Day Two - IRB Sevens, Dubai

England retained the title they won in such impressive fashion last year when they beat Fiji 28-26 in balmy heat and humidity in an epic Final at the Dubai Sevens, the first leg of the 2005/06 International Rugby Board Sevens series, on Friday.

As England captain Simon Amor said afterwards, it was a Final worthy of the occasion ... a great performance by both teams.

The Fijians opened the scoring when Jone Daunivucu displaying his brilliant skills, stepping past a couple of defenders to put his team ahead. But the tournament's top try-scorer, Sevens debutant Tom Varndell, hit back with some great stepping and blistering pace of his own for England's first try.

The Fijians were not to be outdone and Mika Leawere scored next after the Fijians created a two-man overlap out wide. The ding-dong nature of the first half continued when Ben Gollings scored next and with Gollings adding the conversion England took the lead for the first time (14-12), a lead they took into the half-time break.

It was England who scored first after the break, when Gollings took advantage of a rare lapse in the normally watertight Fijian defence to score his second try. The conversion made it 21-12 and left Fiji needing two scores to come back. The first of those scores came soon, when the Fijians worked their way upfield and Sireli Naqelevuki went over.

The key moment came after this, when Varndell was released on the right and scored his 10th try of the tournament. Gollings added the conversion to make it 28-19 with just over a minute to go.

William Ryder scored soon afterwards and converted, but Gollings' conversion earlier had proved the difference as England retained their title.

Particularly pleasing for England coach Mike Friday will be the contributions over the two days of newcomers such as Narraway, Mordt, Foden and Hylton, all of whom have cut their Sevens teeth in convincing fashion here, plus the likes of Matthews, Russell and Vilk who have responded to the challenge of needing to provide the forward go-ahead and ball winning platform.

The Player of the tournament, through was pace man Tom Varndell. The Leicester man's pace proved such a vital ingredient and ultimately his three tries – 10 in the tournament - proved the downfall of a Fiji side itself blessed with such remarkable talent.

The Fijians had fought past New Zealand and South Africa en route to the final, while, on paper, England's passage to the final looked easier. Not so, as a confident and physical Samoa gave them a mighty scare and still led 5-0 with two minutes to go in their semi before Mathew Tait fed Varndell to score. The hero, though, was the smallest player on the pitch ... captain Simon Amor steadied his nerves to slot a tricky conversion at the hooter for the 7-5 win.

Fiji had themselves proved too strong for a hugely promising but mis-firing South Africa in their semi, winning 17-7. A word of sympathy for Australia too, who look to be building a solid squad in preparation for the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, but fell victim here to Varndell and Gollings on day one and as a result faced New Zealand in the toughest of Plate semi-finals.

Cup semi-finals:

Fiji went through to the Final when they beat South Africa 17-7 in the semi-final. England sneaked past Samoa, winning the second semi-final 7-5 with a converted try in injury time.

Tough, gritty defence and the attacking brilliance of old saw Fiji charge into the Final. Fiji gave away a seven-point lead in the first half, with Mika Leawere in the sin-bin, but three superb tries after the break meant that only one team was going to win this match.

Firstly, Vima Tuidraki stormed 70 metres down the touchline to level the scores. One minute later, William Ryder showed just why he is tipped to be the new Fijian star with a solo effort from his own half that included trickery, acceleration and outright speed. And to wrap matters up nicely, Timoci Volavola reached high into the Dubai night sky to steal a lofted South African pass, sprinted his way into the opposition 22 before off-loading for Sireli Naqelevuki to score.

South African coach Paul Treu was obviously disappointed. "I'm disappointed because I think we've missed a real chance here and didn't take our opportunities. Two interceptions and a couple of defensive gaps cost us," Treu said.

"On the positive side it's 12 points to start the season and now we go down to George for our home tournament. Hopefully this group can really click down there."

The England versus Samoa semi-final was full of drama, with newcomer Tom Varndell scoring the winning try with just seconds left on the clock, after Samoa had been reduced to six men for what the referee claimed was repeated offences.

Plate Final:

New Zealand won the Plate competition when they beat a spirited French side 19-7 in the Final. It was a much-improved performance by France, who had lost 45-12 to New Zealand in the pool stages on Day One.

The scoring was opened four minutes into the first half when Amasio Valence displayed his brilliant skills and stepping ability to go over for a try from 50 metres out. But the French hit back soon afterwards when 19-year-old Jacques Boussuge showed his raw pace by going round the outside to level the scores at 7-all (also the half-time score).

The second half saw Matua Parkinson, a key to the Kiwis, being yellow carded, but the French failed to used their numerical advantage. It was the Kiwis who scored next, when Zar Lawerence went over, after two French defenders collided to create the space. When Jason Hona scored soon afterwards the Kiwis had secured the Plate.

Bowl Final:

In the Bowl Final Wales overcame injury problems and came from behind to beat Canada 19-5. It's a great feat for the Welsh, who made their return to the Sevens circuit after a two-year absence here in Dubai. Mark Lawson opened the scoring deep into the first half, when Wales were down to six men through a yellow card, when he went over in the corner. But Wales hit back almost immediately through Tal Selley to leave the scores tied at 5-all at the break. Wales scored first after the break, when Aled Brew broke clear inside his own half and sprinted 60 metres to score. When James Merriman went over, from turnover ball, soon afterwards the Welsh took an unassailable lead.

Dai Rhys, Wales coach, expressed his delight at his team's performance. "We're really pleased with how it's gone here. We had a tough pool and lost to a Cup semi finalist and finalist, but since then we haven't lost," Rhys said.

"The job's only half done - we've got to go down to South Africa now and we've also picked up a few injuries.   "The players have been outstanding. James Hook in particular has taken to it very well, ever since we started in training. He's up for player of the tournament, which is great.

"We're in three events this year, plus the Commonwealth Games and they'll judge us on our results, but if we can keep bringing in Under 21 players and exposing them to this kind of competition and make them better players it stands us in good stead."

Shield Final:

Kenya beat Tunisia 10-7 in an all-African Final, after trailing 7-5 at half-time. Asego scored the match-winning try, the only score of the second-half, after the Kenyans countered from deep inside their own 22 ... with Tunisia on attack.

Cup Quarter-finals:

Earlier Fiji moved through to the semi-finals with a shock win over Gordon Tietjens' young New Zealand side on Day Two. And the Fijians will face South Africa in the semis.

Zar Lawrence looked to have booked New Zealand's place with a superb individual effort under the posts, but with the final seconds counting down Jone Daunivucu cut through to score under the posts for a 17-14 win for Fiji.

The quarter-final between South Africa and Australia was the tightest of matches in the first half, with the scores locked at 0-0 at half time, before South Africa snapped up an intercept early in the second half to take a 7-0 lead.

Australia had their chances in the rest of the second half and were on the offensive. However when Australia charged down a kick, the ball bounced into the hands of the South Africans who seized the opportunity in the broken play to score a runaway try and seal the match at 14-0.

"We had our opportunities to win the game," Australian coach Glen Ella said. "The boys played really well but it just came down to a couple of lapses of concentration that resulted in South African tries."

England accounted for Argentina, 24-12, and will face Samoa, who beat France 33-14 in the last quarter-final in the Cup competition.

It was a closer battle than their pool stage matches but England are still safely through to the semi s, thanks to an inspirational performance by captain Simon Amor.

The Argentineans were first to score as Moyano crossed the line and it took two tries from Leicester's Tom Varndell, the tournaments leading try scorer with seven, to ensure England led 12-7 at the break.  Amor, last year’s IRB Sevens Player of the Year, was influential throughout the match.

The Pumas leveled the score soon into the second half.  Mathew Tait replaced Tom Varndell and quickly made his mark by scoring two tries.

England Sevens coach Mike Friday was pleased with the win, but knows that every step of the tournament offers an even bigger challenge.

“There were a few nerve wracking moments then but we won," Friday said. "We made a few one on one errors but the boys are learning all the time. This is such a steep learning curve for the youngsters – they won’t have played in anything like this before and they will know after that match how much tougher day two is. We have told them not to be afraid to learn as it will be the way they react to any mistakes that will really help them learn.”

Friday continued: “The squad have really gelled incredibly quickly. Every single player is talented and deserves their place but collectively they are coming together strongly which is very encouraging for the future. The influence of the three senior players – Amor, Ben Gollings and Henry Paul – cannot be underestimated.”

Shane Thompson's abrasive Canada side have enjoyed a satisfying start to the new season. Having lost out to New Zealand and France on day one, the Canucks have booked a place in the Bowl Final against surprise package Wales.

Showing a natural flair and understanding for the Sevens game, Wales beat Scotland 19-0 in an all-Celtic semi final clash, while Canada proved too strong for Portugal winning 24-17 in a fine match.

The Shield Final is an all-African affair to be contested between Tunisia and Kenya. Kenya faced the relatively easy task of overcoming the Arabian Gulf, while Tunisia, who have flattered to deceive in the season opener after impressing last year, beat Uganda.

IRB SEVENS, DUBAI - PLAY-OFF RESULTS

Bowl quarter-finals:
M25: Canada 26-5 Tunisia
M26: Portugal 41-0 Uganda
M27: Kenya 0-33 Scotland  
M28: Wales 24-7 Arabian Gulf

Cup quarter-finals:
M29: New Zealand 14-17 Fiji
M30: South Africa 40-0 Australia
M31: England 24-12 Argentina  
M32: Samoa 33-14 France

Shield semi-finals:  
M33: Tunisia 24-0 Uganda 
M34: Kenya 35-7 Arabian Gulf

Bowl semi-finals:
M35: Canada 24-17 Portugal 
M36: Scotland 0-19 Wales

Plate semi-finals: 
M37: New Zealand 24-0 Australia 
M38: Argentina 14-24 France 

Cup semi-finals:
M39: Fiji 17-7 South Africa 
M40: England 7-5 Samoa

M41: Shield Final: Tunisia 7-10 Kenya

M42: Bowl Final: Canada 5-19 Wales

M43: Plate Final: New Zealand 19-7 France 

M44: Cup Final: Fiji 26-28 England

IRB SEVENS, DUBAI - DAY ONE RESULTS

POOL A
(New Zealand, France, Canada, Arabian Gulf)

M5: New Zealand 24-7 Canada 
M6: France 33-12 Arabian Gulf 
M13: New Zealand 60-0 Arabian Gulf 
M14: France 19-10 Canada 
M19: Canada 38-5 Arabian Gulf 
M23: New Zealand 45-12 France

POOL B
(Fiji, Samoa, Tunisia, Wales)

M1: Fiji 31-5 Tunisia 
M2: Samoa 26-14 Wales 
M9: Fiji 42-21 Wales 
M10: Samoa  14-5 Tunisia 
M17: Tunisia 7-29 Wales 
M21: Fiji 7-26 Samoa

POOL C
(England, Australia, Kenya, Uganda)

M7: England 52-7 Kenya 
M8: Australia 33-0 Uganda 
M15: England 48-0 Uganda 
M16: Australia 21-7 Kenya 
M20: Kenya 40-5 Uganda
M24: England 33-5 Australia

POOL D
(South Africa, Argentina, Scotland, Portugal)

M3: South Africa 21-7 Scotland 
M4: Argentina 19-14 Portugal 
M11: South Africa 40-7 Portugal 
M12: Argentina 14-10 Scotland 
M18: Scotland 5-17 Portugal
M22: South Africa 19-7 Argentina