The fairy tale comeback is over, at least for the USA. After storming to perfect Day One at the Cape Town Sevens, the Eagles floundered in their Quarter Final match against Argentina, crashing out of the Cup draw by a 28-14 score. Tries by Franco Sábato and Lautaro Bazán in the opening minutes put Argentina by 14-0 at the break and Conrado Roura’s score in the 10th minute was the final nail in the coffin.
For the Americas the stage is now set to have one team guaranteed to make the Cup Final. Argentina’s win puts them into the Semi Final against Canada, who blitzed France by 35-7 in their Quarter Final match-up. The Canadians were outstanding against a French side that managed only a solitary score in stoppage time to save an embarrassing whitewash. Nathan Hirayama grabbed 15 points with a try and all five conversions.
The USA will now play in the 5th place Semi Final against France at 9:12am Eastern. South Africa are up against New Zealand in the first Cup Semi Final at 9:34am Eastern, with Argentina and Canada following immediately at 9:56am Eastern. The matches will be streamed live by World Rugby. USA viewers can watch on ESPN, while Canadians can watch a live stream on CBC Sports.