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The USA recorded another historic moment in their 7s history as they have defeated New Zealand for the first time in team history. The victory vaulted the Eagles past France and into the Cup Quarterfinals at the Dubai 7s. All three teams finished pool play with identical 2-1 records. The All Blacks topped the pool by way of points difference while the USA edged France by just two points, their winning margin over New Zealand.
“It’s a monumental step for us,” said Eagle star Zack Test. “We worked really hard. We’re going to remember this one.”
The USA got their tournament started on a strong foot with a 45-14 pounding of Portugal. The Eagles led from start to finish as they rolled to a 26-7 halftime lead and never looked back. The USA ran in seven tries with Perry Baker leading the way with two scores.
The Eagles stumbled in their second match against a much-improved French team. France starved the USA of possession and stuck to their game plan. Steeve Barry got France on the scoreboard first with a try that was converted by Terry Bouhraoua. A minute later Bouhraoua crossed over for a try and converted to give France an early 14-0 lead. The USA struck back before halftime with a try from Maka Unufe that was converted by Madison Hughes to cut the deficit to 14-7.
France extended their lead to 21-7 just into the second half with a converted try from Damien Cler. With France taking control of the match, the Eagles got a much needed try from Brett Thompson. The conversion from Hughes put the USA one score behind at 21-14. Zack Test scored with just a couple minutes left to play and the conversion from Hughes deadlocked the match at 21-21.
With time expired, French big man Virimi Vakatawa scored to pull off an early tournament upset. The loss put the USA in a position where they would have to defeat New Zealand to have any chance of moving onto the Cup round.
The squad did just that as the USA got two tries from Perry Baker and two must have conversions from Madison Hughes. The USA was on the board first with a 5th minute try from Baker. New Zealand answered back with a try from DJ Forbes which was converted by Gillies Kaka to tie the match at 7-7 going into halftime.
New Zealand took a 12-7 lead at the 10th minute mark with a try from Sam Dickson. The remainder of the half provided a number of tense moments. The USA showed their mettle and got an extra time try from Perry Baker to tie the score. A tie would have seen France through to the Cup round instead of the USA. Hughes slotted the difficult conversion to give the USA an unexpected win over the All Blacks and a trip to the Cup round.
The USA faces off against South Africa in the Cup Quarterfinals.
