USA: Top 10 Moments of 2015

The first week of the New Year provides the opportunity to take one last look back at 2015. This time around, we’re going to take a look at the Top 10 moments from 2015 for the United States. It was a rough year at times for the United States rugby community. A list of disappointments could have been easier to compile as 2015 brought controversy, failures, and power struggles that seemed to dominate the headlines for some time. That aside, there was also a lot of big moments for rugby in the USA that deserve more praise.

10. Australia in Chicago – It was far from the 61,000 sellout that the All Blacks garnered in 2014, but at just over 26,000 the Australia vs USA match at Soldier Field was the second largest attendance in United States rugby history. Given that it was at the end of a very busy Summer for rugby events and a World Cup year, the attendance number is not nearly as bad as many would like others to believe. The fact remains is that it was another Tier 1 nation that came to the USA which is always good for the sport.

9. USA Sevens Breaks Attendance Record – After showing significant growth in the first few years in Las Vegas, the USA 7s stagnated in 2013 and 2014 although still posting increased numbers. The tournament came out strong in 2015 with an overall attendance of almost 75,761 which beat the previous high of 68,608. With the change of weekend in 2016 to a much better time slot, there’s no reason to believe that Las Vegas won’t post another record year in 2016. If only Las Vegas could work out their stadium issues. The location and tournament has the potential to be one of the major stops on the HSBC World Series.

8. USA Awarded Sevens World Cup 2018 – In May, World Rugby announced that the USA will play host to the 2018 Sevens World Cup. The event is set to be held in San Francisco at AT&T Park (home of MLB’s SF Giants) and the new Avaya Stadium in San Jose. It’s not the big dog, but the Sevens World Cup is still a huge event and a probable testing ground for the viability of hosting the Rugby World Cup in the United States some day.

7. Launch of PRO Rugby – After an ugly battle between the NRFL and USA Rugby for most of 2015, PRO Rugby launched in the Fall with plans to kick off play in 2016 with six teams. Taking a much more modest approach compared to others that have tried to launch professional rugby in the USA, PRO Rugby got fans in an uproar. However, since their initial launch, excitement has waned as only two cities have been announced and reports of expected locations changing may be ominous signs. Regardless, it’s hard to deny the excitement created around the rugby world when the news broke. If it works, it has the potential to be a game changer for the USA in XVs.

6. Potter Returns to the Field – The only individual player to make the list. USA National team stalwart Jillion Potter was diagnosed with cancer in 2014 and forced from the field to battle the disease. After taking a pounding from chemotherapy and radiation treatments, Potter was given a clean bill of health in April and set her mind on returning to the USA roster, including a spot in Rio. Potter returned to the national team in November, playing for the USA Women at the Dubai 7s, and is in the running for a spot in the Olympics. An amazing story that has been covered at length, but yet still deserves more coverage.

5. USA Men and Women Qualify for Rio – Qualifying for Rio was never going to be an issue for the Women, but it was far from a forgone conclusion for the Men. Both teams traveled to the NACRA qualifiers in June to fight for their places in Rio. The Women did as expected and destroyed their opponents en route to a birth in the Olympics. Coming off of a strong finish on the HSBC World Series, the Men were the favorites to win, but still had Canada in their way. To no one’s surprise, the USA and Canada reached the finals easily for a winner goes to Rio battle. The USA came out strong, built a lead, and rolled to a 21-5 win. A momentous occasion for a program that not even a couple year earlier were battling to avoid relegation from the World Series.

4. Eagle Men Sweep Canada in 2015 – In a year that saw the USA Men go 3-7 in XVs including going 0-4 at the World Cup, it is hard to find a silver lining. If there was one, it would certainly be taking two matches from Canada over the Summer. The USA defeated Canada 15-13 in the 5th place match at the Pacific Nations Cup and followed with a 41-23 win a few weeks later. The wins, accompanied by their victory in 2014, gave the USA their first three match winning streak over Canada in team history.

3. USA 7s Defeat New Zealand – It wasn’t XVs, but whenever you beat a team from New Zealand for the first time, it is a big deal. After a few close calls in the last couple of years, the USA 7s team finally got one over on the Kiwi’s and it came at the perfect time. At the Dubai 7s the USA trailed New Zealand 12-7 with no time left on the clock. The USA scored in the corner to tie the match. Needing a win to move onto the Cup, Madison Hughes lined up and nailed a difficult conversion to secure a trip to the Cup and the win. To remind everyone that it wasn’t a fluke, the USA beat New Zealand 31-12 on Day 2 in the 3rd place match.

2. Launch of the Americas 6 Nations – Desperately needing more regular test matches, a group of nations from the Americas came together and worked out an agreement on a Winter competition modeled after the fabled 6 Nations in Europe. Eventually branded as the Americas Rugby Championship, the competition includes Argentina, USA, Canada, Uruguay, Chile, and Brazil. The competition will take a while to pick up steam, but it has the potential to be huge for the teams involved. Talks of a Tier 2 of the ARC are also on the table as well as a Women’s component.

1. USA Wins London 7s – The no-brainer on the list, when the USA took home their first-ever World Series tournament title it was the culmination of a great year for the team. After years of ups and downs (mostly downs) the squad finally came together under the tutelage of Head Coach Mike Friday. The USA not only won the London 7s, but did it in fine fashion. The Eagles went 3-0 in pool play for the first time ever. They dispatched rivals Canada in the Cup quarterfinals. Left the home team England bewildered after a 43-12 ambush. Then finished it off with a Fiji-like pounding of Australia in the finals. The win sent notice to the rest of the field that the USA had finally arrived and would be a team to watch in the build up to the Olympics in 2016.