Rugby World Cup Sevens
England and Wales reach quarters
ESPN Staff
June 29, 2013
Wales' Alex Webber stretches out to score in the win over Fiji, Wales v Fiji, Rugby World Cup Sevens, Moscow, June 29, 2013
Wales' Alex Webber stretches out to score against Fiji © Getty Images
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England qualified for the quarter-finals of the Rugby World Cup Sevens with victories over Portugal and Argentina on day two of the tournament at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow on Saturday.

Ben Ryan's team, who defeated Pool F rivals Portugal on Friday, overcame Hong Kong 38-7 before edging past Argentina 14-12 to seal their place in the last eight, where they will play Australia.

Dan Norton scored two tries in England's six-try win over Hong Kong with Tom Powell, Tom Mitchell, John Brake and Mat Turner also touching down. Norton and Turner then both scored tries as England raced into a 14-0 half-time lead against Argentina, with Christian Lewis-Pratt crucially converting both scores, before just about holding off a strong second-half comeback from their opponents.

England coach Ben Ryan was delighted with their progress and insisted his players are determined to follow in the footsteps of the England side that won the title in 1993. "You can see in our preparation it is very different to the World Series," he said. "They are desperate to try and emulate the guys that were their heroes 20 years ago. It means a huge amount. There is a lot of legacy and the guys have to make sure they do the shirt proud tomorrow."

"As a coach at the end of the day all we want is to get into the quarter-finals and we have done that. It is simple on Sunday we have got to be gold standard. If we tick those boxes, we know we can win. We have got an awesome bench and no one is injured. It's hot and muggy here but the lads have got on with it and all our information is telling us that we are in good nick."

Defending champions Wales also reached the quarter-finals with a thrilling 19-14 victory over Fiji in the final match in Pool E. Wales, who had already defeat Tonga and Uruguay, outscored Fiji three tries to two in the pool decider with Gareth Davies, Alex Webber and Lee Williams all touching down for the Welsh, who will take on New Zealand in the quarters.

Wales assistant coach Gareth Williams said: "We know the quality is there, but their work ethic and physicality against a top Fijian side was outstanding. The self-belief is there for all to see so hopefully we can carry on tomorrow where we left off today."

New Zealand, who were crowned Sevens World Series champions for an 11th time in May, moved into the quarter after surviving a major scare against the USA in Pool D. Following victories over Canada and Georgia, New Zealand drew first blood against the USA only for their opponents to score three successive tries and establish a 19-5 lead. However a penalty try and scores from Tim Mikkelson and David Raikuna rescued New Zealand and saw them secure a 26-19 victory and a place in the last eight.

South Africa progressed after completing their pool campaign without conceding a point with heavy wins over Japan, Scotland and Russia. Cecil Afrika and Cheslin Kolbe scored two tries a piece in their 41-0 win over Scotland while Philip Snyman and Seabelo Senatla grabbed doubles in their one-sided 33-0 win over Japan. The top seeds will take on Fiji, who finished as the second-best runners up in the pool stages following their defeat to Wales.

Kenya came through Pool C with a decisive 17-12 victory over Samoa and will play France in the other quarter-final who qualified as the best runners-up having been edged out by Australia in Pool A.

Quarter-finals:
South Africa v Fiji
New Zealand v Wales
England v Australia
Kenya v France

The knock-out stages take place on Sunday. Click here for full details.

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