Double bronze for England in rugby sevens

Both of England’s rugby sevens teams showed admirable character on Sunday to surmount semi-final setbacks and claim two more bronze medals at these Commonwealth Games.

The women’s team – captained by Abbie Brown – claimed revenge for their Olympic defeat in the bronze medal match to Canada by beating the same opponents in Robina Stadium.

While the men – with Tom Mitchell claiming the decisive winning score – came from behind to down defending champions South Africa and claim their spot on the podium.

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That was a positive end to a day that had started on a bum note for both sides as they were downed by New Zealand in the semi-finals.

The Kiwis – who ended up scooping gold in both events – were too strong for Brown’s side but England bounced back to down Canada and claim the medal they missed out on in Brazil.

“I am a bit speechless to be honest, we put in an unbelievable performance out there, everyone gave 100percent,” said the skipper.

“We did it for everyone who has supported us, the girls back home, the support staff that couldn’t come out here, absolutely everybody – so to come out here and get a medal is amazing.

“Canada are a great team and we knew that they were going to come back and test us, but that was good for us.

“It really showed our character as a team, we didn’t let them come back and went back at them.

“It was an unbelievable low missing out on a medal in Rio, that is a memory that you never forget.

“But to come here with a new group and a fresh start – there is so much more to come.”

England made a fast start with tries from Lydia Thompson, Claire Allan, Deborah Fleming and Jess Breach opening up a 24-5 lead.

But they had to hold on in the end as Canada roared back, but the 24-19 final scoreline left Brown delighted.

“This has shown our tenacity and how much effort we put out there on the pitch,” she added.

“It doesn’t take a genius to work out that we are at the start of something special, they gave their all out there and I couldn’t have asked for any more.”

Meanwhile it was Mitchell who produced the game’s moment of magic in the men’s bronze medal match against the Blitzbokke, darting clear down the right to secure bronze.

“It’s not easy because we came here and we wanted to give ourselves a shot at that gold,” said the skipper.

“But the mental resilience we’ve cultivated as a squad over the years the boys have been through a lot this year so we decided we were going to park it and enjoy the experience out here and enjoy these amazing moments.

“It always hurts and it will do for while longer but this is sevens and against the top level sides in 14 minutes it is always going to be close. If you get a few things wrong you will get punished for it and New Zealand are an amazing side. But we moved on from it well.

“The bronze is amazing and it’s amazing to contribute to the success of Team England in these games.”

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