Vegas 7s: USA Eagles Top New Zealand All Blacks For Bronze Finish

Vegas 7s: USA Eagles Top New Zealand All Blacks For Bronze Finish

In a thrilling comeback over New Zealand in the bronze-medal match, the USA Eagles capped a bruising run through the Las Vegas round of the HSBC Sevens World Series by knocking off the All Blacks 19-15.

Mar 1, 2017 by Michael Cramer
Vegas 7s: USA Eagles Top New Zealand All Blacks For Bronze Finish
After a slower start to this year's HSBC Sevens World Series, the USA Eagles used their return to home soil to make a statement on Sunday in Las Vegas.

In a thrilling comeback over New Zealand in the bronze-medal match, the Eagles capped a bruising run through the tournament by knocking off the All Blacks 19-15 and clinching their first podium of the season. The USA took away 17 points from the series' fifth stop, vaulting the Eagles into sixth place overall in the standings.

While the USA exited Sam Boyd Stadium with its best result in 2017, it also had to reflect on its missed opportunities. Searching for their first-ever series victory, the Eagles jumped out to a 12-0 lead in the semifinals over world leader South Africa before the Blitzboks surged ahead in the second half for a 20-17 win. In the finals, South Africa marched on to its series-best fourth gold medal by taking down Fiji 19-12. 


Still shaking off its near miss in the previous round, the USA settled in for a back-and-forth, hard-fought battle with New Zealand in the third-place game. However, this time, it was the Eagles who found themselves clawing back from a deficit after the All Blacks grabbed a 10-7 lead early in the second half.

Much like they were throughout the Las Vegas leg, the USA's Danny Barrett and Martin Iosefo proved to be big factors against New Zealand. Barrett scored a try with 2:12 left on the clock to help the Eagles reclaim a 14-10 lead following a Stephen Tomasin conversion. While New Zealand quickly answered with another try to grab a one-point lead, the USA got the ball back with 20 seconds remaining and managed to get down to the 10-meter line with a penalty. Andrew Durutalo punched it in for the finishing blow over the All Blacks, capping the USA's fifth victory in its last nine meetings against New Zealand.


After five rounds of the HSBC Sevens World Series, South Africa has totaled 107 points and holds a 24-point advantage over second-place Fij, with no signs of slowing down. England is currently in third place with 81 points, and New Zealand is fourth with 71 points. Fifth-place Australia and sixth-place USA follow with 52 each.

The next stop in the series is March 11-12 in Vancouver, Canada. The Eagles are set to square off against Australia, France, and Japan in pool C. Meanwhile, front-runner South Africa and England will clash in an exciting pool A matchup that could potentially set England up to take over second place from Fiji.