Saturday 23 May 2015 19:09, UK
England Women Sevens have qualified Great Britain for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio with a nail-biting 15-14 win over USA in the third/ fourth place play-off match.
Simon Middleton’s side were sixth in the standings heading into the final round at Amsterdam and trailed both USA and France by two points with one qualification spot up for grabs.
And the day got off to a flier with England beating New Zealand 17-14 to record their first win over the Black Ferns in this year’s Women’s Sevens Series.
Amy Wilson-Hardy, Natasha Hunt and Emily Scarratt scored the tries that put New Zealand to the sword, with Katy McLean adding a conversion to set up a semi-final against Australia.
But the Wallabies dominated proceedings against England, running out 26-0 winners to leave England facing a winner-takes-all showdown with USA.
USA went ahead early doors but Marlie Packer reduced the deficit to 7-5 at half-time. Scarratt then touched over with a superb try before Joanne Watmore made it 15-7. The USA typically hit back with a last-gasp converted score to make it 15-14, but England kicked the ball into touch on the restart to take the crucial win.
Reflecting on a momentous day, England head coach Middleton said: “I am obviously absolutely thrilled we have qualified Great Britain for the Olympics. It has been a tough season but round after round, apart from a blip in Atlanta, we have gradually improved and in the end we got the result we needed.
“Of course, we didn’t do it the easy way, leaving it to the dying moments of the last game and then making it go down to the wire with points difference. Looking ahead, we know we have to improve our consistency but it is certainly going to be an exciting period.”
