Las Vegas
ENGLAND booked a date with Argentina in the Las Vegas 7s cup quarter-finals as South Africa finished as Pool C winners.
Head coach Simon Amor had mastermind his side to two victories over the Blitzboks already on this year's circuit (in Dubai and Sydney), but that run came to an end in Nevada with a 29-12 defeat.
Tom Bowen's finish kept England in the tie before Charlton Kerr's late consolation, as South Africa's win set them up with a tricky match-up against hosts USA.
England flyer Dan Norton praised his teammates for adapting their game to suit the pitch at Sam Boyd Stadium – a venue which usually hosts American football.
“Both games have been pretty physical and with the pitch being a bit smaller here we've had to adapt our game a little bit,” said Norton.
“Credit to both teams and to all 12 of our guys out on the pitch working hard for each other to get those tries – it's all about keeping as much energy and momentum in the game as we can.”
It was vice-captain Phil Burgess who led England to a 22-0 four-try victory over Chile in England's Pool C opener, bagging a try within the first minute and dotting down again at the close of the half to add to Ryan Olowofela's score.
Tom Mitchell came off the bench in the second half to set up Edwards for England's fourth on the klaxon.
A Norton hat-trick against Japan then saw England seek to wrap up Pool C unbeaten when they met the Blitzboks, as hosts USA were shocked by Argentina 26-24.
England also had Will Muir and Richard de Carpentier on hand to despatch Japan, who were first on the scoreboard when Siosifa Lisala dotted down in the second minute, as the tournament contenders won 31-12.
Series leaders New Zealand, who are tied in the standings with USA, took advantage by planting over 30 points in each of their day one matches and then beating Spain 19-7. Everimproving Australia also topped their pool, stopping Fiji in their tracks with a 26- 15 win.
New Zealand stalwart Tim Mikkelson reflected on his side's unbeaten pool, saying: “We started really well with the Samoa result and played a really good Canada team that likes to hold onto the ball.
“They pushed us and we really had to have good defence to get through that one.
“Day two and three will be a clean slate for us; we start all over again. We do our prep, we do our warm-ups.”
