England roar to third Dubai Sevens title

A capacity crowd roared in delight winger Dan Norton scored his first try of the tournament to give England a crucial 24-21 lead before Mat Turner added the icing to their triumph with a glorious individual effort in the dying seconds of the match to deny last year’s finalists Samoa.

Winners of back-to-back victories in Dubai in 2004 and 2005, England, wearing bright orange jerseys which glistened under the lights, turned on the style to being their quest for the HSBC World Sevens Series title in earnest rebounding from a shock defeat in the pool stages to Portugal.

It seemed like a blessing in disguise for England led by the mercurial Ben Gollings who increased his tally in the all-time list of Sevens points scorers to 2,418 with an inspiring performance against heavy odds.

“It’s been sensational. We keep doing and we keep waiting. Last year we didn’t quite get there, we could not get to the final. We knew that if we get to the final we could get that and we did that today,” said the England legend beaming with delight.

“It was massive. It was make or break. We put ourselves out of the hole against Fiji and we could have put ourselves in trouble against Australia in the quarter-final, but luckily we backed ourselves well and we finished. We took on Samoa and we did it,” said Gollings on their comeback wins against Fiji and Australia.

“I cannot be more proud for my boys,” he added.

“We dug ourselves out of a great big hole and played really well. I’m delighted,” said England coach Ben Ryan afterwards.
 
“For whatever reason – whether the penny dropped or having their backs against the wall, suddenly they started to listen and understand what we were trying to do.
 
“I didn’t think we would win anything after the Portugal game but I got all the guys together last night and just said we need to make the most of our chances and I felt really confident and relaxed today and just tried to enjoy it,” added the coach.
 
Samoan coach Stephen Betham said: “Of course it is disappointing to lose in the final but I think England deserved it in the end … I’m very happy with how our boys lifted their game. It’s great progress for us.”

England breached Samoa’s defence early through Oliver Lindsay-Hague with an unconverted try but the Pacific islanders hit back with two tries by their big men Simaika Mikaele and Alafoti Fa’osiliva, who burst through from a line out, to put them ahead 14-5.

Lindsay-Hague scored his fifth try in Dubai clearing a defender with a lovely sidestep and touch down under the posts for England to reduce the gap at the break 14-12.

Fa’osiliva burst through for his fifth try of the tournament to give Samoa a 21-12 cushion.

But the introduction of Simon Hunt who scored the last-gasp try against Fiji in place of Isoa Damu energised England’s fight back in the last three minutes of a pulsating final.

Dan Caprice made the initial breakthrough before faltering with the line in sight but Hunt who scrambled over even as he was brought down to close the gap to 21-17.

Norton scored possibly the most important try of his career when he was sent on his way by Gollings in the final minute of the game.

With the final hooter sounding after the restart, all eyes were on who would retain possession. England not only wrestled back the initiative but Turner muscled his way past with defenders and virtually dragged himself over the line to seal a memorable triumph for the Three Lions.

England produced a near flawless performance particularly in defence to upset Commonwealth Games champions New Zealand 19-14 in the second semifinal.

Samoa needed a last-gasp try from Fautua Otto to beat off a strong challenge from Fiji and win a fiercely contested first semifinal 24-21.

New Zealand were punished for their mistakes by a rampant England side after an even first half in which the scores were tied 7-7 after the Kiwis drew first blood when Lote Raikabula went over in the third minute.

England’s riposte was brilliant and came almost immediately when Norton covered good ground before sending Gollings to score under the posts.

Two tries in quick succession in the second period by scrum half Lindsay-Hague after a bout passing which gave them a 19-7 advantage virtually sealed the match for England.

But New Zealand showed they still had fight left in them when Tim Mikkelson found space after a kick and chase to close the gap to 19-14.

The Kiwis had possession when the hooter sounded and advantage in numbers but England hung on grimly to book their berth in the final in Dubai after two years.

Earlier, Samoa playing without their injured captain Lolo Liu, kept their composure trailing 21-19 with a couple of minutes remaining before setting up the winner after a series of phased out moves.

Nasoni Roko scored two converted tries for Fiji to put them 14-12 ahead at half time.

Ofisa Treviranus scored in each half after Mikaele Pesamino completed a fine passing to score Samoa’s first try.

Fiji wrested back the lead 21-19 when Mitieli Nacagilevu scored under the posts in the fifth minute after a fine break by Emosi Vucago.

But Samoa held their nerve to book their berth in the final when Otto went over.

England and Fiji had to come from behind to win their quarter-finals with last-gasp tries earlier in the day.

South Africa dominated for much of the game against Fiji even denying them possession and were leading 19-14 with a minute left.

But Fiji who were down 19-7, clawed back through tries Nasoni Roko and Seremaia Burotu whose second effort in added time tied the scores with Emosi Vucago adding the extra points to give them a thrilling 21-19 victory.

England endured a great fightback by Ashes rivals Australia to pull off a 24-21 victory with Dan Caprice scoring the winner following a break from midfield by James Rodwell after the hooter had sounded.

They were off to a flier with tries from Lindsay-Hague and Gollings to give them a 12-0 advantage before Australia struck back with a brace either side of the break from their hard running winger John Grant to edge ahead 14-12.

Gollings’ second try under the posts after Norton slipped through the defence saw England regain the lead 19-14 with two minutes left.

Bernard Foley burst through to dent England’s hopes of victory converting the try himself after a powerful break by Gregory Jeloudev.

But Rodwell fielded the ball after the restart and then muscled his way past before handing to Caprice to score the winner.

“It’s fair to say that we got hammered in the penalty count. We played against a good England side, who have been together since the Commonwealth Games. But the match still went down the wire,” said New Zealand coach Gordon Tietjens.

“You have to put things in context, England were 30 seconds away from being in the Plate competition having lost to Portugal and then it was 19-all against Fiji. This is how Sevens get closer these days. Going in to the next one there will be lot of teams which will be better and far improved in their performance. But we will bounce back,” said the legendary Kiwi coach looking ahead the second leg of the HSBC World Sevens Series in George, South Africa next weekend.

South Africa won the Plate final against last year’s winners Australia thanks to a hat-trick of tries from Cecil Afrika who converted two tries to score all the points in their 19-12 triumph.

Australia went ahead 12-0 through tries by Hamish Angus and Daniel Yakapo before South Africa’s fight back.

Argentina blanked Zimbabwe 21-0 in the Bowl final while Kenya romped to a 26-0 victory against France in the Shield.

Samoa 38 United States 5

Fiji 21 South Africa 19

Australia 21 England 24

New Zealand 35 Wales 7

Samoa 24 Fiji 21

England 19 New Zealand 14

Samoa 21 England 29

United States 10 South Africa 24

Australia 26 Wales 12

South Africa 19 Australia 12

Kenya 0 Argentina 43

Portugal 7 Russia 10

Scotland 28 France 22

Zimbabwe 24 Arabian Gulf 14

Argentina 31 Russia 7

Scotland 17 Zimbabwe 28

Argentina 21 Zimbabwe 0

Kenya 19 Portugal 12

France 26 Arabian Gulf 19

Kenya 26 France 0

Hollywood 7s 12 PWC Rugby 7

Wooden Spoon Blues 24 Pyrenees 7s 12

Marauders International 48 France Development 10

7 France 0 Samurai Dubai 34

CNCF Vets 26 Xodus Steelers 0

Abu Dhabi Harlequins Vets 7 Dubai Hurricanes Vets I 12

Dubai Celts 7 Dubai Dingoes 12

Kuwait Scorpions 7 Multiplex Marauders 17

The English College 0 The British School Al Khurbait 40

TOA Dubai Ladies 22 Dubai Hurricanes Ladies I 19

Dubai Exiles 15 Barrelhouse YOBs 22