England Women Sevens coach Simon Middleton believes his side will have to improve if they are to find success on day two of the Sevens World Series in Brazil.
England face old enemies Australia in the Cup quarter-finals after finishing third in their pool on day one.
Things started well for the Red Rose as Natasha Brennan, Natasha Hunt, Katy McLean, Joanne Watmore and Amy Wilson Hardy all ran in tries in a convincing 31-5 win over South Africa.
Watmore then notched a hat-trick in game two against Russia but her side were forced to settle for a 17-17 draw.
And despite a valiant fightback in their final pool game against Canada, which included two more tries for Watmore, England suffered a first loss as they went down 24-17.
Those results mean Middleton’s troops will play Australia, who recorded three thumping wins by a combined score of 116-14, with a place in the Cup semi-final up for grabs.
And the coach wants to see his team cut out the basic mistakes when they clash with the Aussies.
“We had a disappointing day – we were distinctly average,” admitted Middleton. “Although we got ourselves into good positions we didn’t capitalise and we made too made errors.
“And when you make errors like we did, the opposition take no mercy. This is a very clinical environment.
“Australia in the quarter-finals will be tough but we know what we are up against with them.
“Certainly anything below our best will not be good enough to get through to the semi-finals.”
© Sportsbeat 2015