KENNESAW, Ga. – The USA Women's 7s team ended their stint at the 2016 Atlanta 7s with a 5-1 record and the Plate; the only team the Eagles lost to was eventual champions Australia in the quarterfinals.

The Weekend was a good one for the USA team, playing as the players are under new Head Coach Richie Walker. They showcased much-improved support play and were fairly dominant in most games, beating Spain, Japan, and Fiji by large margins. Their only really close win was over New Zealand (12-5), and they looked in control against a tough Russia squad 19-7 in the Plate Final. Only the 22-5 loss to Australia blemishes their time in Atlanta, and it's not much of a blemish.

“The biggest takeaway I thought was, after we played Australia and lost, the girls didn’t dip or bow their heads, and they weren’t negative,” Walker told USARugby.org. “They know we made some mistakes and needed to eliminate those mistakes, and were able to stay positive and calm in the locker room. When you lose a game you never know how you can go, so it was really rewarding for me, and rewarding for the girls.”

After losing to Australia the Eagles rebounded with one of their more complete performances of the weekend, thumping Fiji 38-0 with tries from Megan Bonny, Kate Zackary, Richelle Stephens, Alev Kelter (twice), and Jessica Javelet.

Captain Jillion Potter praised her team for not getting down on themselves and staying with the game plan and the approach.

So on to the Plate Final, and in that game, the Eagles won the kickoff and sent Kristen Thomas on the run for the corner. She was taken into touch just before the tryline, but the Eagles kept up the pressure, got the ball back, and Kelter was in for the try.

Russia replied, with Baizat Khamidova following in with some good support running to score under the posts. The try was converted by Daria Lushina to give Russia a 7-5 lead.

The remaining minutes of the first half saw the Eagles control the play, and Ryan Carlyle kept her side in possession in a lineout in the U.S.’s attacking half to keep the pressure on the visiting team. Richelle Stephens shrugged off her opposite number along the try line to restore the Eagles’ lead at 12-7 heading into the halftime break.

“We needed to just give them a reminder at halftime that we needed to stick to our game plan,” Walker said. “We knew what it was and knew how Russia would attack us, and that’s exactly how they scored that try. I just needed to remind them; they nodded their heads and went back out there and closed those gaps.”

Australia was the only team to hold the USA in check. Mike Lee, KLC Photos

The Eagles kept Russia out of the try zone in the second half, and confidently swung the ball around the pitch, as well as enjoyed a few line breaks. Javelet and Thomas used their pace to nullify any kicking advantage sought by Russia, and Potter helped cap the victory with a run into contact and offload to Bonny for the final try.

On the weekend, Kelter was again key and she made the tournament Dream Team. But more than that, the Eagles seemed to be a little more comfortable.

“We do have some changes coming up from the OTC,” Walker said, pointing to injuries sustained during the tournament. “It’s time for some of the other girls to step up. Me being a new coach, that’s what I need to see. Some girls played really well here and put their hands up for things we’re going to do in the future. Ideally that’s what I need for them to do to make my job hard. I think each and every girl here really did that.”

With this weekend's result, the USA moved past Fiji to 7th in the World Series standings. They are four points behind Russia and six behind France with two tournaments - Langford BC next week, and Clermont-Ferrand, France May 28-29.