Sevens can be a fickle game and the ups and down have mostly favored the USA, but in the end the Eagles were brought down to earth in the final of the Hamilton 7s with the knowledge there is more to do.

Still, what the USA accomplished - making the championship game for the first time ever in the New Zealand 7s, and doing so without the services of Perry Baker, was remarkable.

Quarterfinal

Day Two began as well as you could imagine. Ben Pinkelman won the kickoff against Scotland, grabbing the ball in the air and charging ahead. He offloaded to Madison Hughes and within 11 seconds the USA was ahead.

Some patient phase work and nifty inside pass from Folau Niua set free Stephen Tomasin, who was.a workhorse all weekend. After Pinkelman won the restart once more, and Carlin Isles got a chance to test his speed against the Scots, and won.

Five minutes hone, 19-0 USA.

After that? Well, it could have been better. The Eagles starting falling off tackles, and Scotland was within a try at 19-14 with more than two minutes to go. Twice the Scots seemed to be away for the game-tying try, only to be called back for a penalty (kicking the ball through the ruck and taking the man out off the ball). The USA had escaped.

Semifinal

So on to the semis and New Zealand, and based on the performance of the final nine minutes against Scotland, the USA might have reason to worry.

Except not so much. The Eagles dominated New Zealand. The only reason the All Blacks 7s scored a try was through an interception. Except for that play, New Zealand never came close to scoring a try. Hughes finished off a solid team movement for the only USA score in the first half, but the second half was all United States. Martin Iosefo, who had been a force in the midfield, charged over. Then Isles, kept in check somewhat, looked up from the base of the ruck, saw a little space, and picked up and was gone. USA 17 New Zealand 7.

Final

Thus on a high, the Eagles entered the final against Fiji ready to take the title, and were thoroughly demolished. Fiji essentially neutralized the USA dominate at the restart. They rushed up on defense and used their greater size to counter ruck and blow the Americans off the ball, and didn’t allow any serious inroads into Fijian territory until late in the second half.

Meanwhile, the offloads came thick and fast. Jerry Tuwai scored after a break down the sideline. Waisea Nacuqu was in at the corner after the Eagles kept failing at first-up tackles, and it got worse from there.

When the Eagles did finally got on the front foot - thanks mostly to Brett Thompson making three runs through traffic - it all fell apart. One meter from the tryline the USA was blown off the ball and Also Neduva picked up and ran 99 meters to score for Fiji.

Fiji 38 USA 0.

So that was a lesson in the need to make those tackles - an issue that almost cost them in the quarterfinals against Scotland. And yet the USA can dominate against the very best, as well, and did so against New Zealand. They can change approach on the fly without the World Rugby Sevens Player Of the Year.

They will have to.

Having finished 2nd for the third time in a row this season, the USA sits tied for 1st in the standings. Fiji, having won the last two tournaments, also has 57 points, but wins the tiebreaker based on points scored. New Zealand is a close 3rd, and then there’s a big gap. South Africa is ten points adrift at 4th, and England six points further back in 5th. The top four at the end of the season automatically qualify for the 2020 Olympics.