Newcastle Falcons are determined to win the JP Morgan Premiership Rugby 7s ...

Harlequins will go into the Series finals as slight favourites after

impressing in their Group A win, which included six tries from the player of

the round, Charlie Walker.

The 20-year-old centre scored in his side’s victories against Wasps, London

Irish and Saracens at Allianz Park, including a hat-trick in the final game.

Walker said: “The finals are looking really strong. I think Saracens are going

to give us another hard game.”

His captain, David Ward, believes his side has the impetus to go all the way.

“We are certainly going there to win and whether we do will depend on the

momentum. If we get that early we can definitely play for it.”

Chris Ashton, the England wing, was impressive on his debut performance in the

Series – scoring a try in the 21-17 victory over Wasps in the third

qualifying group at Allianz Park.

Saracens, who won the competition in 2010 and lost the 2011 final to

Newcastle, secured their place in the finals with victories over last year’s

champions London Irish (24-12) and Wasps, with Ashton leading the way.

It was Harlequins’ Walker who stole the show though, with his hat-trick in

that dramatic 24-21 victory. Quins had opened the night with a 26-19 win

over Wasps that included two tries from Walker and one apiece from Jack

Clifford and Patrice Agunda.

They then enjoyed a 42-19 victory over London Irish, with Agunda, the Kenya

Sevens player, and Ollie Lindsay-Hague both scoring twice.

The first two sides to qualify for Friday’s Series finals were Worcester

Warriors and Gloucester from the Group A stage at Kingsholm.

Worcester laid down a significant marker by securing a maximum 15 points. They

got their campaign off to a flying start by defeating Exeter 26-17 after

tries by Rhys Owen, Paul Hodgson, Max Stelling and Richard de Carpentier.

They then shocked spectators when they defeated hosts Gloucester, who had

opened the night with an impressive victory over Bath, running them out

31-19, thanks to two tries each from Stelling and James Stephenson.

Worcester’s place in the Series finals was secured with a 27-14 victory

over Bath, due to tries by Hodgson, de Carpentier, Chapman and Eden.

Gloucester had overturned a 12-10 deficit at half-time to defeat Bath with

tries by Billy Burns and Steph Reynolds to claim an impressive scalp.

But the hosts required victory in their final game, against Exeter, to ensure

they reached the finals, with Reynolds and Gareth Evans scoring twice.

Newcastle’s three impressive victories in the Group B qualifier at

Franklin’s Gardens kicked off with a 28-21 victory over hosts

Northampton. A late try by Simon Hammersley sealed an entertaining contest.

Newcastle maintained that winning feeling with a hard-fought 19-10 victory

over Leicester following two tries by Harrison Collins and the hugely

impressive Tom Catterick.

The clean sweep was secured with a 12-5 win over Sale after Joel Hodgson and

Richard Mayhew each scored tries.

Leicester, who had required a late try by Tahir El Mahdi to defeat Sale 10-7

in their opening match, clinched their place in the Series finals in the

winner-takes-all final game against Northampton in a repeat of last season’s

Premiership final.

A double by El Mahdi and a try from David Williams cancelled out an Alex Day

score for Saints as Leicester triumphed 17-5.

Although Bath narrowly missed out on qualifying for the Series finals, the

club’s chief executive Nick Blofeld said they are proud to host this year’s

showpiece event, with a crowd of 7,500 expected. “We are really looking

forward to it,” said Blofeld.

“Sevens is really taking off and its profile is growing all the time. It’s a

very exciting sport to watch, and both the relative brevity of the games

themselves and the number of tries scored seem to keep the kids interested,

too.”

Newcastle Falcons are determined to win the JP Morgan Premiership Rugby 7s ...