USA take 2nd, Chile upset NZ at Silicon Valley 7s

The USA just fell short by 15-12 to Australia in the Cup Final at the Silicon Valley 7s on Sunday. It was a fitting contest at Avaya Stadium between two sides who were clearly ahead of the rest of the field. Other Americas participants were Canada and Chile, with the latter impressing en route to a 4th place finish.

While Canada scored the first upset of the day with a 19-10 win over England, it was the Chileans who turned heads with a stunning 7-0 defeat of New Zealand in their first match of the tournament. Rainy conditions slowed the pace somewhat but defensive pressure was the real key to victory for Chile. A single try through outstanding captain Felipe Brangier was just enough as Francisco Urroz stole a lineout just 5 meters out from his own line with time expired to save the win.

Chile continued their terrific start with a 39-0 thrashing of Tonga before falling to hosts USA by 29-14. They returned to the winning column with a 24-10 result over Japan in the Cup Quarter Finals but could not keep up with a dominant Australian side in the Semi Finals. England proved too strong as well in the 3rd Place Final, but it was a tournament to remember for one of the rising nations in the Americas.

Canada entered a development side heavily populated by forwards and the size advantage paid dividends against England but not so against Ireland in their second match. Samoa were also able to front up and push past by one score in the final Pool B encounter. After coasting past Tonga in the Bowl Semi it was Ireland again who Canada would face in the Bowl Final, and Ireland again who got the rub of the green this time by a score of 19-12.

A perfect Day One for the USA saw them defeat Tonga, New Zealand, and Chile in successive fashion during the pool stage. Fiji were next up in the Quarter Finals and proved no match for a confident home side, and England had no answer for the Eagles attack in the Semi Finals. Australia proved worthy challengers as they raced back from a 12-5 deficit to claim the inaugural Silicon Valley 7s title. A length-of-the-field try by Maurice Longbottom with just a minute remaining was enough to seal the result.

The teams now return to begin final preparations for the 2017-18 HSBC Sevens Series which begins on December 1 in Dubai.

 

DAY 1 RESULTS

POOL A
England 10 – 19 Canada
Samoa 10 – 5 Ireland
England 14 – 14 Samoa
Canada 5 – 19 Ireland
England 21 – 0 Ireland
Canada 12 – 17 Samoa

POOL B
Japan 47 – 0 China
Fiji 0 – 29 Australia
Fiji 26 – 26 Japan
Australia 47 – 0 China
Fiji 21 – 10 China
Australia 36 – 7 Japan

POOL C
New Zealand 0 – 7 Chile
USA 29 – 7 Tonga
Chile 39 – 0 Tonga
New Zealand 12 – 24 USA
New Zealand 34 – 0 Tonga
USA 29 – 14 Chile

 

DAY 2 RESULTS

BOWL SEMI FINALS
Ireland 38 – 5 China
Canada 41 – 0 Tonga

CUP QUARTER FINALS
Australia 40 – 7 New Zealand
USA 24 – 5 Fiji
Samoa 10 – 25 England
Chile 24 – 10 Japan

11th PLACE FINAL
China 34 – 10 Tonga

BOWL FINAL
Ireland 19 – 12 Canada

5th PLACE SEMI FINALS
New Zealand 15 – 26 Fiji
Samoa 27 – 12 Japan

CUP SEMI FINALS
Australia 27 – 0 Chile
USA 27 – 0 England

7th PLACE FINAL
New Zealand 26 – 5 Japan

5th PLACE FINAL
Fiji 14 – 26 Samoa

3rd PLACE FINAL
Chile 12 – 31 England

CUP FINAL
USA 12 – 15 Australia