England into Twickenham quarter-finals and seal second spot

The hosts advanced into the Cup quarter-finals by beating Spain, Australia and Samoa to top Pool D in front of a vocal crowd at Rugby HQ.

Spain were no match for the powerful running of the English in the opener as Dan Bibby crossed for his 49th try in the competition in a 28-7 win.

A pair of scores from Dan Norton – England's record try-scorer – then proved vital in a much-tighter second clash against old rivals Australia, as they eked out a 19-12 triumph.

And in their final game of the day, Simon Amor's troops needed Alex Davis to bundle over from close-range late on to secure a 24-19 triumph over Samoa.

By topping their pool, England not only booked a last-eight clash with South Africa on Sunday but guaranteed that they will end the season-long Series second overall – their best finish since 2006 – behind the Blitzbokke, much to the delight of head coach Amor.

"We are delighted with securing second in the standings which hasn't been achieved for over ten years," he said.

"It says an awful lot about the consistency of this group and the way they keep fighting hard day in and day out for each other and their determination to make England proud.

"It also reflects the importance of the academy and the impact of the young guys coming through. It is a special day for the England Sevens programme and it's exciting as we look to the future.

"Today the guys wanted to go out and show just how much it means to play in an England shirt at Twickenham – to show their friends and family how proud they are to be part of this squad and I think they did that incredibly well.

"We can definitely play better and some of our decision making can improve. Unfortunately we picked up some knocks but this is a great learning opportunity for the young players coming through.

"If we approach tomorrow with the same amount of energy and passion and continue to work hard to make the supporters proud then we put ourselves in the best place possible."

Sportsbeat 2017