GB Lions v Ireland (3/4 playoff) Photo: England Rugby

GB Lions turned around a pool defeat against Ireland in the final game to win 12-5 with tries from Lotte Clapp and Abbie Brown, which were both converted by Katy Mclean.

They opened the second day against Wales, playing as the GB Royals, with a 14-5 win. Tries from Katie Mason in the first half and Millie Wood in the second, secured England a spot in the semi-final against hosts France.

France edged ahead to lead 7–17 by half time, using the space to capitalise on any handling errors made by the new England side.

However, a quick second half try from Abbie Brown was followed up by Millie Wood who made the most of a turnover break from Lotte Clapp. England led the hosts 19 – 17 but with just three seconds left on the clock, France scored to secure their place in the Cup final.

Yesterday, GB Lions finished runners-up in their pool having beaten Belgium and Italy but lost to Ireland.

Head coach Simon Middleton said: “This is a group that wants to be defined by their ability to compete hard in every game, to be competitive, and have a desire to win whatever it takes.

“They made a pretty good start in this competition, coming out on day two having taken on board everything we discussed last night.

“We are at the start of what will be a very steep learning curve and this tournament was the first examination of their ability to learn and adapt quickly.

“That’s exactly what they did today matching their day one attitude with their execution. This was a great credit to their resilience, which is one of the most critical factors in sevens.”

Malemort is the second of two legs for the Rugby Europe Grand Prix Sevens Series, with the first having taken place in Kazan, Russia, on 11-12 June where GB Lions also finished third.

Third place result

GB Lions 12 – 5 Ireland
Tries: Brown, Clapp
Conversions: Mclean (2)

Semi-final result

GB Lions 19 – 22 France
Tries: Brennan, Brown, Wood
Conversions: Mclean (2)

Quarter-final result

GB Lions 14 – 5 GB Royals
Tries: Mason, Wood
Conversions: Cattell (2)

Pool Games

GB Lions 21 – 12 Belgium
Tries: Brennan, Smith, Cattell
Conversions: Cattell (3)

GB Lions 14 – 12 Italy
Tries: Fleming (2)
Conversions: Cattell (2)

GB Lions 5 – 27 Ireland
Tries: Smith

Report courtesy of England Rugby

Great Britain fielded two sides: Lions (England) and Royals (Wales).

The twelve teams were split into three pools as below.

Pools A: France, Spain, Netherlands, Finland
Pool B: Russia, Great Britain Royals, Portugal, Ukraine
Pool C: Great Britain Lions, Ireland, Italy, Belgium

GB Lions Squad: Abbie Brown, Natasha Brennan, Lotte Clapp, Lauren Cattell, Deborah Fleming, Katie Mason, Lucy Nye, Katy Mclean, Kelly Smith, Amy Wilson Hardy (C), Millie Wood, Rachael Woosey

GB Royals Squad: Elinor Snowsill (C), Sian Williams, Dyddgu Howell, Rhi Parker, Shona Powell Hughes, Jess Kavanagh-Williams, Elen Evans, Keira Bevan, Gemma Rowland, Sinead Breeze, Hannah Jones, Alisha Butchers

Sunday 25 September

Cup Finals

1st/2nd France 5-26 Russia

3rd/4th Ireland 5-12 Great Britain Lions

Plate Finals

5th/6th Great Britain Royals 0-10 Netherlands

7th/8th Belgium 14-19 Spain

Bowl Finals:

9th/10th Finland 0-34 Italy

11th/12th Portugal 22-5 Ukraine

Cup Semi Finals

France 22 – 19 Great Britain Lions

Russia 27-5 Ireland

Cup Quarter Finals:

France 31-7 Belgium

Russia 21-0 Netherlands

Ireland 26-0 Spain

Great Britain Royals 5-14 Great Britain Lions

Plate Semi Finals

Belgium 7-29 Great Britain Royals

Netherlands 24-5 Spain

Bowl Semi Finals:

23 10.28 Portugal 12-19 Finland

24 10.50 Italy 14-7 Ukraine

Pool Fixtures Results:

1 Great Britain Lions 21-12 Belgium
2 Ireland 12-12 Italy
3 Russia 51-0 Ukraine
4 Great Britain Royals 19-0 Portugal
5 Spain 12-7 Netherlands
6 France 53-0 Finland
7 Great Britain Lions 14-12 Italy
8 Ireland 12-5 Belgium
9 Russia 59-0 Portugal
10 Great Britain Royals 37-5 Ukraine
11 Spain 29-0 Finland
12 France 33-0 Netherlands
13 Italy 5-7 Belgium
14 Great Britain Lions 5-27 Ireland
15 Portugal 24-21 Ukraine
16 Russia 38-0 Great Britain Royals
17 Netherlands 36-0 Finland
18 France 26-14 Spain

Results will be updated throughout the day.

Abbie Brown, Katy Mclean and Amy Wilson Hardy, who captains the squad, return to England Sevens following the Rio Olympics in August.

The side will also feature a number of new names. Lotte Clapp, Lauren Cattell and Katie Mason, who all played in the 2016 Six Nations, join Lucy Nye, Kelly Smith, Millie Wood and Rachael Woosey in making their debuts on the senior sevens circuit. Natasha Brennan, who has been a member of the England Sevens programme since contracts were first awarded in October 2014, completes the squad.

While England players were part of two mixed GB squads for the first leg of the series in Kazan, Russia, England will now play as GB Lions and Wales will field a squad as the GB Royals.

With the GB Lions seeded third in the Series, they have been drawn in Pool C, facing Ireland, Italy and Belgium in the opening rounds.

Head coach Simon Middleton said: “We have some exciting new names in the squad, who have all come through age-grade rugby and will now benefit from an accelerated development in the contracted sevens programme.

“This is our first tournament together as a squad and while we have not had long to train together, we have the benefit of four experienced names in Amy, Abbie, Alice and Natasha. Their experience, on the World Series and most recently for the three in Rio, will benefit those coming into the squad.

“The whole squad has been working hard since coming together and we look forward to providing those new players with tournament experience.”

Malemort is the second of two legs for the Rugby Europe Grand Prix Sevens Series, with the first having taken place in Kazan, Russia, on 11-12 June.

SQUAD

Abbie Brown (Bristol)
Natasha Brennan (n/a)
Lotte Clapp (Saracens)
Lauren Cattell (Saracens)
Deborah Fleming (Saracens)
Katie Mason (Bristol)
Lucy Nye (Lichfield)
Katy Mclean
Kelly Smith (Worcester Valkyries)
Amy Wilson Hardy (Bristol) ©
Millie Wood (Lichfield)
Rachael Woosey (Darlington Mowden Park)

Pool Games (all times in BST with a live stream available via www.rugbyeurope.tv)

Saturday 24 September

v Belgium KO 10.00am
v Italy KO 12.45pm
v Ireland KO 3.52pm

Report courtesy of England Rugby