England Women face a tough uphill battle to secure a place in the finals of the Amsterdam Sevens on Sunday after failing to finish top of their pool on Saturday.
A 7-12 defeat to the USA in the final pool game of the day saw England finish fourth in the standings on day one, pitting them against IRB Challenge Cup Sevens London finalists the Netherlands and Dubai winners Canada on Sunday in the final pool stages.
England, fielding only six players who lifted the IRB Challenge Cup London title last weekend, started the day well with a 24-0 victory over Wales. Lichfield’s Natasha Hunt ran in a hat-trick of tries and Jennifer Brightmore also touched down. Sarah McKenna added four points from the boot.
In England’s second match they were as dominant, inflicting a 26-0 victory over South Africa. This time Natasha Brennan, Rachael Burford, captain Sonia Green and Abigail Chamberlain touched down. Alice Richardson and Hunt added three conversions.
But in their final encounter the young England side struggled against the on-form Eagles. Brennan touched down for her second try of the tournament and Richardson converted but two tries from the USA and a conversion was too much for England to overcome.
England Women Sevens Head Coach Barry Maddocks said: “Obviously we are disappointed to drop a game and we now have a tough morning ahead of us with games against the Netherlands and Canada who we know are very good sides.
“Basic errors let us down, at times we just didn’t perform and against the USA we were turned over more than we should have been. To be fair to the USA they deserved to win on the day.
“For us we have got a lot of hard work to do if we are to qualify for the final, but days like this are an important learning experience especially for a young squad like this. However, we will be very much up for this tomorrow. The players will definitely be giving it everything they have.”
Amsterdam Sevens Day 1 Results
England 24 Wales 0
Tries: Hunt (3), Brightmore
Conversions: McKenna (2)
England 26 South Africa 0
Tries: Brennan, Burford, Green, Chamberlain
Conversions: Richardson (2), Hunt
England 7 USA 12
Tries: Brennan
Conversions: Richardson
England Sevens Squad
Abigail Chamberlain(Richmond)
Natasha Brennan (Wasps)
Jennifer Brightmore (Worcester)
Rachael Burford (Richmond)
Sonia Green (C) (Saracens)
Kate Hancock (Plymouth Albion (on loan to Worcester))
