When the season started, or even halfway through the year, if you would have said the Eagles 7’s team would finish with three straight appearances in the Plate final and top eight finishes in five of the nine IRB Sevens Series stops you would have been laughed at. It’s easy to forget that just a few months ago some fans will calling for Alex Magleby’s job and the dismissal of several players. But now after another strong tournament in London to end the season, the Eagles look to have things on track and the program is looking better than ever.
The U.S. began the weekend with the pressure off having avoided the core requalification process and it would have been easy for the team to take London lightly, but just as they did on day two last weekend in Glasgow, this team came out fighting, earning memorable wins over South Africa and a third straight Plate final appearance. By making the Plate final, the U.S. was able to jump over Canada in the overall standings to move into 11th place.
Take the jump to read more recap, analysis, and three stars.
Matches
Day One
United States 19-17 France: Suffering a big of a hangover from Glasgow, the U.S. came out a bit flat and allowed France two tries early to put themselves in a 12-0 hole. But the U.S. showed resiliency and a nice effort from Andrew Durutalo at the breakdown led to Nick Edwards getting the Eagles first try. The U.S. came out firing in the second half and leveled the score through a Matt Hawkins try. Durutalo then gave the U.S. the lead with only minutes remain. France would score close to the end but it was too little too late. Click here to read a more in-depth recap.
United States 15-19 Australia: The U.S. nearly made it two for two on the day as they held a lead against Australia past the final hooter, but a costly error from Luke Hume gifted Australia a chance for a winning try which they put away. Brett Thompson had a hat trick for the Eagles scoring brilliant tries but the inability to close out the match cost the Americans. Click here to read a more in-depth recap.
United States 19-12 South Africa: The loss to Australia meant that the U.S. needed a win or to keep it close against South Africa to advance to the Cup quarterfinals. The U.S. had never beaten South Africa before but today was their day. Things got going early through Edwards to give the U.S. a 7-0 lead. The Blitzbokke would get a try back through Chris Dry but a beautiful ball over the top from Shalom Suniula to Thompson but the Arizona Wildcat into wide open space and the score. Still, South Africa wouldn’t go away and things got interesting with WJ Strydom scored with just minutes to go. But the U.S. was massive in holding up play. Carlin Isles sealed the match after dramatically recovering a hopeful Test kick to seal the match. Click here to read a more in-depth recap.
Day Two
United States 19-24 Australia: In a déjà vu moment, Australia once again scored after time had expired to pipe the U.S. and send them to the Plate semi-finals rather than the Cup semi-finals. Thompson and Suniula scored for the U.S. and they looked to have the match sealed when Edwards found the corner with less than a minute remaining, but Australia were patient and worked the ball down for a try. Click here to read a more in-depth recap.
United States 22-5 South Africa: If beating South Africa on day one was memorable, the Eagles 22-5 victory in the Plate semi-finals was even more memorable in that the U.S. dominated South Africa for much of the match. The first part of the match was a back and forth affair with each team scoring tries and it wasn’t until Test broke through for his second try of the match and 75th try overall in his IRB Sevens Series career that the U.S. had firm control of the match. The Blitzbokke put pressure on the U.S. late through Cecil Afrika but a turnover at the breakdown allowed Matt Hawkins to seal the match. Click here to read a more in-depth recap.
United States 5-14 Fiji: The U.S. found themselves in the Plate final for the third week in a row facing a huge test against Fiji, a team that had beaten the previous two tournament. Rain during the break had caused the pitch to become slippy and the ball greasy. That had a major effect on play as both teams committed plenty of turnovers. Fiji were the first to score through Donaslo Ratubuli Naturaga and they would extend their lead later. The U.S. never could find a groove in the match and weren’t able to score a try until Isles burned some Fijian defenders to dot down. But Fiji held firm and were excellent at winding the clock down for the win. Click here to read a more in-depth recap.
Analysis
All tournament the key to the U.S. success lied into two factors: winning the breakdown and being smart in the offload. Time and time again over the weekend the U.S. was absolutely dominant in the breakdown. That comes from making over 90% of their tackles (the leading rate for any team over the weekend) and being active. Andrew Durutalo was massive in this regard. His contributions were sometimes difficult to pick up, but he single handedly stole several balls at the breakdown the resulted in tries. It seemed like almost half of the U.S. tries this weekend came after turnover ball. Staying organized on defense also allowed the team to take advantage of the breakdown. By not getting too spread out or over committed they were able to put the appropriate numbers in the ruck and were able to frustrate their opponents.
The offload was also key to the weekend. Early in the season the Eagles were terrible when it came to passing and catching. That had a lot to do with not trusting teammates and standing still when passing or catching. This weekend, just like last weekend, the U.S. did a good job at staying up when tackled and throwing a safe, but lethal, offload. Teammates ran good channels and with multiple people needed to bring down one player they had a numerical advantage. Credit should go to Zach Test, Nick Edwards, and Brett Thompson in particular for their outstanding work in this regard.
Other phases of the game were also strong. Lineouts were good once again, as was the overall decision-making of the team. The addition of the kick over the top and recovery to the team seems to have added a nice element.
Things weren’t perfect, however. The biggest problem over the weekend rested on not finishing matches. The U.S. could have easily been 3-0 on day one and in the Cup semi-finals had then been able to hold leads against Australia. Instead, they allowed the Aussies to come back and score after the hooter twice. Both times the U.S. should have won. Additionally, conversions need to improve as well. By and large Shalom Suniula and Folau Niua were good over the weekend but at crucial times they missed kicks. It should be noted that they have improved over the beginning of the season.
Overall, what was most impressive for the team was the accountability and leadership that each member of the team has taken. As the team has said, after Las Vegas they realized that having to requalify was a distinct possibility. That caused them to refocus and take responsibility for their play. Matt Hawkins emerged as one of the best captains the side has ever had. Test has become a more vocal leader while players like Niua and Edwards have learned what their role is on the team. Having that strong leadership brings confidence, and if there is one thing the U.S. should take away from London and the rest of the season is that they can beat anyone.
Three Stars of the Tournament
*Zach Test (IRB Player of the Tournament, hard to argue against that.)
**Andrew Durutalo
***Brett Thompson
GO EAGLES!!!!
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