Back in the UK after reaching the Hong Kong Sevens final, Dan Norton hopes England can go one better in the next couple of weeks in front of a partisan crowd.
With new head coach Simon Amor taking charge only weeks before the start of the season, England have struggled to hit their stride but, since the New Year, they have showed progress reaching the Cup final in Hong Kong for their best result of the campaign.
The penultimate leg of the HSBC World Sevens Series kicks off in Glasgow tomorrow before heading over to Twickenham for the last tournament of the season.
England sit fourth in the overall table and two good results over the next week could see them overtake Fiji and finish the year on the podium behind New Zealand and South Africa.
“We've reached the final in Hong Kong so we're definitely moving in the right direction. Hopefully we'll be able to go one better now we're back home in the UK,” Norton told The Rugby Paper.
“We've played really well against teams below us in the table but we've struggled against the top four teams. Not being able to perform against the best has been our downfall this year but we've made big steps towards that over the last two tournaments in Japan and Hong Kong.
“We're playing more and more with the identity we want to be known for. We have always been able to score tries but we weren't defending very well as a team.
“We've adjusted that with Simon coming in and we understand his system better with time. We get more turnovers which gives us opportunities to score more tries too.”
England will start the group phase taking on France at 11.14am tomorrow before facing Japan (2.20pm) and Canada (5.31pm) in Group B.
England are expected to top the group but Norton is quick to point out they will have to be ready from the start if they are to reach the Cup quarter-finals on Sunday.
“There are no easy games in Sevens. Japan have proved they will be competitive and it's the same for France and Canada who have been playing really well in the second half of the season,” he added.
“With the tournament in Glasgow, we've been able to get there later than usual and have more time to prepare which is nice. We've got to worry about us. If we played as well as we can we'll hopefully get the wins.”
The long and tiring season might end next week at Twickenham but Norton will have one last run on Friday, May 16th when he takes part in a 5K charity run for the Right to Play charity in Battersea Park.
The international Sport for Development and Peace charity uses the transformative power of play – playing games, playing sport – to educate and empower one million children facing adversity across Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Latin America and North America.
“I wasn't the most academic of people and I responded a lot more when I was outside running around. I've learnt more by doing things and that's how I progressed in my life,” he added.
“They are a very exiting charity and they're getting bigger year on year so hopefully I can help
“I'm not really made to run 5K but it'll be great to do it with all the other people around me. It's going to be a great occasion.”
Dan Norton is an ambassador for Right To Play, and will be taking part in the charity's 5k fundraising run on Friday 16th May in Battersea Park. Dan is encouraging runners of all abilities to pass up their Friday evening drinks for the week and jog to the park to join him. www.righttoplay.com/5krun
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