England, captained by former Hampton School pupil Simon Amor, won the IRB Hong Kong Sevens title for the third year in a row when they beat Argentina 22-12 in the final.

The win moves them to within two points of overall leaders New Zealand with three tournaments left to play.

Amor was among the try scorers and former Harlequins star Ben Gollings kicked a conversion.

The England squad also featured Harlequins' Kai Horstmann, a try scorer in the 42-0 group victory over Georgia, Pat Sanderson and Tom Williams. Gollings contributed 47 points, Sanderson ten and Amor five. Amor is one of three Old Hamptonians playing professional rugby. London Irish player Rob Hoadley has also represented England recently and Andrew Beattie plays for Bath.

England move on to the Singapore Sevens this weekend with the overall IRB Sevens Series title in their grasp and Sanderson loses his place for the game against Japan on Saturday.

England Under 21s, featuring Harlequins' Chris Bell and Andy Reay, won their first ever Six Nations Grand Slam thanks to Friday night's 25-18 victory over France in Brive. Centre Bell was among England's try scorers.

The England Under 21s, who included Quins' Henry Barratt among the replacements, now look forward to the World Championships in Scotland in June.

Despite an excellent try from Richmond's Nicki Jupp, England surrendered the Women's Six Nations' Championship to France on Saturday when they lost 13-12 in Bourg-en-Bresse.

In front of 7,000 French fans, England took a 12-3 half-time lead with tries from Nicky Crawford and Jupp plus a conversion from Shelley Rae to bring the Grand Slam a step closer.

But after England had a 56th-minute try disallowed by the Italian referee, the French clawed their way back and clinched victory with a last-minute penalty.

The result brought back bad memories of England's shock home defeat by France in the 2002 championships.

Richmond's Emily Cooke and Jenny Sutton started the game, while Sharon Whitehead and Helen Flippance were among the replacements (see page 27).

SUPER ALEX: Alex Gillespie's hat-trick of tries saw London Scottish take a big step towards their first national final at any level for many years when their Under 19s won 15-5 at Otley in the National Colts Plate quarter-final. They visit Marlborough on April 25 for a place in a showpiece final at Northampton's Franklin Gardens on May 3.