Earlier in the day England faced Russia in their opening game. England’s Lydia Thompson was first to get points on the board with a try in the second minute. It wasn’t until the final minute of the half before Russia broke through England’s defence with Zdrokova finding the line, however England immediately counter attacked from a perfect restart with another try from Thompson. England led 10-7 at the break.

Fisher gave an ideal start crossing over the whitewash in the opening minute of the second half, however Russia’s Zdrokova again dotted down in the final minute of the half to leave the score line 15-12. A quick restart from Russia secured possession and they found the line once again to win 15-17.

England next faced Australia, ranked number two in last season’s HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series standings. In the opening minute Deborah Fleming was first to touch down with Megan Jones adding the extras. Australia responded quickly with a try from Dom du Toit and once more with Emma Sykes dotting down under the sticks leaving England trailing 7-12 at the break.

Australia’s try scoring run continued in the second half with Sykes again crossing over followed by a try from Emilee Cherry to leave the final score 7-22 to Australia.

In the final match of the day England beat Japan 26-14. Amy Wilson Hardy was first to dot down with her first try of the tournament. Holly Aitchison soon followed with a try of her own making and Megan Jones added the extras. England soaked up Japan’s continued attacking play, turning over the ball with Amy Wilson Hardy crossing the white wash again to make it 19-0 at the break.

Alex Matthews touched down in the opening minutes of the second half giving England a comfortable 26-0 lead, while Japan scored two tries in the final minutes of the game, but it was too little too late and England secured their first win of the day.

James Bailey, England Women Sevens head coach today said “I have been impressed with the team today; we knew it was going to be a steep learning curve coming into day. We showed certain elements of our core values and who we are as a team.

“We had to learn the hard way against Russia in the first game, we did so much right but it shows, you switch off for one moment at this level and you get punished. Against Australia we did some really good things and we have identified areas in our defence and attack that we can improve on going into tomorrow. We have spoken about being a tough team to beat, in the game against Japan we showed this, defending for 11 phases, turning over the ball over and then scoring, I think it says so much about us.

“This tournament will be an important stepping stone for the rest of the season, we want to constantly learn and improve game on game and are looking forward to getting day two underway.”

England Women Sevens invitational team, playing as the England Royals secured two convincing wins, 32-22 against Randwick Magic and 29-7 against Tabusoro Angels only losing to the Delta Drone Tuks, 5-17, in the last game of the day. The Royals will face Wales in the invitational cup quarter finals tomorrow (KO 7am GMT).

James Cooper, RFU Performance pathway officer today said “We are really pleased to get into the cup quarter-finals, it’s is a great achievement for a team that has come together this week ahead of the tournament. More importantly though we can see the team coming together, understanding each other’s strengths and beginning to build performances which is really pleasing.”

England Women squad, Dubai

1. Claire Allan (Capt)
2. Alex Matthews
3. Lydia Thompson
4. Katie Mason
5. Emily Scarratt
6. Deborah Fleming
7. Heather Fisher
8. Emily Scott
9. Chantelle Miell
10. Megan Jones
11. Holly Aitchison
12. Amy Wilson Hardy

Schedule Pool B results

Thursday 30th November
England 15- 17 Russia
Tries: Thompson (2), Fisher

England 7 -22 Australia
Tries: Fleming
Cons: Jones

England 26 – 14 Japan
Tries: Amy Wilson Hardy (2), Aitchison, Matthews
Cons: Jones (3)

England Women Sevens invitational team, The Royals
Kate Alder, Vicky Fleetwood, Olivia Jones, Millie Wood, Rachel Laqeretabua, Ella Wyrwas, Cara Brincat, Kelly Smith, Lilian Stoger-Goddard, Amelia Harper, Emma Hardy, Sophie Tandy

Report courtesy of the RFU

Portia Woodman (Photo: Michael Lee Taiwan Mike World Rugby)

Australia and New Zealand played out yet another thrilling final in Dubai as the Black Ferns Sevens claimed the first round of the 2016-17 HSBC World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series.

In front of a packed house at The Sevens Stadium, New Zealand took revenge for their Olympic final defeat, dominating their rivals to win 17-5.

Australia battled to the end of the 14 minute final, but tries from Portia Woodman and two from Rebekah Cordero-Tufuga saw the Kiwis collect the gold medal and the Dubai Sevens Cup. Kelly Brazier was named HSBC Player of the Final.

The victory was especially sweet for new coach Allan Bunting, who said: “We’re pretty stoked with that win. It’s been a while since we got a win over Australia and i’m sure they’ll go away and come back a lot stronger as a result of that match.

“We always go out to win but we’re still learning a lot. Most importantly the girls went out and played with heart.”

You can see all the results from both days here.

Meanwhile, Russia and England faced off in the battle for third-place, with Russia claiming the bronze medal with an impressive display. In the inaugural Challenge Trophy, which replaced the former Bowl and Plate competitions, tries from Megan Williams and Lucy Mulhall helped Ireland seal a 14-12 win over a resilient Spanish side.