England 7s set the standard in Bucharest

Sevens Rugby

England completed a clean sweep of pool game wins on the opening day of the FIRA Bucharest GP Sevens in Romania.

Simon Amor’s side beat HSBC Sevens World Series rivals Wales 40-7 and Portugal 26-14, and also recorded a 19-0 victory over Italy and a 14-7 success against hosts Romania. With one group game against Georgia to come, they are already assured of a place in the semi-finals with one of Russia, Germany or France their likely opponents.

Former England Under 20 captain Alex Gray, wing Ollie Marchon and fly-half Christian Lewis-Pratt all touched down in the 19-0 victory against Italy. England then stepped up a gear against Wales, running in six tries with Dan Norton scoring twice and Tom Mitchell, Tom Powell, Mike Ellery and Phil Burgess also touching down.

Hosts Romania gave England their toughest test after Andrei Bucurescu cancelled out John Brake’s early score before captain Powell settled things in the final minute. England trailed for the only time on Day One against Portugal after Pedro Avila’s early try but responded with a brace of tries from former Cornish Pirates flanker Burgess and further scores from Marcus Watson and Mitchell.

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Article source: http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/rugby/international/o-mahony-and-ireland-targeting-precision-1.1426182

England 7s set the standard in Bucharest