England came from behind to beat reigning World Series champions Samoa in the final of the Emirates Airline Dubai Sevens and take an early lead in the 2010/11 HSBC Sevens World Series.
Ben Ryan's side trailed 14-12 at half time and 21-12 with three minutes remaining, but scored three tries by Simon Hunt, Dan Norton and Mat Turner to seal victory 29-21 in front of an expectant ex-pat crowd.
Earlier, Oliver Lindsay-Hague's brace had kept them in the game in response to Samoan tries from powerhouse forward trio Simaika Mikaele, Ofisa Treviranus and Alafoti Fa'osiliva.
England now lead the early Series standings with 24 points, ahead of Samoa (20) and Cup semi finalists New Zealand and Fiji (16).
South Africa beat Australia 19-12 to claim the Plate, the star of the show Cecil Afrika, who scored all three Springbok tries reversing the 19-14 defeat suffered to Michael O'Connor's side on day one.
Argentina defeated Zimbabwe 21-0 to take home the Bowl after Kenya had beaten France 26-0 to win the Shield.
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Earlier, the two Cup semi finals provided some outstanding Sevens in front of a packed stadium at 7he Sevens. Firstly, it was Fautua Otto's remarkable try in the corner that stole the show during Samoa's 24-21 victory over Pacific neighbours Fiji, before Lyndsay-Hague's two tries helped England beat New Zealand 19-14 and reach their first Cup final since the 2009 London Sevens.
Samoa proved too strong for USA in the first of the four quarter finals. USA had not beaten Samoa since the 2007 South Africa Sevens in George, and their fortunes did not change against Stephen Betham's side with Otto's two tries contributing to the 38-5 defeat.
Fiji trailed South Africa 19-7 with less than two minutes remaining in their quarter final, but tries from Nasoni Roko and Seremaia Burotu secured a dramatic last minute victory to set up an all-Pacific semi final. Burotu had earlier run the entire length of the field to score a fine individual try for his first.
Dan Caprice was the recipient of some outstanding work from James Rodwell as once again England came from the brink against Australia to book their place in the next round. Australia captain Bernard Foley had given his side a 21-19 lead with less than a minute remaining but Caprice began and finished a sublime move. They will now play either New Zealand or Wales in the semi finals.
Current Rugby World Cup Sevens champions Wales could not stop New Zealand, as they suffered a 35-7 defeat to Gordon Tietjens' side in the fourth and final quarter final. Frank Halai scored two of their five tries, whilst Ifan Evans crossed for Wales.
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Afrika lights up Plate final as South Africa beat Australia
Cecil Afrika stole the show in the Plate final as his hat-trick helped South Africa beat Australia 19-12 in the penulimate match of day two, with the crowd viewing some pulsating rugby. They had earlier beaten Wales 26-12 and USA 24-10 respectively in the two semi finals.
In the first semi final, Cecil Afrika ran in two first half tries and Kyle Brown immediately crossed in the second to give South Africa a 19-0 lead. Tries from Miles Craigwell and Roland Suniula did give USA a glimmer of hope but Mark Richards cemented South Africa's place in the final in the dying seconds.
John Grant scored his eighth and ninth tries of the tournament as Michael O'Connor's Australia defeated Wales 26-12 to set up a repeat of the Pool C match, despite Evans giving the Welsh the lead.
Argentina Bowl with 100% record on day two
Argentina maintained their 100% record on day two and claimed some silverware in Dubai after beating Zimbabwe 21-0 in the Bowl final. Francisco Merello got the Pumas off to a flying start with two tries in the first half before Walter Weiss ensured the victory.
The South American side earlier recorded a 31-7 victory over Russia thanks to two tries from Diego Palma and Martin Lasalle and Zimbabwe proved too strong for Scotland, winning 28-12 in the semi finals. In the quarter final Argentina convincingly beat Kenya 43-0, Palma again scoring twice.
James Fleming scored his sixth try of tournament in the final seconds to book Scotland's place in the semi finals, beating European opponents France 28-22, and Zimambwe set up their semi final with Graham Shiel's side, beating Arabian Gulf 24-14.
Portugal, disappointed not to have made the Cup quarter finals having ended the pool stages on the same points as England and Fiji, lost 10-7 to Russia in the other quarter final.
Kenya take home the Shield
Kenya put their disappointing campaign behind them to win the Shield final after beating France 26-0. Humphrey Kayange once again lead from the front, spearheading each Kenyan attack, and scoring his fifth try of the tournament.
They had earlier beaten Portugal 19-12 in their semi final. Hugo Valente had given the Europeans a 5-0 lead but Andrew Amonde hit back with two quick tries, before captain Kayange's fourth try of the tournament secured victory for his side.
France had beaten the Arabian Gulf in their semi final, but the hosts' defeat was their last ever match as Arabian Gulf. For a while it looked as though they would reach the final having lead 19-14, but tries from Jean Baptiste Belanger and Renaud Delmas clinched a 26-19 victory for the French.
England World Cup stars beat France in Women's final
In the women's competition Samurai Dubai beat France 34-0 in the final, played on the main pitch of 7he Sevens in front of a packed crowd.
Including several of England's Women's Rugby World Cup squad, Samurai delighted the fans with some excellent Sevens. Amy Turner and Danielle Waterman both put in strong performances but it was Emily Scarratt who impressed the most, scoring Samurai's first of fsix tries.
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Stay with irbsevens.com, the official website of the HSBC Sevens World Series, for all the latest news, views, results, photos and reaction from the opening day of the new season - day one of the Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens.
