It was a closer battle than their pool stage matches but England are still safely through to the semi-finals of the Emirates Airline Dubai Sevens today thanks to an inspirational performance by captain Simon Amor, known as Pog. 

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 (Newcastle Falcons) 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.

He said: “There were a few nerve-wracking moments then but we won. 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.”

England ended a successful day yesterday with a 33-5 win over the Aussies.

England will play Samoa at 2.42 (GMT) today.