Rugby Football Union - Allen key to Middlesex Sevens triumph

Allen key to Middlesex Sevens triumph

by Dave Barton


	Simon Amor of Gloucester photo by Getty Images

13 August 2005
ENGLAND Sevens captain Simon Amor saluted Anthony Allen after the youngster’s try double secured Gloucester their first Compass Group Middlesex Sevens title.

Allen crowned a week in which he was named in England’s Senior National Academy by grabbing a brace and forcing a penalty try in the 35-26 final victory over London Wasps.

Amor, lynchpin of the triumph in front of a crowd of 32,000, said: “’Ant’ has a big future. He plays with his head up, he looks and scans, and like all great players he seems to have time on the ball.

“Sevens may be a way of developing him and Gloucester are very lucky to have somebody of his calibre. I was really pleased with him and with the other younger players like Olly Morgan and Will Matthews.”

Former Millfield School pupil Allen, who scored three ties in total, added: “I really enjoyed it. Simon is such an inspiration in the team talks and the way he plays. He has the experience and knows exactly what he is talking about.”

While Allen’s Gloucester claimed the title, London Wasps’ former boy band star Thom Evans had Twickenham rocking.

Evans, who sang and played guitar with Tw2y 4 Se7en, grabbed nine tries, and said: “I really enjoyed it out there today. It was my first time at Twickenham – it was very tiring but it was a great experience.”

England Sevens coach Mike Friday, who was watching the action, said: “Thom is somebody we have been watching for the last six months and we are certainly taking a very close look at him along with several other talented youngsters who have impressed today.

“It’s always good to see a domestic sevens tournament. We have seen a lot of young players today who we haven’t seen in a Premiership shirt before.”

Premiership champions Wasps looked to be kicking off the season where they had left off by lifting silverware.

But Amor had other ideas and with the score level at 21-21, he showed his world-class sevens experience to turn the screw and after James Bailey edged the one score ahead, the skipper made sure by finding the gap and racing away.

The teams were level 14-14 at half-time after Allen’s tries sandwiched an Evans score and a penalty try for Wasps.

Earlier, Gloucester edged a tight semi-final 14-7 against NEC Harlequins with Amor and Morgan scoring tries, while a double from Evans and one apiece from Tom Rees and Mark Lock helped London Wasps to a 22-12 victory over Leicester Tigers.

In the quarter-finals, Gloucester knocked out holders the British Army, whom they lost to in last summer’s final, thanks to their rising England Sevens star James Bailey.

Bailey’s fourth try of the tournament proved crucial when he squeezed in at the corner to secure a 19-12 victory.

Simon Keogh’s 80-metre try in the 22-15 victory over Bath sent NEC Harlequins through to the last four.

Keogh’s score followed a brace from Tom Williams, with sheer pace taking the Irishman out of reach of Andy Higgins.

In the other quarter-finals, four tries from Evans wrapped up London Wasps’ 33-28 win over London Irish despite a comeback from the Exiles, while Leicester’s Ian Humphreys – younger brother of Irish international David – scored in the 10-0 win over Saracens.

Compass Group Middlesex Sevens, Final: Gloucester 35 London Wasps 26

Gloucester: James Bailey, Olly Morgan, James Forrester, Luke Narroway, Will Matthews, Anthony Allen, Simon Amor (capt). Reps: Jake Boer, Brad Davies, Marcel Garvey.

Scorers: Tries –Allen 2, Bailey; pen try, Amor; Cons – Amor (5).

London Wasps: Tom Rees (capt), Eoin Reddan, Garth Chamberlain, Thom Evans, James Haskell, Rob Laird, Jeremy Staunton. Reps: Tim Foster, Joe Mbu, Mark Lock.

Scorers: Tries – Evans (2), pen try, Reddan; Cons – Jeremy Staunton (3)

Semi-final: Gloucester 14 Quins 7, London Wasps 22 Leicester Tigers 12

Quarter-finals: British Army 12 Gloucester 19, NEC Harlequins 22 Bath 15, London Wasps 33 London Irish 28, Leicester Tigers 10 Saracens 0.

1st Round: British Army 24 Bedford Blues 0, Gloucester Rugby 21 Worcester Warriors 17, NEC Harlequins 43 Blackheath 0, Northampton Saints 12 Bath Rugby 26, London Wasps 27 Leeds Tykes 12, Newcastle Falcons 14 London Irish 24, Leicester Tigers 40 Bristol Rugby 5, Saracens 31 Sale Sharks 12.

Plate final: Worcester Warriors Newcastle Falcons

Plate semi-finals: Worcester Warriors 19 Northampton 14, Leeds 15 Newcastle 21