England win Dubai Rugby Sevens

Tuesday, 7 December 2010 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

After a weekend of dramatic twists and turns, England emerged triumphant to be crowned Cup champions at the Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens. The English side rose from a defeat to Portugal on day one of the competition to take the title in a thrilling final against Samoa.

England were first to put points on the board, thanks to a try from Oliver Lyndsay-Hague, who crossed the line again just before the break.

Two successfully converted tries from the Samoans, however, saw them going into half time 14-12 up.

Samoa then managed to score just once in the second half before England surged ahead to claim a 29-21 win - their first in Dubai since 2005. “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.”

Samoan coach Stephen Betham, added, “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 had earlier booked their spot in the final after a 19-14 victory over defending champions New Zealand in the semi-final, while Samoa got the better of Fiji, winning 24-21 in another closely contested semi.

Earlier in the day, Commonwealth Games silver medallists Australia and 2008 Dubai champions South Africa were knocked out of Cup contention at the quarterfinal stage. Both lost out in the final minutes - South Africa to Fiji by 21-19 and Australia to England 24-21. South Africa went on to win the Plate competition, defeating Australia 19-12 in the final, while Argentina won the Bowl with an emphatic 21-0 victory over Zimbabwe and Kenya the Shield after defeating France 26-0.

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