England in final
December 13, 2003

England put the disappointment of Dubai behind them as they booked their place in the Emirates Airline George Sevens final where New Zealand lie in wait this evening.

The impressive English won 19-7 against host nation South Africa who contributed greatly to a fiercely contested semi-final.

Ben Gollings punctured the tense atmosphere by holding onto a pass which looked dubiously forward to sprint in for a 40-metre score.

But England's joy was short-lived as Fabian Juries - probably the best Sevens player this year along with Gollings - scythed his way through, then stopped a metre before the line to let Jose van Rensburg score closer to the posts for the conversion.

The Springboks started the second half strongly but when Marius Schoeman knocked on close to the line, the ball was sent wide to Rob Thirlby, who found yards of space to run through and put England back in the lead.

Gollings snuffed out the South African challenge with a blindside try late in the game as England exacted revenge for their semi-final defeat at the hands of the Boks in Dubai.

In the other semi-final, New Zealand needed extra-time to beat a dangerous Fijian side 31-26.

It will be New Zealand's second successive final, with Karl Te Nana scoring he try which took them there, bouncing through two tackles four minutes into the sudden-death period.

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