Russian defeat leaves England in fourth

ENGLAND Women Sevens will go into the remainder of the season confident of their abilities after finishing fourth in the opening round of the World Series in Dubai.

Travelling to the Middle East with an inexperienced squad, England came through the opening day to qualify for the Cup play offs despite losing to Canada in their last pool game.

A last minute conversion from Alice Richardson saw them beat Fiji in the quarter-finals but the side’s inexperience was exposed in the semifinals losing out to Olympic gold medallists Australia.

They then went on to lose 17-14 to Russia in the bronze final but head coach Simon Middleton was happy with what he saw.

“We came here with realistic expectations and were aiming for a top six finish, given we have a group who are so new to the World Series,” he said. “To come and get a fourth is very pleasing.

“The final game showed where we are at against the high level teams. We lacked a bit of forward momentum and the cutting edge you get from senior players. This group will learn. It’s been a great experience for them.

“This is a young group and our more senior players have been outstanding in leading the squad. This gives us a great deal of confidence to go forward and grow.”

Natasha Brennan scored the first of two England tries in their final game but the Russian defence proved too strong and they took every chance they were given to score three times, including two from Elena Zdrokova.

England started the day with that dramatic 19-17 victory over Fiji, courtesy of Richardson’s late conversion with tries from Heather Fisher and Jo Watmore.

Despite early pressure from England in the semifinals, Australia quickly transitioned from defence to attack and pulled away in the second half to claim a 31-10 win.

But the Aussies fell short in the final, losing 17-5 to New Zealand.