Dramatic Comeback Sees USA Men Qualify for Next Season's Top SVNS Tier

06.07.2026Eagles, Elite 7s

USA 7s team celebrates qualifying for 2026-27 SVNS 1.

Author: Alex Goff

Don't focus on moving to SVNS 1, don't focus on moving to SVNS 1, don't focus on moving to SVNS 1 ...

A watched pot never boils and the USA men's 7s team could not watch the pot when it came to garnering promotion to the top tier of the SVNS World Series for 2026-27. What they needed to do was focus on each performance.

Both Head Coach Zack Test and top try-scorer Lucas Lacamp said the same thing, acknowledge the thing they want to achieve, and then worry about playing well in the next game.

The Setup

For the Eagles in Bordeaux, that probably meant small improvements. Consider that last week in Valladolid they lost all three pool matches by scores of 26-21 (to Spain), 19-7 (to Fiji), and 19-14 (to France). Get a little bit better and you can prevent a try against and score a try you missed.

That's how it all worked out this weekend. The Eagles won all three pool matches, including beating Spain 24-19 (you see how that works?), Australia 19-17, and Uruguay by a lot.

While they were doing this, observers were curious about what the 7th and 8th-place teams in the SVNS Championship were doing. If just one of those teams struggled, and the USA kept winning, then there was a chance of the 11th-ranked Eagles moving up to the top eight.

And that's what happened. Kenya lost all three of their pool matches, pushing them into the 9th-place playoff. To stay in SVNS 1 for 2026-27, while the USA entered the cup quarterfinals.

What Kenya wanted to do was win 9th, putting them at 18 standings points and then forcing the USA to make the semifinals to match them.

But that didn't happen. Kenya lost 7-5 to Germany in the 9th-place semis, while the Eagles lost their quarterfinal match.

Now it was a simple calculation. A loss by Kenya, or a win by the USA would be enough for the Eagles to bypass the Kenyans.

This Given Sunday

Kenya did their job, winning comfortably over the Uruguayans to secure 11th in Bordeaux. Now it was up to the USA to beat Fiji. That's right, one of the most dynamic and difficult to beat teams in the world. USA loses, Kenya is in SVNS 1. USA wins, the Eagles are in the top tier.

The Eagles started playing with intensity and confidence, but little mistakes continued to creep into their play. A knock-on forced by a strip by the Fijian defense ended their first attack.

Fiji, of course, has the ability to score from anywhere and even more so for Viwa Naduvalo. He curved around and burst up the middle for a long-range try and a 7-0 Fijian lead.

Then when the Americans got the ball back a wide skip pass ended up in touch. From that lineout Fiji worked through the passes inside the USA 22, got a penalty, and while the Eagles defended quite well, it was a matter of time. Hands-out from a scrum put Naduvalo in at the corner and he converted from the sideline to make it 14-0 for Fiji.

The dream of SVNS 1 was drifting away. However, in the second half, the USA settled down and started to use the ball.

That got them inside the Fijian 22, and then when Fiji made a mistake—a knock-on after a scrum—Stephen Tomasin scampered weak off the USA scrum and fed David Still, III in at the corner.

Now we had 2:30 to go and Fiji still led 14-5.

Ryan Santos forced a holding-on penalty and that opened up a chance but a tip-on pass put the ball into touch. Again, a promising movement was lost. And then, another error, this time from Fiji. The lineout throw went long and Jack Wendling pounced on it. He moved the ball wide quickly where Rand Santos then sent an nice inside pass to Will Chevalier.

The Fijian defense was caught looking wide, and the Neuqua HS and Indiana University product was in under the posts. Tomasin converted and it was now 14-12 for Fiji with about a minute left.

Fiji got the ball on the restart, but a loose pass was intercepted by Chevalier. He jumped to catch the ball and was hit in the air—penalty, and Chevalier tapped quickly. Fiji was scrambling but they regrouped defensively quite well.

Time ticked away as the Eagles sent it wide to Wendling twice. Both times the big forward cut back inside to ensure the USA retained possession. On the second time ball came out quickly, and was sent all the way wide. They had the overlap, and Lacamp was the man in the corner to score with no time left.

USA wins 17-14. Heartbreak for Kenya. USA into next year's SVNS 7. Tomasin could be seen emotional on his knees.

The Upshot

"We've been training since June last year. We had to break everything down and build it back up," said the captain after the match, adding that it was all about belief. "You ca't beat the best teams in the world if you don't believe it."

This was an astonishing performance because it always seemed out of reach. The USA had virtually no chance of getting back to the top eight after a poor Hong Kong tournament (one Lacamp called a sobering wakeup call).

World Rugby has to love this because an almost throwaway 5th-place playoff became the most dramatic game of the men's event.

USA Rugby has to love this because the men's team will play at the USA 7s next year.

American rugby fans have to love this to see a home-grown coach, Zack Test, take a home-grown team from a distant 12th on the series in 2024-25 under Simon Amor to requalifying through a very difficult path.

And the players? Well, they swamped Lacamp after the try, and they looked pretty happy, too. Guess the pot boiled after all.