England will face Australia in Hong Kong Sevens quarter-finals
Saturday 9 April 2016 14:32, UK
England will face Australia in the Cup quarter-final of the Hong Kong Sevens after finishing day two top of their pool following a win over Scotland and a draw with Russia.
England followed up yesterday's 21-14 victory over South Africa with a 19-0 win over Scotland thanks to tries from Richard De Carpentier and two from Dan Norton.
Norton's second try took him past the 1,000 point mark in the HSBC World Sevens Series - a magnificent milestone for the flyer.
However, England found the going tough against a physical Russia side and had to settle for a draw when Simplikevich scored near the end. England's tries came from Tom Bowen and Cameron Cowell in the second half.
The result meant England finished top of Pool B and will now play Australia (5.04am BST) in the quarter-final, live on Sky Sports 2 HD.
In the other quarter-finals defending champions Fiji take on Kenya, New Zealand will play Wales and USA play South Africa.
Saracens-bound flyer Savenaca Rawaca starred on Saturday as defending champions Fiji looked the team to beat at the Hong Kong Sevens, the unofficial dress rehearsal for the Rio Olympics.
Rawaca scored a dazzling opener in Fiji's 36-10 win over Wales and crossed again in the second half as the world series title-holders set up a quarter-final against Kenya.
Fiji coach Ben Ryan was encouraged after his team, who are bidding to win their country's first ever Olympic gold in August, improved from Friday's 19-17 scare against Canada.
Live HSBC Sevens World Series
"We're still probably not absolutely firing, I think defensively we'll go up a notch tomorrow. But after what was a very tough game last night it's good to come through unscathed," said Ryan.
The former England coach added that the form of Rawaca, who will join Saracens next season, underlined the quality now on show in the sevens world series.
"He's hit form. We've given him hard work in training. He's 108kg and that's a lot of muscle to throw around for 14 minutes and we ask him to play for 14 minutes most of the time as well," Ryan said.
Live HSBC Sevens World Series
"But he is playing well. He's very hard to stop... Save will play World Cup 2019 for Fiji, he'll stand out for Saracens. Gone are the days where these (sevens) guys are seen as junior rugby players - they're world-class in their own right."
