The US will play England in the final of the Women’s International Invitational Sevens in San Diego.

England powered its way into the final conceding just seven points and scoring 17 tries.

England romped past Japan 36-0 in their first pool game, then beat USA ‘A’ 15-7. England led 10-7 going into the break after a late USA try, but the tourists held their nerve to score in the second half and bag the win.

In their final pool game of the day, the English kicked off against the US at a blistering pace to secure a 7-0 lead at the break. They then went on to score two further tries after the restart, while the US struggled to break England’s defense and eventually lost 19-0.

England then faced Canada in the semis and really saved the best for last as they ran in five tries to seal a convincing 29-0 victory.

”This has been a tough day but I am really pleased,” said England head coach Simon Amor. “The important thing for us was to get the chance to play against some really good opposition and we have done that. There were some great individual and team performances today so I am happy.”

The Americans were equally impressive as they recovered from their defeat by England to go on to shut out New Zealand 12-0 in the other semifinal. Prior to that, the US blanked both China (21-0) and Japan (45-0) in their other pool matches.

“They have some very athletic and talented players,” remarked Amor about the US side. “They are very competitive in the breakdown and they’ll give us a tough game in front of their home crowd, which I’m sure will be a vocal one, at Petco Park.”

Friday’s (US) pool results:
US 21-0 China
US 45-0 Japan
England 19-0 US

Canada 17-5 USA ‘A’
England 15-7 USA ‘A’
USA ‘A’ 15-5 Japan

Semifinals:
US 12-0 New Zealand
England 29-0 Canada

Consolation:
USA ‘A’ 17-7 China