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England Sevens off to solid start in Edinburgh
Saturday May 28, 2011
Issued by Simon Mills

England opened the Emirates Airline Edinburgh Sevens with a 24-5 win over Portugal this morning.

Bristol Rugby wing Dan Norton, John Brake, James Rodwell and Harlequins half back Oliver Lindsay-Hague supplied the tries with captain Ben Gollings added two conversions.

England started slowly with Norton’s 29th try of the HSBC Sevens World Series opening the scoring only for Portugal to strike from long range with Sebastiao da Cunha touching down.

But they were more patient and increasingly fluent in the second half in the wind at Murrayfield when Brake and Lindsay-Hague struck from long range and Dan Caprice’s quick thinking down the right opened the door for Rodwell.

Despite the disappointments of the London Sevens – where they failed to pick up any points – England needed to lift themselves and defend their second place in the overall series. England (121pts) are being chased hard by South Africa (116), Samoa (112) and Fiji (110).

They made two changes to the squad with England flanker Steffon Armitage unavailable and Tom Powell recovering from a small depressed skull fracture.

The newcomers were Saracens flanker Don Barrell, who started against Portugal and England Students number eight Richard de Carpentier, who came off the bench in the second half.

England face Pool B opponents Spain and Wales in their other opening day games.

Norton touches down try No.30 for England Sevens
Saturday May 28, 2011
Issued by Simon Mills

England Sevens wing Dan Norton

Dan Norton took his try tally to 30 for the season with two scores in England’s opening games at the Emirates Airline Edinburgh Sevens.

The Bristol Rugby wing got England off to a solid start with the first score in a 24-5 win against Portugal, then scored a long-range stunner as Spain were beat 22-12.

Two out of two wins in Pool B set England up for a place in the quarter finals and the result of their final game against Wales will determine who they face on Day 2.

Norton, two Dan Caprice efforts and a late try for captain Ben Gollings helped see off Spain, who scored two breakaway efforts through Juan Cano and Matias Tudela.

Earlier Norton, John Brake, James Rodwell and Oliver Lindsay-Hague had touched down against Portugal.

It represented a positive start for England, who needed to lift themselves after a disappointing weekend at Twickenham as they try to hang on to second place in the overall series. England (121pts) are being chased hard by South Africa (116), Samoa (112) and Fiji (110).

They made two changes to the squad on duty at Murrayfield with England flanker Steffon Armitage unavailable and Tom Powell recovering from a small depressed skull fracture.

Saracens flanker Don Barrell appeared from the start against Portugal and England Students number eight Richard de Carpentier came off the bench in the second half.

England Sevens into quarter finals but beaten by Wales in final Edinburgh group match
Saturday May 28, 2011
Issued by Simon Mills

England will face champions New Zealand in tomorrow’s quarter finals of the Emirates Airline Edinburgh Sevens after being beaten 19-12 by Wales in their final pool match at Murrayfield today.

Comfortable Pool B wins over Portugal (24-5) and Spain (22-12) set up the group decider against Wales at the final event of this season’s HSBC Sevens World Series.

But despite Dan Norton’s 31st try of the campaign and Ben Gollings’s converted effort, England made too many errors in defence and attack – missing key tackles and losing the ball in contact – with Adam Thomas scoring twice and Alex Cuthbert once to earn Wales a date with France in the knockout stages.

England had gone into the final event of the series looking to bounce back from a disappointing London leg and hang on to second place in the overall table where the hold a five-point lead on their nearest rivals.

They were forced to make two changes to the squad with England flanker Steffon Armitage unavailable and Tom Powell needing surgery to a skull fracture.

Saracens flanker Don Barrell appeared from the start against Portugal and England Students number eight Richard de Carpentier made his debut off the bench in the second half.

They started the day with a 24-5 win against Portugal with Norton, John Brake, James Rodwell and Oliver Lindsay-Hague all touching down.

Spain pushed hard with tries from Juan Cano and Matias Tudela but Norton’s second of the day, two tries from Dan Caprice and one for Gollings completed the 22-12 win.