Americas Rugby News Rugby news from across the Americas!
It wasn’t that long ago that a trip to the Bowl was a compulsory experience for the USA 7s squad. However, that paradigm has shifted and now the Eagles find themselves in the disappointing position of playing in the Bowl at the Singapore 7s. After starting off their tournament with a convincing victory over Canada, the USA lost to France and New Zealand to drop into the Bowl competition for the first time this season and the first time since April of 2015 when they played in the Bowl at the Tokyo 7s.
Day 1 in Singapore started off on the right foot for the USA as they scored six tries en route to pounding Canada 36-14. Zach Test and Madison Hughes each scored twice while Danny Barrett and Perry Baker rounded out the scoring. It was a dominating effort as the USA scored the first 31 points of the match.
The Eagles followed with a tense match against France, whom had upset New Zealand in their opening match of the tournament. With powerhouse Virimi Vakatawa back in the lineup, France looked confident and dangerous. Madison Hughes started the scoring, but France quickly evened up with a try from Vakatawa. Tied at 5-5 going into the break, France came out fast in the second half and pushed out to a 19-5 lead after a try from Stephen Parez and second score from Vakatawa.
The USA mounted a furious comeback with back to back tries from Hughes and Baker in the dying moments of the match. The second conversion was missed and left France with a dramatic 19-17 win over the Eagles. The loss put the USA in a all or nothing match against New Zealand.
Looking as if they were hung over from the disappointing loss to France, New Zealand used a series of Eagle miscues in the first half to push out to a commanding 19-0 lead going into halftime. The USA regrouped in the second half and slowly worked their way back into the match. Maka Unufe got the USA on the scoreboard, but they were unable to cross the line until a last minute try from Zach Test left the score at 19-12. A much better second half effort, but not enough to overcome the large lead they gave New Zealand in the first half.
The loss to New Zealand has placed the Eagles in the Bowl competition where they’ll face off against Russia in the Bowl Quarterfinals on Day 2 in Singapore.
