The USA took a tighter grip on fifth place in the Sevens World Series, and South Africa clinched the overall series crown in Paris on Sunday.
South Africa didn't need to win the series' ninth round to secure the World Series title -- the Blitzbokke just needed to keep somewhat close to England and Fiji. In the end, the South Africans put an emphatic stamp on the whole affair with their fifth tournament (15-5 over Scotland in the final) and an unsurmountable 34-point lead going into London.
The USA, for its part, was looking to do two things: gain ground on New Zealand in four place and extend its lead over sixth-place Australia. While the Eagles failed to close the gap against the All Blacks, the USA finished higher than the Aussies and is in good shape to secure a best-ever finish of fifth place in the series.
After going 2-1 on day one, the USA met England in the Cup Quarterfinals, and while Perry Baker continued his scoring streak, England continued its role as the USA's nemesis with a 26-12 victory. Next up was Fiji, a team that has been a nemesis for the Eagles. Baker didn't score, but Madison Hughes got two and Stephen Tomasin and Ben Pinkelman each added one en route to the USA's 24-14 win.
So that set up the fifth-place final (the Plate Final in the old parlance). USA head coach Mike Friday decided to rest Hughes, Tomasin, and Martin Iosefo and take on Samoa with the likes of Mike Te'o and Matai Leuta starting
Pinkelman ran the team on as the captain, and while the Eagles started well on defense, things took a turn early. Baker was yellow-carded for a deliberate knock-on, and suddenly the USA team was shorthanded.
But it was the Eagles who would score. Some nice interplay between Maka Unufe, Folau Niua, and Leuta got them close to the Samoa tryline. Samoa was penalized, and Niua tapped quickly and scored.
Right from the restart the Eagles won the ball and sent it wide to Leuta, who was knocked down but not held. After the big wing popped back up, he then fired a sweet pass inside to Te'o, who did the rest. A Samoa player was hurt on the play, and the USA players took a knee while he was attended to on the field. The gesture was noted by several for the respect the Americans showed.
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Down a player and holding a 14-0 lead, the USA saw Baker return to the field in time to work a nice loop decoy move.
Niua started it off with some fancy footwork, and then Andrew Durutalo passed to Baker. After looping around in time to take a no-look pass, Durutalo was free to go in at the corner. That made it 19-0, and while Samoa finally got on the scoreboard, Unufe raced in to make it 24-0 a minute into the second half. From then on, the Eagles seemed content to make Samoa work for the comeback. They made it within a try, but by then the game was over, 24-19.
South Africa didn't need to win the series' ninth round to secure the World Series title -- the Blitzbokke just needed to keep somewhat close to England and Fiji. In the end, the South Africans put an emphatic stamp on the whole affair with their fifth tournament (15-5 over Scotland in the final) and an unsurmountable 34-point lead going into London.
The USA, for its part, was looking to do two things: gain ground on New Zealand in four place and extend its lead over sixth-place Australia. While the Eagles failed to close the gap against the All Blacks, the USA finished higher than the Aussies and is in good shape to secure a best-ever finish of fifth place in the series.
After going 2-1 on day one, the USA met England in the Cup Quarterfinals, and while Perry Baker continued his scoring streak, England continued its role as the USA's nemesis with a 26-12 victory. Next up was Fiji, a team that has been a nemesis for the Eagles. Baker didn't score, but Madison Hughes got two and Stephen Tomasin and Ben Pinkelman each added one en route to the USA's 24-14 win.
So that set up the fifth-place final (the Plate Final in the old parlance). USA head coach Mike Friday decided to rest Hughes, Tomasin, and Martin Iosefo and take on Samoa with the likes of Mike Te'o and Matai Leuta starting
Pinkelman ran the team on as the captain, and while the Eagles started well on defense, things took a turn early. Baker was yellow-carded for a deliberate knock-on, and suddenly the USA team was shorthanded.
But it was the Eagles who would score. Some nice interplay between Maka Unufe, Folau Niua, and Leuta got them close to the Samoa tryline. Samoa was penalized, and Niua tapped quickly and scored.
Right from the restart the Eagles won the ball and sent it wide to Leuta, who was knocked down but not held. After the big wing popped back up, he then fired a sweet pass inside to Te'o, who did the rest. A Samoa player was hurt on the play, and the USA players took a knee while he was attended to on the field. The gesture was noted by several for the respect the Americans showed.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/Paris7s/status/863763438161584129" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
Down a player and holding a 14-0 lead, the USA saw Baker return to the field in time to work a nice loop decoy move.
Niua started it off with some fancy footwork, and then Andrew Durutalo passed to Baker. After looping around in time to take a no-look pass, Durutalo was free to go in at the corner. That made it 19-0, and while Samoa finally got on the scoreboard, Unufe raced in to make it 24-0 a minute into the second half. From then on, the Eagles seemed content to make Samoa work for the comeback. They made it within a try, but by then the game was over, 24-19.