Norton fires England to Sevens gold
England won gold and their second tournament of the 2016/17 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series by beating South Africa 19-7 in the Vancouver 7s yesterday morning (Singapore time).
This is only South Africa's second defeat in six tournaments, and both losses had come at the hands of last year's Rio Olympics silver medallists England.
English speedster Dan Norton was one of the stand-out players of the tournament, clinching the DHL Impact Player award and the HSBC Player of the Final.
He is now tied with Kenya's Collins Injera for all-time tries on the World Sevens Series, having notched 244 tries in total during his illustrious career.
"We fought hard over the week and it wasn't the prettiest at times but, we knew if we scrapped for everything over the two days, we could be in with a chance," Norton, who spent a week in Singapore last September to conduct coaching clinics with local youngsters, said in a press release yesterday.
"Sevens can be unforgiving. We've played well at times this season and haven't come away with wins, so it's nice to get rewarded for our efforts. We've still got a long way to go in the Series, so we will cherish this moment, but we know we have to keep pushing for Hong Kong and Singapore."
The victory propels England into second overall in the Series table on 103 points, 23 behind South Africa who remain the leaders with four tournament wins out of six.
Back-to-back Series champions Fiji drop to third (100 points) after a close 28-24 win over the US to take bronze in Vancouver.
The HSBC Singapore Rugby 7s will take place on April 15 and 16.
All ticket holders to the HSBC Singapore Rugby 7s will enter a lucky draw to win a special Harley-Davidson Roadster with "made in Singapore" custom artwork.
Other prizes include the Ultimate Sevens Experience, return air tickets to Fiji and a month's supply of 100-Plus.
For ticketing information, visit www.singapore7s.sg.
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