And former Worcester player Ben Gollings grabbed an extra time sudden death try kept England's cup dream alive against Argentina in the last eight.

But Samoa dominated in the last semi-final from the start, scoring three converted tries in the first four minutes and although England's Royle answered back before the break, Ryan's men had work to do with the score at 21-7.

An early second half converted try from Chris Cracknell brought England back into the running 21-14 but in the sixth minute Samoa struck again to crush England's hopes, 28-14. Another Cracknell try followed but victory was out of reach as the buzzer went for time.

Ryan said: "Of course I'm disappointed, I would love for us to be running out again for the final but we made mistakes and Samoa made us pay. We've uncovered some real talent this weekend with the likes of Jake Abbott, Nick Royle and Mat Turner.

"Samoa beat us in the World Cup earlier this year but we beat them in London. We will be fresh going into South Africa and the guys that I've rested this weekend will get their chance to shine."

England Sevens Emirates Airline Dubai Sevens fixtures and results:

December 4, England 40-12 USA
December 4, England 28-0 Russia
December 4, England 27-10 Kenya

December 5, England 17-12 Argentina, cup quarter final
December 5, England 19-28 Samoa, cup semi final