England Crowned Champions of Dubai Sevens
England beat Samoa 29-21 to claim Dubai Sevens title (photo: www.irb.com)
England came from behind to beat reigning World Series champions Samoa in the final of the Emirates Airline Dubai Sevens and take an early lead in the 2010/11 HSBC Sevens World Series.
Ben Ryan's side trailed 14-12 at half time, and 21-12 with three minutes remaining, but scored three tries by Simon Hunt, Dan Norton and Mat Turner to seal victory 29-21 in front of an expectant ex-pat crowd.
South Africa beat Australia 19-12 to claim the Plate, Argentina defeated Zimbabwe 21-0 to take home the Bowl after Kenya had beaten France 26-0 to win the Shield.
England lead the early Series standings with 24 points, ahead of Samoa (20) and Cup semi finalists New Zealand and Fiji (16).
FULL ROUND-UP & REACTION >>
HSBC SEVENS WORLD SERIES STANDINGS >>
RIGHTS-FREE AUDIO & PHOTOS
At the end of the Dubai event, which attracted 80,000 spectators over two superb days of Sevens Rugby, rights free photos of all teams, the four trophy lifts and HSBC guests Jonah Lomu and Josh Lewsey are available in the online Media centre, as well as broadcast quality audio with:
- England: Ben Ryan, Ben Gollings (coach & captain)
- South Africa: Cecil Afrika (hat trick in Plate final)
- Argentina: Nicolas Fernandez Lobbe (coach)
- Kenya: Humphrey Kayange (captain)
- HSBC guest: Jonah Lomu
- New Zealand: DJ Forbes (capt)
- USA: Al Caravelli (coach)
- Wales: Paul John (coach)
- Arabian Gulf: Andy Cole (Chairman)
ENDS
Further Information:
Seb Lauzier, +44 (0)7515 796 492, email: seb.lauzier@irb.com