May 25, 2008

Frustrating finish for England

England 12-14 Samoa

England’s progress in the Emirates Airline London Sevens came to a frustrating halt after a 14-12 defeat by Samoa in the Cup semi finals.

It was a desperately disappointing ending for an England team which had reached the penultimate stage of the Cup by dismissing World Series champions New Zealand.

England were put on the defensive straight from the kick-off but their determined tackling kept the Samoans at bay. But just seconds before half time Samoa made the breakthrough they needed with a try and conversion from Reupena Lavasa for a 7-0 interval advantage.

Then when England were hit by a well-worked try for Alafoti Fa’osiliva and the conversion England were facing a hard uphill struggle to get back on terms.

But as he did against New Zealand Leeds wing Tom Biggs came off the bench to score a magnificent try , almost identical to his winning contribution against the All Blacks.

Ben Gollings just missed the difficult touchline conversion which meant England needed to score twice.  It was an almost impossible task in the time left but Ben Foden showed that his side would fight to the last by bursting through midfield to score an impressive try, before kicking the conversion.

But immediately the final hooter sounded and England’s brave effort had just fallen short.

England coach Ben Ryan, however, believes his side have bounced back after “the depths of despair in Adelaide”.  Speaking at the end of the London Sevens Ryan said : “I think we took a huge step forward this weekend. This was the first time in five years that England have beaten New Zealand in international sevens.

“I had hoped that the confidence we gained from that win would have been the springboard for a semi final win. But it was not to be.  One or two small errors and some faulty decision-making cost us the game.

“We played well in the first half but one turnover allowed Samoa to score just on half time and that gave them the upper hand.

“There is no doubt the addition of England Saxon players like Rob Webber made a huge difference.  If we could have them on a regular basis then I’m sure England would have the potential to push the button.  We can win world titles if we have quality players” concluded the England coach.

England: Andy Vilk (Sale Sharks), Chris Cracknell (Cornish Pirates), Ben Gollings (Sunnybank, Australia), Uche Oduoza (Worcester Warriors), Ben Foden (Sale Sharks), Rob Webber (London Wasps), Kevin Barrett (Exeter Chiefs).

Replacements: Tom Biggs (Leeds Carnegie), Lee Dickson (Newcastle Falcons), Ollie Phillips (Newcastle Falcons)

Scorers: Foden (t,c), Biggs (t)

Follow England Sevens by visiting www.rfu.com/sevens

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