England Sevens captain Ben Gollings speaks about on a frustrating end to the Commonwealth Games campaign, which saw his side beat world champions Samoa 7-5 in the quarter-finals but lose out to New Zealand 33-12 and South Africa 17-14 in the remaining games and finish out of the medals.

Talk us through the second day of the tournament.

“Looking at the positives Samoa was a sensational game. It was always going to a very difficult quarter final but we did what we needed to do to win and set ourselves up nicely for the semi-final.

“Unfortunately, as things panned out we stood off New Zealand and just didn’t take the game to them. It’s sad but that is what Sevens is like. I don’t know how many times I’ve been in this situation and it’s hard to take – you have incredible highs and incredible lows all in the same day.”

How disappointing was it to lose the bronze medal match against South Africa?

“We were beaten fair and square by New Zealand but I thought we had it in us in that last game against South Africa. You can’t stop playing. It’s one of the hardest thing about this sport. You’ve got to take a massive disappointment, then put it behind you and go out and play for a medal 40 minutes later.

“We blew it really, we didn’t take our chances and it’s bitterly, bitterly disappointing. It’s like there’s been a death in the family to be honest, that’s how it feels for everybody. For all the hard work we put in and all the dedication to the cause, it’s a shame to be leaving Delhi with nothing.”

How will you and England bounce back from this going into the HSBC Sevens World Series?

“What can we do next? Just go away, get over it and rebuild for the World Series that starts in December. I think it’s going to take a bit of time. We’ve got to put right what we got wrong and bounce back. 

“Matt Powell says it’s probably the worst place to come, fourth. If I look back to 2006 when we lost to New Zealand in the final and got a silver medal, I was just as numb then as I am now. I’ll be honest, you are here for the gold. But yes, you would like to win a medal because it shows you’ve achieved something and to come away with nothing hurts even more.

“It’s hugely emotional but you can’t take back time and change things. You’ve got to deal with it and move on. I won’t stop training. I’ll get fitter, I’ll get quicker and I’ll bounce back for the World Series because I want this team to be successful, I believe they can be successful, and I believe they’ll be a big force in it.”