RUGBY SEVENS: The men's and women's Australian Rugby Sevens sides have both finished second at the London Sevens.

Men's Sevens

The Qantas Men’s Sevens have finished second in London following a 47-12 loss to New Zealand in the Cup final overnight.

The result in the final round of the HSBC Sevens World Series boosts the Australians to eighth in the overall standings.

Qantas Men’s Sevens coach Michael O’Connor said facing New Zealand in a Cup final at Twickenham was a valuable learning experience for his side.

"That was a fantastic game, two tries down in first half and we kept composure in second half,” O’Connor said.

“What a game. It's the biggest experience of their lives and we are in London one of the biggest cities in the world - a great experience."

The Qantas Men’s Sevens found themselves chasing New Zealand early in the Cup final, as the series winners ran in two quick tries to take a 14-0 lead after four minutes. The Australians struck next, but another try to New Zealand took to score to 21-5 at half time.

The Qantas Men’s Sevens managed another try in the second half, but the New Zealanders were too strong.

Earlier in the day, a late try to James Stannard saw the Australians just squeak past the United States 24-19 in the Cup quarter-final. They then defeated hosts England 14-7 in the Cup semi-final.

Day one saw the Australians start the tournament with a 5-0 loss to South Africa, before bouncing back to defeat United States 19-15 and France 35-12.

With the World Series now over, the Qantas Men’s Sevens will turn their attention to Rugby World Cup Sevens 2013, which runs 28-30 June in Moscow, Russia.

Women's Sevens

The Qantas Women’s Sevens have finished second in the London Sevens following a 36-7 loss to the hosts in the Cup final on the weekend.

The Australians found themselves down 21-0 at half time and were only able to score the one try in the second half.

Qantas Women’s Sevens coach Chris Lane said the tournament was a step in the right direction as his side prepares for Amsterdam and Rugby World Cup Sevens 2013.

“Despite the final result, I’m very pleased with the progress made over the weekend,” Lane said.

“We had a new group of young and inexperienced players and they’ve come through really well.

“We need more exposure to big occasions like today’s final, they learnt a lot form it. I thought the team was led well by Sharni Williams. We’re looking forward to getting to Amsterdam and continuing to build toward Rugby World Cup Sevens 2013.”

Earlier in the day, the Qantas Women’s Sevens defeated Russia 33-7 in the Cup quarter-final and United States 28-7 in the Cup semi-final.

The Qantas Women’s Sevens emerged from pool play of the London Sevens with two wins and a loss, to set up the quarter-final clash with Russia.

The Australians lost their first match of the tournament to Spain, falling 14-12 in a contest where they struggled to gain possession.

They then powered past the French to shut them out 33-0 and finally defeated hosts England 20-19.

The Qantas Women’s Sevens now head to Amsterdam for the final round of the IRB Women’s Sevens World Series, which runs 17-18 May. They will then turn their attention to Rugby World Cup Sevens 2013, which runs 28-30 June in Moscow, Russia.

Australian Rugby Union