England successfully defended its Dubai Sevens rugby title by beating surprise finalist France 29-12.
England, which beat world series titleholder New Zealand 10-7 and series leader Fiji 19-12 en route to the final, broke open a tight match in the first half when Mat Turner scored two tries within a minute, the last as time expired. England went to the break up 24-7. France pulled a try back with Renaud Delmas' second, but England's defense was too good.
It was a stark turnaround from a week ago in the series opener on the Gold Coast where England lost in the quarterfinals.
England improved to second in the series standings, seven points behind leader Fiji, which beat Argentina for third place 26-21 in extra time.
France, New Zealand and South Africa were tied for third, three points further adrift.
England coach Ben Ryan said it helped that his side had to play two of the toughest teams to make the final.
"If we play one of the top teams, we raise our game," Ryan said. "To play New Zealand and Fiji in the quarterfinals and semifinals certainly stiffened sinews and made us stick to a game-plan which was really, really pleasing. We played some clever football out there and we were quite ruthless."
Turner, who scored his 50th try and was named player of the tournament, said he was just glad to do his part in the victory.
"I'm just a piece of a puzzle and I was lucky to be in place where I was and took my opportunities," Turner said. "Obviously, (the team) got a massive boost from scoring the two tries."
France reached its first final in six years after beating South Africa 19-5 in the quarters and Argentina 24-5 in the semis.
"We are very happy," coach Frederic Pomarel said. "It is difficult, it is better to be the winner, but we work, work and work. I am very proud, I hope we can do more like this in other tournaments."
England came from 7-0 down to oust New Zealand with unconverted tries to Turner and Dan Norton. The semifinal against Fiji was another thriller, with England leading 19-12 when Norton made a try-saving tackle on Osea Kolinisau after the hooter to prevent extra time.
Fiji, the Gold Coast winner, came from 21-7 down to edge Argentina 26-21, thanks to a try by replacement Livai Ikanikoda just over two minutes into extra time.
New Zealand ended up losing three straight matches for the first time in series history, having been beaten by South Africa in its final pool match, then by England and finally by Australia in the plate semifinals.
"I think we're a bit tired, I've had to play my experienced players almost every minute of every game," New Zealand coach Gordon Tietjens said.
"It's probably been a bit of a learning curve for some of the new players but it's certainly nowhere near all over."
In the first women's Challenge Cup final, Canada beat England 26-7. The series moves on to the South Africa Sevens in Port Elizabeth next week.
AP