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Nick Jordan in Dubai

They were 30 seconds away from being in the Bowl but England turned things around magnificently to win the Cup Final in Dubai.

Their 29-21 over world champions Samoa came after a 24-21 quarterfinal triumph over Australia and a thrilling 19-14 win over reigning Dubai champions New Zealand in the semis.

Ben Ryan's team repaid the faithful crowd beating the top three teams in the world after only sneaking into the top eight with late Simon Hunt try against Fiji on Day One.

Cecil Afrika was the star in South Africa's 19-12 Plate Final win over Australia, scoring three tries (of his tournament-high 10) as the Boks reversed the result of the night before. Argentina were too good for Zimbabwe winning the Bowl 21-0 and Kenya put the disappointment of three losses behind them to win the Shield 26-0 over France.

Ollie Lindsay-Hague was the star for England in the Cup Final scoring twice and being at the heart of a superb team effort. Speedsters Dan Norton and replacements Hunt and Mat Turner scored the other tries. Simaika Mikaele and Alafoti Fa'osiliva (2) scored for Samoa.

England forwards Chris Cracknell, Isoa Damudamu and James Rodwell stood up to the physical Samoans and Rodwell was named Player of the Tournament for his efforts.
Rodwell said his award was for the entire team.

"As a forward looking up and seeing Norton, Caprice and so on tearing up is just incredible as it means we're all doing our job getting the ball," he said. "I'm there to do the simple things like the set pieces and they've got the speed to score the tries."

Rodwell said although they didn't start well they were delighted with the improvement.

"We kept our patience today and kept the ball which is vital in Sevens. The self belief was there today but we've had a bit of a roller coaster this weekend and we need to cut out performances like those against Portugal and keep our standards high."

It was the perfect result for England in the opening tournament on the HSBC Sevens World Series as they take 24 points for the Cup win but Rodwell was not gwtting ahead of himself.

"We're not looking at the title yet, it's one tournament at a time!"

Thrilling spectacle

The semi-finals and final were all examples of Rugby Sevens at its superb best.

Samoa defeated Fiji, their island neighbours, 24-21 after trailing 14-12 at halftime and 21-19 with two minutes to play. Their effort through four or five phases to put Fautua Otto in the corner for the match winner was simply magic.

England, with most of the crowd behind them, put away New Zealand by three tries to two after the teams were tied 7-7 at halftime. Lindsay-Hague again led the way with two tries, one from a quick tap, to add to Ben Gollings' earlier score.

New Zealand opened the scoring through Lote Raikabula but a stunning solo effort to Tim Mikkelson late in the secoond spell wasn't enough to deny England. The Kiwis will get their chance for revenge in Round Two in George next weekend as the teams clash in Pool C.

The quarter finals were also classic Rugby Sevens, with Fiji and England both winning by less than a score in heart-stopping fashion, and demonstrating that any one of six teams could have won the opening round.

In the end, England's third win in Dubai (the others being in 2004 and 2005) sent the capacity crowd of 40,000 home happy and kicking off the 12th World Series in fantastic style.


Dubai Sevens Results

Cup

Final
England 29 Samoa 21

Semi finals
Samoa 24 Fiji 21
England 19 New Zealand 14

Quarter finals
Samoa 38 USA 5
Fiji 21 South Africa 19
England 24 Australia 21
New Zealand 35 Wales 7

Plate
Semi finals
South Africa 24 USA 10
Australia 26 Wales 12

Final
South Africa 19 Australia 12

Bowl
Final
Argentina 21 Zimbabwe 0

Semi finals
Argentina 31 Russia 7
Zimbabwe 28 Scotland 17

Quarter finals
Argentina 43 Kenya 0
Russia 10 Portugal 7
Scotland 28 France 22
Zimbabwe 24 Arabian Gulf 14

Shield
Final
Kenya 26 France 0

Semi finals
Kenya 19 Portugal 12
France 26 Arabian Gulf 19

Nick Jordan is in Dubai thanks to Herbalife, nutrition for a better life