Eagles Finish 3rd in Dubai

It may only be one tournament into the new World Series season, but the USA have already shown that their finish at the end of the 2015 was not a fluke. The Eagles defeated New Zealand for the second time in two days to take home 3rd place at the Dubai 7s. The USA were unlucky to not to be competing for the title after a dubious extra-time loss to England, in the semifinals, where a number of 50/50 penalties went in favor of England in the closing minutes.

After shocking New Zealand in pool play to get into the Cup round, the Eagles dispatched South Africa in the quarterfinals. South Africa, who had been the most dominant team on Day 1 of the tournament, succumbed to a late comeback from the USA. The Eagles got the match off to a fine start with an early try from Perry Baker to give them a 5-0. South Africa bounced back with tries from Justin Geduld and Philip Snyman to take a 12-7 lead into the half. The Blitzbokke padded their lead early in the second half with a try from Seabelo Senatla as South Africa held a solid 19-7 lead with five minutes to play. A yellow card to Senatla minutes later opened the door for the USA as Matai Leuta scored in the 11th minute to cut into the lead. Just over a minute later, Carlin Isles sliced through the middle to score under the posts to tie the match. Madison Hughes, whom had a superb tournament converting 14 of 16 kicks, added the conversion to give the USA a 21-19 lead and the win.

In the Cup Semifinals, the USA matched up against England and the match could not have gotten off to a better start. Within the first few minutes of the match, the USA got tries from Leuta and Zach Test and held a 12-0 lead. The English side looked shell shocked, similar to when the Eagles pounded them on home soil in the London semifinals. This time around, England dug deep and regrouped. A 6th minute try from Josh Watkins was followed by a spectacular regather on the restart by Richard de Carpentier. de Carpentier stole the restart in the air from Garrett Bender and raced down the sideline for a score. The conversion from Dan Bibby tied the match at 12-12 going into halftime.

The USA came out in the second half and got a quick score from Maka Unufe which was converted by Hughes to give the Eagles a 19-12 lead. The USA held that lead until the dying moments when a series of penalties pushed England deep into USA territory. The Eagles appeared to turn the ball over at a breakdown only to receive another penalty call. England put Alex Gray into space and he scored easily. The ensuing conversion tied the match at 19-19 as the teams moved into extra time. As with the end of the second half, the penalties continued to flow for both teams in extra time. Unfortunately for the USA, they were on the receiving end of most of the calls which eventually led to Phil Burgess breaking away for a score to give England a dramatic 24-19 victory.

The loss to England sent the USA into a rematch with New Zealand for third place. Having beaten the All Blacks for the first time in team history a day earlier, the USA expected a Kiwi side set on revenge. New Zealand was on the scoreboard first with a try from Sherwin Stowers. The conversion from Joe Webber gave New Zealand a 7-0 lead.  The USA answered back with three tries over the next six minutes. Folau Niua, Kevin Swiryn, and Will Holder each crossed over for tries with Nate Augspurger converting two of them to give the USA a 19-7 lead going into halftime.

The second half started out slowly, but built into another strong finish as Perry Baker added another try to bring his tournament total to six and Holder scored his second of the match as the Eagles held a commanding 31-7 lead late in the match. New Zealand added a late try from Lewis Ormond to close out the score at 31-12. Having registered their first victory over New Zealand in the dying moments of Day 1, the Eagles added a lopsided win over one of the best teams in the World, further showing that they intend to be contenders this season and into the 2016 Olympics.

The USA finish Dubai with a 4-2 record and although it is only the first tournament of the season, the squad sits in 3rd place which is their highest standing in team history.

The Eagles return to action next weekend as the HSBC World Series rolls into Capetown, South Africa for the 2nd round of play.

USA Dubai 7s Scoring Leaders