hill during the new Aviva Premiership season.

Rising star Fatiaki, who has been playing his rugby in Tailevu in Fiji, recently featured in the Pacific Nations Cup and scored his first-ever try for Fiji earlier this month against Samoa in Suva.

The 24-year-old, who made his debut for Fiji off the bench against Japan in 2009, also started at inside centre against the mighty All Blacks in Dunedin earlier today (Friday).

Fatiaki, who is 6ft and weighs 16st 1lb, is regarded as one of the most exciting talents in Fijian rugby and is expected to join up with Warriors after the completion of the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.

Head Coach Richard Hill said: “We have been looking for a player to bolster our midfield selection options this coming season and so we are pleased to announce that Ravai will now join us.

“He is rated as one of the rising stars of Fijian rugby and I have spoken at length to national coach Greg Mumm about him. Ravai is a powerful ball carrier who is very coachable and eager and keen to learn.

“Ravai is similar in many ways to a number of the Fijians who have been playing in France, like Gabriele Lovobalavu at Toulon and Seru Rabeni at La Rochelle.

“I also recently watched him play for Fiji as they beat Samoa where he really came into his own in the second half and capped a fine display with a try.

“We are always on the lookout for players that have the potential to be very good and can adapt to play the style in which I want the Warriors to play. This is a fantastic opportunity for Ravai to come over to England and develop his game at Sixways while experiencing a new culture and lifestyle.”

Fatiaki said: “I look forward to having a chance to play in a great competition like the Aviva Premiership. I’ve heard plenty of good things about Worcester and I know they’re an ambitious club. It’s a big opportunity and I’ll certainly be giving it my best.

“My focus at the moment is making the Fijian team to play in the Rugby World Cup. We had a big game this Friday against the All Blacks, which was a real challenge, and we’ve had some strong preparation including the Pacific Nations Cup, so hopefully we’ll do well.”

Wales lose out to Fiji at JWC

Posted on Jun 23, 2011 in Latest Rugby News

Wales Under 20 suffered at the hands of Fiji with a 34-20 loss in the fifth place semi-final of the Junior World Championship in Italy.

Wales are now set to play Ireland in the seventh place play-off at Treviso on Sunday (12.00 noon).          

There were three tries apiece, but Fiji were more disciplined on the night, with Wales giving away possession and crucial penalties.

Fiji were first on the scoreboard, with a penalty in the twelfth minute for wing Josateki Lalagavesi between two missed kicks for Matthew Morgan. Lalagavesi missed a second attempt before outside half Metuisela Talebula touched down for the first try, converted by Lalagavesi, taking the score to 10-0. Scarlets centre Dale Ford reduced the deficit with a try after 34 minutes, converted by Morgan, but Lalagavesi’s second penalty of the half took the half-time score to 13-7.

Both teams went down to 14 men for a period, first Fijian centre Solomoni Rasolea was yellow carded at the end of the first half, before Wales wing Liam Williams was sent to the sin bin six minutes into the second half.

Fiji extended their lead after the break with three more Lalagavesi penalties to one for Matthew Morgan early in the second half.

Wales mounted a mini comeback with tries for Scarlets prop Rhodri Jones and London Irish-bound Steve Shingler, but Matthew Morgan was unable to add the extras on this occasion.

Wales were never able to stamp their authority on the game and Fiji added two further tries of their own, a second for Talebula and one for replacement scrum half Eliki Sicinilawa, the first converted by Lalagavesi.Wales team manager Mark Taylor said, “Tonight’s performance was hugely disappointing. We totally underperformed and there are no excuses. “We lost our shape very quickly, we weren’t direct enough in our play and we didn’t follow the game plan. We kicked away too much ball, we made handling errors and basically enabled Fiji to score points through our mistakes. We have to look hard at ourselves as a group after this performance.”

Wales scorers: Tries: Dale Ford, Rhodri Jones, Steve Shingler; Con: Matthew Morgan; Pen: Matthew Morgan.
Yellow card: Liam Williams (46mins)

Fiji scorers: Tries: Talebula (2), Sicinilawa; Cons: Lalagavesi (2); Pens: Lalagavesi (5).
Yellow card: Rasolea (40mins)

Wales team: Ross Jones (Ospreys / Bridgend); Liam Williams (Llanelli), Dale Ford (Scarlets / Llanelli), Lewis Robling (Dragons / Newport), Eli Walker (Ospreys / Swansea, Steve Shingler London Irish); Matthew Morgan (Ospreys / Swansea), Lewis Jones (Blues / Pontypridd, Jonathan Evans Dragons / Newport); Rhodri Jones (Scarlets / Llanelli), Jamie Sollis (Dragons / Cross Keys), WillGriff John (Blues / Pontypridd, Will Taylor Ospreys / Swansea), Macauley Cook (capt, Blues / Cardiff), Cory Hill (Blues / Pontypridd), Edward Siggery (London Irish, Thomas Young Cardiff Blues), Luke Hamilton (Blues / Glamorgan Wanderers), Ben Thomas (Ospreys / Bridgend).

England Sevens star Caprice signs for Biarritz

Posted on Jun 23, 2011 in Latest Rugby News

England Sevens star Dan Caprice has been snapped up by French giants Biarritz.

The Kent-based wing has signed a two-year deal to play in the Top 14 and Heineken Cup after impressing in the HSBC Sevens World Series last season.

Caprice, 21, had spells with Saracens and Blackheath before becoming part of the first intake of full-time England Sevens players last summer.

Caprice said: “I’m pretty excited about the move and really looking forward to it. It was a hard decision to make but I’d always wanted to play in France.

“They’re one of the top teams in Europe and you only have to look at the players there to see that the chance to train day-in, day-out with them is great. The coaching staff are brilliant and I was blown away by the place when I went over there."

Biarritz, who are grouped with Ospreys, Benetton Treviso and Caprice’s former club Saracens in next season’s Heineken Cup, have also signed Fiji sevens captain Seremaia Burotu this summer.

“It’s great that they’re looking at young players and sevens players in particular," he said. "Jack Isaac, their backs coach, has a sevens background and they see sevens player as good enough as players and athletes to fit in with the exciting rugby they want to play."

A product of the Medway and Maidstone clubs, Caprice made his England Sevens debut at Hong Kong in 2009 and appeared in 16 tournaments.

His personal highlights are the 2010 Dubai victory he helped secure with key tries against Fiji and Australia, appearing in the Commonwealth Game in Delhi and his first international outing.

“My England Sevens debut came out of the blue when I was on loan with Blackheath," he said. "I went out to Hong Kong at short notice and scored a hat-trick against China in my first game which was really surreal.

“Winning Dubai last season was fantastic and when you reflect, having to beat Fiji, Australia, New Zealand and Samoa one after the other to win the title, it was a brilliant achievement."

England Sevens head coach Ben Ryan said: “Dan is a great example of a sevens player going on to be noticed by a top European team.

“We wish him every success with the next stage of his career and he’s developed really well during the time he’s spent with England Sevens. In a short space of time with us he’s gone from being an academy player to a world class sevens player.”