England faced Scotland, Papua New Guinea and Samoa in the pool stages and were then narrowly defeated 7-14 by New Zealand in the quarterfinals of the main cup competition. Odds for England to beat hosts and three times champions New Zealand were 30-1 before kick-off, but they put up a thrilling fight and were unfortunate not to come away with a result.

The defeat meant England were knocked out of the cup and therefore had to face Canada in the Plate Semi-Final. They cruised to victory in this match by 29-7, setting up a Plate Final with France. England then put the disappointment of their quarterfinal loss to New Zealand behind them as they defeated France 21-12.

This was the second year in a row that England have won the Plate and it provided them with much needed points in the IRB Sevens before the next leg in San Diego this week.

Amesbury said: "It was good to take something away from the tournament but everyone is disappointed not to win the cup. I have never experienced an atmosphere like it. The crowd was so noisy and partisan - similar to George but on a much bigger scale. I did some good things which I was pleased with but I know I have a lot to work on and am aiming to improve next week."