England Women through to Rugby World Cup Sevens Quarter-Finals

England Women booked their place in the quarter-finals of the Rugby World Cup Sevens today (Friday) with an impressive run of wins in the pools stages of the inaugural women's tournament in Dubai.

England will now play Australia after defeating the USA 17-0, Russia 29-0 and Japan 47-0. France, the USA, New Zealand, Canada, Spain and South Africa are also through to the final eight.

England Head Coach Simon Amor said: "We are very pleased with the way today has gone. The performances we put in were the most important thing over the actual score-lines. The players showed that they have made the step-up in a very dangerous pool.

"It's especially pleasing not to have conceded a single point. We have worked very hard on our defence and that certainly showed. Now it's a matter of getting our recovery right tonight and resting up for a big day tomorrow.

"Australia in the quarter-finals will be an interesting game. We know little about them, but they come here with a very good reputation in touch rugby. They look like a physical team also, so it will no doubt be a competitive game."

England captain Sue Day led by example in the fist two games, scoring a brace of tries and opening England's score-sheet after just 50 seconds in England's opener against the USA. Saracens' Claire Allan also touched down against the USA, with Richmond's Alice Richardson adding one conversion.

In England's match against Russia, England powered to the win, and again stopped their opponents from crossing their line. This time Saracens' Charlotte Barras opened with an early try before Day and Michaela Staniford added tries before half-time. Barras then added her second after the restart with Richardson also touching down. Burford and Richardson also added a conversion each.

In England's final game of the day, they stepped up again inflicting an impressive 47-0 defeat on Japan. Kat Merchant and Danielle Waterman (2) all touched down in the first-half, with Burford, Staniford, Maggie Alphonsi and Barras then adding a further four tries. Burford and Richardson were also consistent with the boot adding six conversions between them.

England Women's Rugby World Cup Sevens Squad

Sue Day Wasps Captain
Maggie Alphonsi Saracens
Heather Fisher Wasps
Emma Layland Richmond
Charlotte Barras Saracens
Jo Yapp Worcester
Danielle Waterman Blaydon Team Northumbria
Alice Richardson Richmond
Rachael Burford Saracens
Claire Allan Saracens
Michaela Staniford Wasps
Katherine Merchant Worcester

England 17 USA 0

Day, Fisher, Alphonsi, Yapp, Richardson, Allan, Merchant

Tries: Day (2), Allan
Conversions: Richardson
Substitutions: Staniford for Merchant (HT), Waterman for Yapp (9)

England 29 Russia 0

Day, Layland, Barras, Waterman, Burford, Allan, Staniford

Tries: Barras, Day, Staniford, Barras, Richardson.
Conversions: Burford, Richardson
Substitutions: Fisher for Day, Merchant for Staniford (both HT), Richardson for Burford (9)

England 47 Japan 0

Alphonsi, Layland, Fisher, Waterman, Burford, Allan, Merchant

Tries: Merchant, Waterman (2), Burford, Staniford, Alphonsi, Barras
Conversions: Burford (4), Richardson (2)
Substitutions: Barras for Fisher, Richardson for Allan, Staniford for Merchant (all HT)