Rugby
Norton Completes DHL Impact Player Award Hat-Trick in Vancouver
England may have won the HSBC Canada Sevens with a convincing 19-7 win over South Africa, but one player will look back on the tournament with fonder memories than most.
Dan Norton was hot property once the final whistle went, with reporters and broadcasters scrambling to get time with the England star. Not only was Norton the DHL Impact Player for Vancouver and the HSBC Player of the Final, he also equalled Collins Injera's all-time try record of 244 after bagging seven tries at the tournament. Lightning step and still one of the fastest players on the series, on current form Norton would be expected to break that record at the next leg of the series in Hong Kong.
My skill is to beat people and that's what I try to do, hitting the spaces as hard as I can and finishing off the lads' hard work.
Dan Norton
"What's different this year is I am able to demand the ball more," said Norton. "Players like Dan (Bibby) create the space for me by stretching the defences and this makes my life a lot easier. My skill is to beat people and that's what I try to do, hitting the spaces as hard as I can and finishing off the lads' hard work."
Norton's contributions in Vancouver helped push England into second overall in the series standings, just 23 points behind the Blitzboks who are on 126. On the fast track at BC Place, Norton made 10 breaks, 32 carries (over three metres minimum), 12 tackles and two offloads giving him a total of 56. In second place was Japan's Kameli Soejima who had a total of 51, 20 of which were tackles.
In the overall DHL Rugby Performance Tracker for the series, Norton is out in front on 245 points, 39 ahead of Wales' Sam Cross. Canada's Justin Douglas is in third, with 202.
He’s an inspiration!
Rob Vickerman, former England Rugby 7s Captain
England beats the Blitzboks
Simon Amor’s side won gold and their second tournament of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series after overthrowing tournament leaders South Africa 19-7 in a convincing performance in Vancouver.
It’s the second time in six tournaments that England has overcome the Blitzboks – they are the only side on the series to upset Neil Powell's outfit in the 2016-17 series. The victory puts them into second overall in the series table on 103 points, 23 behind South Africa who remain top of the pile with four tournament wins out of six. Back-to-back series champions Fiji drop to third in the standings (100 points) after a close 28-24 win over USA in the Bronze final.
England had met South Africa on day one in the pool stages, finishing up all square on 12-12, but the final was a different spectacle. Siviwe Soyizwapi kicked off proceedings for the Blitzboks, scoring his fourth try of the weekend with less than a minute on the clock. Richard de Carpentier got England right back in it though with South Africa exposed on the edge, the big forward taking on the more nimble Rosko Specman to make things level at half-time, 7-7.
The HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series now crosses the Pacific for Round 7 – the 2017 Hong Kong Sevens on April 7-9.
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Learn more about the DHL 2016-17 Impact Player Award
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