England head coach heaped praise on his side, as his side beat Kenya to win the 2013 Hertz Sevens.

Having failed to reach a single Cup quarter final in the opening three rounds of the 2012/13 HSBC Sevens World Series, England went unbeaten over the two days to lift their first Cup since the 2012 Dubai Sevens.

In a dramatic final, Sam Edgerley scored the winning try, as England also won their first title in New Zealand since 2009 - which was Ryan's first tournament win as coach.

"I am thrilled for the performance which I knew we had in us," said Ryan after the full time whistle.

"This ranks above 2009. That was my first tournament win, and I had some players in that side I now have long life friendships with.

"But here where we have come from and from what we have had to endure on and off the field, this is our number one. This is the start of 2013, and the journey for us."

Edgerley came off the bench to score the winning try and was delighted with his first Cup win in England colours.

""It is just fantastic, I am overwhelmed to be honest but I am the proudest man in the world," added Edgerley.

"We had a really good build up to this, we didn't have the best start to the season, so we made a promise to ourselves, we made a promise to get out of it and we did. We said it was a man's test, and we were the men."

MORE REACTION

Rob Vickerman, England captain: "I was looking back at my photos in 2009. I had some secret slideshows of them this week if I am being honest. To do it with these guys today though is a really special thing. And a really special mention for Sam he has worked really hard for this."

Oscar Ouma, Kenya Sevens: "We are really proud. Last year we were in the Bowl, this year we wanted a notch higher and we did it. Unfortunately we couldn't win but hopefully we can go a notch higher in Vegas. It is an honor to play for Kenya and to represent all the people."

DJ Forbes, New Zealand captain: "I think ultimately it is about the World Series, but extremely disappointed not to win in our home tournament. Everybody loves to play at home, it is a little bit gut wrenching, we had some opportunities in that game but a few little crucial errors, hopefully we will learn our lessons and come back stronger. 

Sean Duke, Canada, on winning the Bowl: "We feel absolutely great, it is a good feeling knowing we put everything out there and finished on top. Overall we were a bit disappointed to not go through on points differential to the Cup, but still looking back we are pretty happy."

Mike Friday, Kenya coach, after beating hosts NZ in Cup semis: "I am so proud of the boys, to come from 14-0 down, we have had two educations of New Zealand in losing two semi finals on how to play the game. But that mental belief is starting to come, such a big part of the game of Sevens, and credit to them. 14-0 down in Wellington, to come back and win it at sudden death, that is great spirit and that typifies this Kenyan team."

Paul Treu, SA Sevens coach: "I think right from the start it wasn't a good start, and it most certainly isn't a good finish. So many lessons learnt, but we have learnt them before. I know this team has more to offer than what the score board is saying. But they need to keep the faith, keep the belief and hopefully we can amend in Vegas."

Stephen Betham, former Samoa Sevens coach: "I have been involved with the 15s, it is a different experience and a different level of competition up there, but nothing beats coming back to Wellington and getting that feeling of Sevens back in your blood. It is something i miss and I am here to help the boys in anyway I can."

DAY ONE REACTION

Gordon Tietjens, New Zealand coach: "It's about the team looking at themselves, we have played some terrible Sevens today, in some ways some of the experienced players aren't performing as they want to. I suppose the gap between Port Elizabeth and here is quite extreme. You look at Australia, they went to Fiji and they were firing today, and perhaps that is what we need."

Jesse Parahi, Australia captain (Cup quarter fianlists): "The boys have been training really well the past couple of weeks, and we came out with the goods tomorrow, hopefully we can back it up tomorrow.

"We have come a long way, and everyone is starting to know their roles properly. We will give it our best shot tomorrow." 

Mike Friday, Kenya coach (on reaching Cup quarters): "We are looking for consistency in performance from the Kenyan boys, and so far so good. It is a bit early to be talking about that [winning the Cup]. We have had a good day, we have a ticket to the Cup but day two is a different tournament."

Stephen Gemmell, Scotland coach: "Fiji we knew were bringing a lot of new players. It makes them dangerous but also gives you a chance. If you are going to play one of the big teams you are best to get them first up. The boys had confidence from beating them in the last tournament and they took that into the match. It was a real team effort.

"It has been a long 20 months without a Cup quarter final. The boys have a bit more confidence and they have a lot more self belief, that is important."

Ben Ryan, England coach, after victory against NZ: "We have got those games in us, we played well, but we were a bit scratchy in defense. I am delighted we won but we have a lot more to give, there were times there when we weren't quite as clinical as I would have liked. We need to keep that type of intensity, and our goal is for the weekend is to keep improving."