Rugby videos of tackles, tries, funny incidents and more: England beat Samoa to take the Dubai Sevens title

Monday, December 06, 2010

England beat Samoa to take the Dubai Sevens title

England came back from being 21-12 down to beat Samoa 29-21 in the Dubai Sevens final on Saturday, claiming the tournament win over the reigning champions and picking up their first tournament win in Dubai since 2005.

The England side suffered an early setback when Portugal beat them in what was one of the biggest upsets seen on the Sevens circuit in years. A switch to the maligned orange jersey seemed to kick them into gear and things went right from there on, even if the results were tight.

A narrow win over Fiji and then similar wins over Australia in the quarters, and New Zealand in the semis meant that England progressed to the final to put their Commonwealth Games disappointment behind them.

"A couple of the senior management were here from Twickenham. Hopefully we have converted them. Maybe the worm has turned for England sevens and you will see a new chapter. This is a pretty exciting time for all of us," said coach Ben Ryan.

"Hopefully we can stir the England Sevens beast to be a pretty powerful weapon over the years for England rugby."

In the final young Harlequins scrumhalf Oliver Lindsay-Hague scored twice with Simon Hunt, Dan Norton, and Mat Turner also crossing for important tries.

"We bounced back well and I couldn't be more proud of the boys," said England captain and Sevens veteran, Ben Gollings.

This video gives a nice summary of the games leading to the final, and the main match itself.

Time: 06:39
Note: With thanks to the IRB

wow, that dan noughton has a step on him.

By Anonymous, at December 06, 2010 12:46 pm
That was awesome. Norton has fucking feet

By RedYeti, at December 06, 2010 1:09 pm
Haha, probably should read *fucking great feet

By RedYeti, at December 06, 2010 1:10 pm
Wow, England have got some really exciting players at the moment, Norton, Lindsay-Hague, Caprice...

By Ed, at December 06, 2010 1:31 pm
RD, isn't it Ben Gollings rather than Simon Gollings? Thanks for the vid.

By Phil, at December 06, 2010 1:42 pm
Yes, it is. Not sure where I got Simon from! Thanks for pointing it out.

By GMC, at December 06, 2010 2:35 pm
Very nice. Love the bit at 1:50!

By Von, at December 06, 2010 3:19 pm
Wow, an Englishmen out-stepping an aussie...well I never!

By Alexander, at December 06, 2010 3:44 pm
Africans generally have faster twitch muscles, it's not surprising they're out stepping Aussies. Being born in England hasn't changed their genetic makeup lol

By Chris, at December 06, 2010 4:00 pm
Good for Portugal for claiming a big scalp, and England for winning the Sevens.

If only Scotland would draft a few big time players and make a similar charge on a title.

By Anonymous, at December 06, 2010 4:07 pm
Amazing stuff. I remember Ollie Lindsay Hague playing in schools rugby in England and imporessing. He's at loan at Qins I think, sure going to be a star in the future, along with Caprice and Norton.

7's looking good right now!

By Juggernauter, at December 06, 2010 4:09 pm
Thx for this good vid, RD.
But don't say it's a "summary of the final", cause it's onyl an apology for english tries ;o)
Anyway, grats to England 7's.

By Elric, at December 06, 2010 5:02 pm
Those england jerseys are awesome

By WelshOsprey, at December 06, 2010 5:27 pm
Some fantastic running and stepping. So this is where all the english backline talent has been hiding

By Anonymous, at December 06, 2010 5:39 pm
yea much better England jerseys. Especially the home one, just plain white none of this silver/graphite shit the full side has

By Anonymous, at December 06, 2010 6:00 pm
why cant the england 15's side play with such confidence to beat the opposition one on one, you would never see cueto or tindall scoring those sorts of tries

By Anonymous, at December 06, 2010 6:03 pm
Im sure half that team would be way better than most of the england 15's squad atm if they got some 15 a side training in.

By Anonymous, at December 06, 2010 6:46 pm
To the anon above - Not a chance.

The guys are great at stepping and running but there is so much more space and a lot less technical skill requirements in Sevens. Have you ever seen them kick? Or a take a defensive high ball under pressure?

Much like Tom Varndell Norton, Hague and Caprice would look very out of their depth in a 15s game.

Great athletes just different skill sets.

By t0m0, at December 06, 2010 7:18 pm
yeah i suppose ur right t0m0, but at least i can still hope for miracle england backs

By Anonymous, at December 06, 2010 8:44 pm
Different skillset from 15's indeed, but there was some skill on display in that video!

Great confidence from those young players as well, a lot of potential in that team.

Never thought I'd see Wolverine play a game of rugby, but I think I just did :D Any chance of Gollings getting the lead role in a new Marvel movie?

By Sander, at December 06, 2010 8:56 pm
I almost can't even watch sevens - the sheer athleticism of these guys is scary. I played a pick-up match of 7's after a 15's game one weekend and damn near felt like I was going to die.

I wonder how it is they can fill up entire stadiums for sevens tournaments - in places like Dubai and Hong Kong, at that.

And as for the different skill sets...most of these guys do play 15's, though, don't they - and for major club sides?

By fry, at December 06, 2010 9:16 pm
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

By Anonymous, at December 06, 2010 10:28 pm
not a fan of England, but that was some brilliant rugby displayed by them.

By Anonymous, at December 07, 2010 12:02 am
Sevens appears to have official reached it's critical mass tipping point. Time to expand the series.

I vote for Tokyo, Paris, Buenos Aires, Moscow, and just to throw a wildcard in there... maybe Mumbai or Beijing.

By Max, at December 07, 2010 12:14 am
Toss in more North American series stops and 7's will be up there with XV's in no time

By p00p, at December 07, 2010 1:38 am
Yeah I agree with poop. Just got done playing a little sevens in Hawaii. Throw a few more games into North America, like New York. LA, and Vancouver.

By Hendrick, at December 07, 2010 2:52 am
great performance, but they now need t back it up.

Lets not forget this was only the first tournament of the series.

RE: 7's vs 15's, good breeding ground for basic skills but very different game to 15's, no garuntee that a 7's player will perform in 15's - although history shows a lot have done very well.

By goodNumber10, at December 07, 2010 8:22 am
Martin Johnson should seriously consider bringing Dan Norton in to the England team, his stepping is awesome England need someone like him!!

By !, at December 07, 2010 12:19 pm
Sevens has had two events added to the calendar already this season has it not? I think some people are missing the point, the goal of 7's was never supposed to be to expand to the point that it is competing with 15's, it was supposed to be a development tool.

If you add any more tournaments then what pro club is going to allow their young players to be missing for 3 weeks at a time for every tournament in the knowledge they will barely see the players all season? Thats why the prem academy players are no longer involved. Not going to happen.

By Dan C, at December 07, 2010 12:38 pm
Well done England - as an England fan finally something to celebrate. Not sure about some of the new kit - I reckon those new orange jersey's blinded the opposition and gave us an advantage!

I would prefer Norton over Cueto any day in the England squad...still as others have said maybe the 7's players are not tactically astute enough.

By NIWiTa, at December 07, 2010 1:52 pm
now two full XV's of all out sevens players going at it for 80mins would be something to watch..

By Anonymous, at December 08, 2010 1:04 am
I caught a few of the quarter and semis on the TV, and the thing I liked most was that they were all close and therefore exciting games. Not only the talent on display, but the parity between teams made it so exciting (especially Fiji vs Samoa). This is one aspect that I hope is prevalent when Rugby 7s debuts at the olympics, as it will help keep the sport as an olympic event.
BTW, Ben Gollings is a freak of nature...

By granite, at December 08, 2010 1:24 am
Maybe different skillsets, but sevens is great for showing off young, talented players who can often be molded into great 15s players (e.g. Corey Jane, Mils Muliaina, the Gear brothers, Christian Cullen). I wouldn't be surprised if a few of these guys (Norton, Hague, Caprice) could be pretty useful in 15s,even as they naturally grow through the high-level 15s coaching and playing regimen.

Great play, England! Deserving victors (from a loyal Kiwi fan here). That was some great rugby to watch.

By GustavSchmustav, at December 08, 2010 11:18 pm