Kerr try rescues fifth-place points

CHARLTON Kerr scored a dramatic stoppage-time try on his World Series debut to help England to fifth place in Las Vegas last Sunday.

England lost 19-0 to New Zealand in the quarterfinal but they recovered to beat Canada 12-5 to reach the fifth-place play-off in which Kerr’s try sealed a 10-7 victory over Australia.

Tom Bowen scored an early try for England with his pace too much for Australia, but Lachie Anderson then produced a fine offload for Nick Malouf to level the score as Tom Lucas converted for 7-5 at the break.

Kerr, 19, came on for his World Series debut in the last minute and after Dan Norton collected his own punt forward he passed to the teenager to dot down the winning score.

“We did some good things against New Zealand but got some critical areas wrong,” said head coach Simon Amor.

“It is difficult conditions here – the wind is right up and it is a narrow pitch. I’m pleased with the way we responded against Canada and ground out the win.”

England showed great character in their last pool match with two tries in the last minute to beat the USA 24-17 and top their pool but it set up a clash against the All Blacks Sevens after they were stunned by Argentina.

Keen to keep up with South Africa at the top of the World Series table, England were in search of their best form but a try from DJ Forbes and a brace from Tim Mikkelson sealed victory for the Kiwis.

They led 12-0 at the break against Canada after Tom Mitchell and Richard de Carpentier went over and they held on despite Harry Jones giving Canada a lifeline with a try shortly after the restart.

Wales failed to reach the quarter-finals and lost to Scotland 28-21 in the Challenge Trophy but wins over Russia (24-5) and Japan (2119) saw them finish 13th.

South Africa maintained their undisputed grip at the top of the table beating Fiji 19-12 to claim their fourth title in five tournament this season.