England deals Eagles final loss of São Paulo Sevens in Plate Final

The Women’s Eagles Sevens gained 10 points from São Paulo Sevens Sunday as the sixth-best team with a 14-5 loss to England in the Plate Final at Arena Barueri.

The third stop of the 2014-15 World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series is Atlanta 7s, the Eagles’ home tournament. Tickets for the March 13-14 event are still available.

The Eagles kept England scoreless through seven minutes of the Plate Final, but a yellow card to captain Kelly Griffin – her second of the tournament – provided enough space for the opening try. Victoria Folayan and Jessica Javelet played sweeper roles for the Eagles to keep out Joanne Watmore after the first-half horn, but England was able to move the ball out to Rachael Burford on the wing for a 7-0 halftime lead.

Neither team was allowed much on the attack in the opening frame, and it did not get much easier in the second half. The Eagles kicked off the second half but got the ball back thanks to a knock at midfield by England. Joanne Fa’avesi’s feed was made too early for the referee’s liking, though the Eagles escaped unscathed thanks to a heart-pumping back check by Griffin to draw a penalty.

In the 10th minute, Lauren Doyle ran towards the touch line on England’s side of the pitch before drawing two defenders away from her winger, Folayan. She released the ball from her hands with enough time for Folayan to run onto it and into the try zone for the try. The Eagles’ leading scorer could not get close enough to the posts for a successful conversion, however, keeping England in the lead at 7-5.

The Eagles struggled to set up a forward-moving attack in the remaining minutes with penalty troubles and a strong opponent in England. Javelet did not help out her team’s efforts with a long, looping pass to Doyle on her team’s own try line. Watmore closed down Doyle with the ball in the air and tackled the Eagle over the line for a scrum.

Kathryn Johnson was given a yellow card a minute later for an infraction and England capitalized with a try on the opposite side of the pitch by Danielle Waterman. The successful conversion extended England’s lead to 14-5, meaning the Eagles would have had to score twice in less than a minute to overtake their opponent.

England won the match and the Plate, keeping the Eagles from earning hardware at a Women’s Sevens Series stop for the second time of the season. Ric Suggitt’s side gains 10 points from Brazil to add to the eight from Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens last fall. The pool draw for next month’s Atlanta 7s will be made following the culmination of São Paulo Sevens.

See all the results from Brazil 7s.

Women’s Eagles Sevens | v England
1. Kathryn Johnson
2. Kelly Griffin (C)
3. Megan Bonny
4. Hannah Lopez
5. Jessica Javelet
6. Lauren Doyle
7. Victoria Folayan
8. Alev Kelter
9. Joanne Fa’avesi
10. Dana Meschisi
11. Melissa Fowler
12. Kristen Thomas

Women’s Eagles Sevens | 5
Tries: Folayan
Conversions: N/A

England | 14
Tries: Burford, Waterman
Conversions: Richardson

Women’s Eagles Sevens | São Paulo Sevens
v. New Zealand – L 35-12
v. France – L 14-12
v. Spain – W 26-7
Cup QF v New Zealand – L 28-17
Plate SF v Brazil – W 19-0
Plate Final v England – L 14-5