England thrill on Day One in Exeter

An enthralling first day at the Exeter leg of the Rugby Europe Grand Prix 7s Series was rounded out by a comfortable victory win for England, who dispatched Spain 48-0 to finish top of Pool B.

Having already beaten Italy and Lithuania, Dan Norton, Alex Gray and Alex Davis all ran in try doubles in the eight-try rout meaning the Red Rose face a rematch with Lithuania in the Cup quarter-finals at Sandy Park on Sunday.

Lithuania earned their last-eight spot in the most dramatic of fashions – a try from Jonas Mikalcius as time expired in their final Pool match was just enough to beat Italy.

And despite their inauspicious display against England, Spain’s two previous victories ensured they finished as Pool B runners-up and will square off against Russia in a mouth-watering tie with considerable Olympic qualification implications tomorrow.

In Pool A, France guaranteed themselves top spot, and a favourable Cup quarter-final draw against Wales, with an impressive 28-5 win over Germany.

Led by inspirational captain Terry Bouhraoua, who racked up 37 points across the three games, Les Bleus cast aside Romania 38-5 in their opening fixture before disposing of Portugal by the same scoreline.

But it was their performance against Germany, who had beaten both Romania and Portugal by a combined 68 points, that truly demonstrated why they are the favourites to seal the final European Olympic qualification spot this weekend.

A resilient German defence restricted their opponents to just a 7-5 lead at the break but three converted tries, two from Julien Candelon and one from Bouhraoua, saw France pull away in the second period.

However, with two convincing victories already under their belt, Rainer Kumm’s troops will be no pushovers in their Cup quarter-final tomorrow with Georgia, which their second-placed finish ensured.

And in Pool A’s final game, Portugal’s overcame Romania 27-21 in a thriller although the pair will face off once again in the Bowl semi-final on Sunday.
Russia were the unstoppable force in Pool C as victories over Georgia, Wales and Belgium ensured they finished top of the pile.

A Denis Simplikevich hat-trick did the damage in their opener as they overcame neighbours Georgia 17-7 before a Vladimir Ostroushko try double helped see off Wales 26-5.

Belgium were then dispatched 22-0 to set up a Cup quarter-final with Spain while Georgia bounced back from the initial disappointment of losing to Russia by winning their other two Pool games, also sealing last-eight tie with Germany.

And Wales’ narrow 19-10 triumph over Belgium saw them sneak into the Cup quarter-finals where they face the daunting game with France.

Cup Quarter-Finals

France v Wales
England v Lithuania
Russia v Spain
Germany v Georgia

Bowl Semi-Finals

Portugal v Romania
Italy v Belgium