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Marcus Watson: 'Defeat to Australia won't affect confidence'

England back Marcus Watson insists that his side's defeat to Australia this evening will not affect their confidence going into tomorrow's knockout matches.

England back Marcus Watson has claimed that his side's defeat to Australia in their final game of the rugby sevens group stages today will not affect their confidence for tomorrow's session.

England fell to a 15-7 defeat in a match that saw them squander the lead, have two players sent to the sin bin and have captain and key player Tom Mitchell taken off through injury.

However, despite missing out on top spot in Group D as a result of the loss, Watson stressed that the really important matches take place on the second day.

"I don't think it will affect confidence at all. We realise the importance of day one, but everything is won on day two. We will just keep our heads high and look forward to tomorrow," he told reporters.

The defeat means that England will now face Samoa in the quarter-finals of the Commonwealth Games tomorrow afternoon, and Watson is hoping for a "good performance".

"We change our plan a tiny bit depending on whatever team we play, so we probably will do a little bit of changing against Samoa. We stick to our general game plan most of the time and hopefully we'll put on a good performance," he added.

Watson scored the try that gave England the lead in the group decider, before Australia rallied in the second half.

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Marcus Watson of England scores a try against Kenya during the IRB Glasgow Sevens - Day Two at Scotstoun Stadium on May 4 2014 in Glasgow, Scotland
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