HSBC Sevens World Series - Wellington
England Sevens claim Wellington crown
ESPN Staff
February 1, 2013
England's Christian Lewis Pratt celebrates scoring in the Wellington Sevens final against Kenya. Wellington Sevens, IRB World Sevens Series, Westpac Stadium, Wellington, New Zealand, February 2, 2013
England's Christian Lewis Pratt celebrates with Sam Edgerley following his try against Kenya in the final © Getty Images
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England returned to top form to claim the latest HSBC Sevens World Series title with a dramatic 24-19 victory over Kenya in Wellington.

A sudden death extra time try from Sam Edgerley propelled England past their gutsy rivals in epic finale played out in front of a capacity crowd at the Westpac Stadium. Early Tries from Dan Norton and Christian Lewis-Pratt put England in control but back cam Kenya with scores from Horace Otieno, Oscar Ouma and Willy Ambaka putting them ahead at half-time.

England rallied after the break but were repeatedly denied by a stubborn Kenya side determined to claim their first-ever Cup title. England were also forced to work hard in defence with Marcus Watson producing a superb try-saving tackle on Collins Injera to keep the game alive.

However, the sin-binning of Ouma and Kenya captain Andrew Monde opened the door for an England comeback and Lewis-Pratt crossed for his second score in the dying moments of the game to send the contest to extra time where Edgerley struck with the decisive score.

In the semi-finals Ben Ryan's side needed to fight back against Samoa to book their place in the final. Christian Lewis-Pratt scored twice and Marcus Watson once to lead England on a fight back from 12-0 down to an eventual 21-19 victory.

Kenya booked their place in the final with a 19-14 extra-time win over the hosts, but New Zealand recovered from that loss to beat Samoa 17-7 in the third place play-off.

The East Africans had served notice of their potential when they beat South Africa 21-20 in the quarter-finals when Willy Ambaka snatched a late try to win the match. New Zealand dominated Australia to win 24-5; England tore into Scotland for a 31-7 victory and Samoa were too strong for Argentina in a 31-7 win.

Australia later recovered from their last-eight loss to beat Scotland 22-7 to win the Plate final. Shannon Walker scored two tries, while Lewis Holland added 13 points to end a disappointing week for the Aussies on a high.

Canada brought a fruitful second day to a close with a 28-19 win over Fiji in the Bowl final, while Wales claimed the Shield with a 26-21 win over Tonga.

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