Team England Women Sevens will face New Zealand in the semi-final of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games after finishing second in pool B.
England won 45-0 against Wales on day two following yesterday’s two pool matches where they beat Fiji 17-5 but lost to Australia 12-29 at the Robina Stadium.
England will face New Zealand at 02:21 BST on Sunday 15 April which will be broadcast on the BBC.
Knowing a win today would secure their semi-final spot, England were ahead against Wales after 40 seconds through Deborah Fleming.
Natasha Hunt’s scored from a quick tap penalty before a similar try from Emily Scarratt. Hunt’s second try of the game came off the back of a scrum.
England’s fifth score followed straight from the restart after half-time as Emily Scott gathered, dummied and raced through. Amy Wilson Hardy showed her pace around the outside twice towards the end as England racked up 45 points without conceding to comfortably win.
“We set out to just go out and play our game and the girls were amazing – we couldn’t have asked for any more – the defence was spot on and in attack we were flowing so we’re really happy with that,” said try scorer Natasha Hunt.
“We’ve been training really hard to be able to move between different styles of play and I think that we showed that against Wales today.”
Heather Fisher added: “For us out here it’s about being the best version of ourselves and taking each game as it comes.
“We’ll keep going to the very end and keep fighting. Everyone wants a medal, it’s a dream and we’re not going to give up.”
On day one of the tournament England beat Fiji 17-5 in their opening pool match on the Gold Coast but lost 12-29 to hosts Australia at the Robina Stadium.
England scored in the first minute against Fiji as they won the ball back from their own kick-off and worked it across the pitch a couple of times for Deborah Fleming to smartly finish. However the Fijians scored one for themselves and they went in at half time with the scores level at 5-5.
A superb break from behind England’s try line by Meg Jones saw her offload to Emily Scarratt who ran 80 metres to dot down under the posts.
England wrapped up the opening pool game when Lydia Thompson came on and took a ball back on an inside line from captain Abbie Brown for their third score.
England faced the hosts Australia in their second game and found themselves down early before some neat handling saw Abbie Brown sprint in from distance to level the game.
Fleming’s second try in two games gave England the advantage before Ellia Green’s try made it 12-12 at the break with the game finely poised.
Despite the introduction of some of the replacements, England could not find a score after half-time and three Australian tries saw it finish 12-29 to them.
“It was frustrating, we rattled Australia definitely at the start but we just couldn’t quite hold onto it, but this is sevens,” said Amy Wilson Hardy.
“They played smart and we couldn’t hold onto the ball in crucial moments as they put a lot of pressure on our try line. They had some great finishes and they’re a good team.”
Abbie Brown added: “I’m massively proud to have led this group of girls out here – especially to the massive crowds here today.
“Hopefully we’re inspiring other people to play rugby because that’s what it’s all about.”
James Bailey’s side next face Wales in their final pool game at 09:59 BST on Saturday 14 April in a game which will be available on the BBC.
Team England Women Sevens team for Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games:
Claire Allan
Jess Breach
Abbie Brown ©
Heather Fisher
Deborah Fleming
Natasha Hunt
Megan Jones
Alex Matthews
Emily Scarratt
Emily Scott
Lydia Thompson
Amy Wilson Hardy
Travelling reserve: Vicky Fleetwood
Pool B: England 17-5 Fiji
Tries: Deborah Fleming, Emily Scarratt, Lydia Thompson
Pool B: England 12-29 Australia
Tries: Abbie Brown, Deborah Fleming
Pool B: England 45-0 Wales
Tries: Deborah Fleming, Natasha Hunt (2), Emily Scarratt (2), Amy Wilson Hardy (2)
Report courtesy of the
