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The USA Eagles finished off a strong Day 2 at the Hong Kong 7s with a decisive win over Australia to finish Pool C play with a perfect 3-0 record. The clean sweep is only the second time in team history that they have finished the pool stage with a 3-0 record. The other being at the 2015 London 7s where the USA went on to win their first Cup title. USA fans will be hopeful of a repeat performance in the knockout stage.
The Eagles started off Day 2 against Argentina in a pivotal match up. With one win under their belts, the USA could cement their place in the Cup round with a win over Argentina. The South Americans had other intentions and had an early 14-0 lead behind tries from Rodrigo Etchart and Juan Pablo Estellas. With time expiring on the 1st half, the Eagles cut into the lead with a try from Perry Baker that was converted by Madison Hughes.
Trailing 14-7 in the 2nd half led to some tense moments, but the USA held firm. Maka Unufe crossed over in the 10th minute after being set up by a bruising run from Danny Barrett. The conversion from Hughes knotted the match at 14-14 with a few minutes to play. A minute later the USA took their first lead of the match 19-14 after a second try from Baker. Hughes added a try and conversion a couple of minutes later to give the USA some breathing room and a 26-14 come from behind win over Argentina.
With their place in the Cup secured, all that was left for the USA was to finish off pool play undefeated. Standing in their way was Australia whom sit just above the USA on the World Series standings. As in the Eagle’s first match on Day 2, their opponent was first on the board as Australia got a quick try from Allan Fa’alava’au which was converted for a 7-0 lead. That was all that the Wallabies could muster as the USA kept them off the scoreboard the remainder of the match.
The Eagles cut into Australia’s lead with a 5th minute try from Garrett Bender. With time expired in the first half, Madison Hughes gave the USA the lead with a try and conversion. With that, the Eagles took a 12-7 lead into the break.
The USA padded their lead in the 10th minute with scintillating try from Perry Baker as he appeared to not have room to get the edge, but sped past three Australian defenders for a long try. The score gave the Eagles a 17-7 lead with just a few minutes left to play. The USA added another when Ben Pinkleman crossed over as time was expiring to give the USA a solid 22-7 win and a clean sweep of Pool C in Hong Kong.
“I trust in my teammates, they give me the ball, and the space to have a one on one against a defender. I try to make the most of it,” said Baker on his three Day 2 tries. “The key is those guys making this happen for me.”
The Eagles picked up a tough draw in the Quarterfinals as they are facing off against South Africa in the Cup Quarterfinals. With only two semifinal appearances this season, the USA needs to keep their momentum going and push past the always tough Blitzbokke. The two sides last met in the 3rd place playoff in Las Vegas with South Africa taking home a 21-10 victory.
Cup Quarterfinals
New Zealand vs Wales
USA vs South Africa
Fiji vs Kenya
England vs Australia
