Amor proud, despite loss in Final
England fell at the final hurdle of the Wellington Sevens, finishing second behind hosts New Zealand – after losing a tense Final 21-27.
With the home support New Zealand shot out of the blocks and went 10-0 up in no time. Marcus Watson brought England to within three at 10-7, but 17 year-old Reiko Ioane had the last say of the half, dotting down to make it 15-7.
Two more New Zealand tries took the game beyond England at 27-7, but late scores from captain Tom Mitchell and John Brake made it 27-21 at the final whistle.
The second-place finish leaves England fifth placed in the World Sevens Series, two points behind Australia in fourth – on the brink of Olympic qualification.
"I'm incredibly proud of the guys," coach Simon Amor said.
"We showed great spirit to get into the final, our pride and character shone through, and I'm very proud.
"It's always nice to be in a cup final – it's why we play the game, the guys want to be competing at the highest level and winning trophies. We still have a long way to go with the programme, but this is a good step forward.
"We had a few players competing in their first tournament for us and the atmosphere in Wellington was a big factor – that experience will stand them in good stead.
"It's never ideal to lose players with the experience of Dan Bibby, Dan Norton and Phil Burgess, but it gives opportunities to other players and I'm pleased with how they have stepped up as we head into the Las Vegas leg."
DREAM TEAM! What do you make of the team from @SevensWelly? pic.twitter.com/2BshWLOT29
— World Rugby Sevens (@WorldRugby7s) February 7, 2015
