The USA men's 7s team ended up last in their pool at the Japan 7s, but were just nine points away from making the Cup Quarterfinals.

The entire day lived and died on the opening match, where the Eagles simply failed to garner any possession, looked a little at sea on defense, and were ultimately taken apart by Kenya 27-5. Only a try from captain Madison Hughes prevented the shutout, and the USA would end up ruing their mistakes and dropped balls.

Because the next game they played quite well, sending Carlin Isles over three times - once in a close-in offload, once on a heads-up play when he picked up and just raced around everyone, and once on good hands to seal it at the end. The Eagles were better in contact against Canada in this game, and they also got a try from Zach Test. But the hero of the day was probably Garrett Bender, who broke through tackles, rucked effectively, and also made a couple of key tackles.

On to South Africa, and in that game the Eagles, helped by a world-class ruck clearout by diminutive Nate Augspurger, led 10-5 thanks to tries from Isles and Andrew Durutalo (set up by Bender). But they were unable to follow Coach Mike Friday's admonition to win the restart. A drop by Bender, a miscue by Test - both on kickoffs - basically handed the game to South Africa.

In the end, Canada managed to beat Kenya 26-10 leaving South Africa at 3-0 and Canada, Kenya, and the USA at 1-2. It came down to points difference, with Canada (-14) just better than Kenya (-20) and the USA (-23). It was a disappointing day for the USA made disappointing by their opening game. 

Now they enter the Bowl Quarterfinals, playing in th bottom eight for the first time in five tournaments. The Eagles do get Folau Niua back after his suspension for a kick. That addition could help them a little, but tidiness on the restart will help them more.

Note: Zack Test, with his try Saturday, passed 600 points in World Series play. Isles, with his try against South Africa, bypassed Nic Edwards for third all-time among USA World Series try-scorers. Isles has 54 tries, third behind Matt Hawkins (56) and Test, who has 119.

Pool Play
USA 5 Kenya 27
Tries: Hughes

USA 22 Canada 14
Tries: Isles 3, Test
Convs: Hughes

USA 15 South Africa 24
Tries: Isles, Durutalo, Barrett

Sunday Bowl Quarterfinals:
USA v Portugal 6:58pm Saturday PT, 9:58pm Saturday ET
Then USA plays at either 9:32pm/12:32am or 10:16pm/1:16am