The West Indies emerged from a winless opening day at the Emirates Airline London Sevens with no damage to a burgeoning reputation as exciting newcomers to the world stage.

As in Hong Kong two months ago, they arrived as significant underdogs, but by sundown the name of Bruno Green resonated around the ground, his pace epitomising the speed at which Mark Hewitt's men are catching on.

But it nearly went dreadfully wrong after a crushing 55-0 loss to Samoa, which threatened to deflate the morale of this cosmopolitan outfit.

They had suffered a 36-5 defeat at the hands of England, who would prove later to be the sensations of the day, and lost Danny McGavern -- one of two Bermuda players in the squad -- to an ankle injury against the Samoans. Yet they managed to run the Welsh outfit close before succumbing 34-14.

It was a show of resolve that leaves Hewitt, the coach, in positive mood ahead of the Bowl quarter-final against Portugal at Twickenham today.

"I was quite pleased with the way we played against England and Wales,'' he said. "I think we gave Samoa too much respect. We stood off them and, obviously, the score showed that. We gradually got better and better as the day's gone on. Now we're going to go away and have a little rest, we'll watch our videos, and do a little analysis to see what went wrong, what went right.

"Tomorrow, our objectives are to go out there and compete. Portugal are a good side, we played them in Lisbon last year, they are a talented side, but they are one of the sides we can put pressure on, and we can score points against them.'' Held rather curiously in the backdrop of the England-Barbarians contest at Twickenham, the 1,000 or so in attendance at the home of Harlequins FC could count themselves fortunate to witness the sort of nonstop action that sevens rugby necessitates.

And the West Indies had their moments in the spotlight, with Green, who scored their three tries, commanding the most attention by day's end.

Born to a Barbadian father, Green, who is in the British Army, is one of a number of West Indies players whose ties to the Caribbean stretch longer than would be expected normally.

But there is no doubting his quality when in possession, as a pair of Wales defenders found to their dismay when he split them in the midst of a 40-metre sprint to glory.

There are also Mark Hamilton, the Trinidad wing who missed the Hong Kong Sevens through injury, and Dale Cross, the Harlequins second-row forward of St Lucian parents, to add quality to the sevens novices, not to mention McGavern and fellow Bermudian Nathan Browne, in his first tournament.

West Indies go down fighting From Page 27 Browne was thrust into service earlier than intended when McGavern went down, but he acquitted himself superbly and is guaranteed to start against Portugal.

McGavern, though, has been ruled out, but hopes to be ready for the World Series finale in Wales next weekend.

"It was a little intimidating at first, but once you get on the field and into the game you forget all about that stuff,'' Browne, 25, said. "I was kind of pleased, thought I did pretty well. It was hard work. Coming against Samoa the first game was a tough one to get into, but it was a lot of fun and good experience that I wouldn't normally get.'' A resolute performance in the first-half was undone as England, inspired by Simon Hunt, reeled off 21 unanswered points to complete a straightforward win.

A rout by the second seeds in Pool D looked on the cards after Hunt scored with only 63 seconds elapsed, assisted by persistent play by Nigel Simpson.

West Indies' first break came shortly after when Hamilton excited with a pacey run down the left flank. But England reacted quickly to the danger and went ahead further in the fifth minute after a faulty exchange between Cross, playing on his home turf, and Chris Green at the 20-metre line. Hunt was the beneficiary, walking in uncontested for his second try.

Determined tackling kept England at bay for the remainder of the half, but Kieran Roche gave the host nation breathing room with a spirited effort, leaving a trail of West Indies tacklers in his wake.

But there was soon to be joy for West Indies, and the inspiration came from McGavern. Collecting the ball near midfield, McGavern displayed an impressive turn of pace to open a hole on the England left. Bruno Green, reading the situation well, collected the ensuing pass and went in for the lone, but richly deserved, West Indies try.

England then took advantage of tired limbs to score three converted tries in the space of two-and-a-half minutes.

The Samoa match was over virtually before it started, with Tim Cowley going over after only 42 seconds. By the five-minute mark, West Indies were behind 24-0 and it became a matter of damage limitation. But, somehow, that did not apply to McGavern who required assistance leaving the field.

Browne instantly was called into action with a try-saving tackle but such displays were few and far between in a woeful demonstration of tackling that West Indies can ill-afford if they are to progress today.

The improvement against Wales was marked, but lapses in concentration meant they faced an uphill climb after falling behind 14-0 inside four minutes. But the ride was worth it as Green delighted with a solo effort just before the half that was all but strength and pace.

Again though, West Indies came into the second half flat and Wales opened an insurmountable gap with two well-worked tries by Gareth Baber and Matthew Watkins.

Green saved his best for last with an explosive dash to score under the posts, which left pundits in awe. That Wales scored an additional try hardly seemed to matter.