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After a shock on Day 1 losing to Italy, 21.19 England 7s came back strong on Day 2 in Lyon to take victory at the first leg of the Grand Prix Sevens. 

This weekend saw the addition of Wales and England to the grand prix and though they have World Series pedigree they did not have it all their own way as Wales ended up in the plate and lost the final to Russia (33.12) England started Day 1 in confident fashion with a big win over Moldova but then came unstuck against the Italians in their 2nd game.

Wales themselves turned over Russia in the group stages and beat the Moldovans in the early stages of Saturday. The groups were split into 2 groups of 6 which meant 5 group games for each team. This was structured so that there would be 4 group games on Day 1 and then the final game was on Day 2 before the knockout stages.

After the shock defeat against Italy, England came back strong for the remainder of the day as they defeated World Series rivals France and Russia giving them the chance to top the table with a victory over Wales.

In the other group, it was Spain that moved into top position as they defeated current European Champions Portugal into 2nd place. 

England took on Wales on Sunday morning and though Wales had an inexperienced side, they took on the more experienced English side at their own game but came up just short, losing out 19.12. This meant that England moved onto to a semi-final against Portugal whilst France finished 2nd in group B and were to take on Spain in the semi-final.

Spain took advantage of a strong start against the French that saw them through to the final of the GPS where they would meet England after their victory (34.14) over the Portugese. 

The final was a closely fought affair and these 2 teams know each other well after meeting in Bury and London last month but it was the experience and youthful exuburence of the English side that won the day and the first tournament of the GPS season as captain Chris Cracknell lifted the trophy after a 28.14 victory.

France defeated Portugal (7.0) in the 3rd place play-off whilst Russia, Georgia, Italy, Romania took the minor places from Wales, Netherlands, Ukraine and Moldova respectively.

The series now moves on to Russia this coming weekend where France & Portugal can expect to get some players back in their squad that can only improve the quality of a tournament that was of the highest standard seen in European competition outside of the World Series.

Standings (after 1 Round of GPS)

England - 18pts

Spain - 16pts

France - 15pts

Portugal - 14pts

Russia - 12pts

Wales - 10pts

Georgia - 8pts

Netherlands - 6pts

Italy - 4pts

Ukraine - 3pts

Romania - 2pts

Moldova - 1pts

Facing to Eurosport 2 TV, England won against Spain the stage 1 of 2011 Grand Prix Series with a narrow score in final (28-14). Spain was unbeaten till the final.
Over the high performance of England team, the best player of the tournament was the English Nicholas Royle with 13 tries in 7 games. Congratulations to the Spanish team of José Ignacio Inchausti improving his ranking year after year.
Portugal, 2010 European Champion, has lost the third place to France (0-7). These two teams, with a lot of absents in Lyon will certainly play to top of the tournament during the 2011 GPS.
For the first appearance in FIRA-AER 7s tournament, Wales has lost the Plate to Russia (33-12). The next stage of GPS will be hosted by Russia on 25-26 June. Georgia, which has lost the semi final after extra-time against Russia, won Netherlands and got the Ranking 7th.
The Bowl for Italy (19-5) against Ukraine, which has progressed during the tournament. Finally, Romania had his first win against Moldova and got the 11th Place.
Ranking of GPS in attachement