It kind of ended up being the same story for the USA Men this weekend at the Hamilton 7s.
Play well against middling teams, and then struggle against stronger opposition.
In fact, this time the Eagles ended up struggling as they lost 26-7 to Canada in the 5th-6th playoff.
All this after the Eagles took care of Scotland, and stomped Wales, but lost 26-5 to New Zealand.
In the World Series new format, where the tournaments are shortened to accommodate both men's and women's events at the same time, only the pool winners made the semis. The pool runners-up were then seeded for one game. Canada went 2-0-1 in pool play and so took the 5th seed, and the USA had the best points difference of the 2-1 teams. Those two then faced off for 5th. Kenya and Argentina met for 7th.
Disappointing, but then South Africa and Fiji didn't even get that high.
USA Head Coach Mike Friday keeps fiddling with the lineup because he wants players to get time, but not too much. The result has been some impressive moments interspersed with missed tackles and, most maddeningly, penalties. The one player who has been consistently good on defense, in the breakdowns, and on attack, has been Stephen Tomasin. His effort level is among the best in the World Series.
The Eagles now rank 8th in the World, but really it's an eight-team tie for 2nd behind New Zealand.
| 2019-2020 Men World Series Standings | ||
| POS | TEAM | POINTS |
| 1 | NZL | 63 |
| 2 | RSA | 48 |
| 3 | FRA | 48 |
| 4 | ENG | 39 |
| 5 | ARG | 35 |
| 6 | AUS | 35 |
| 7 | FIJ | 31 |
| 8 | USA | 30 |
| 9 | CAN | 26 |
| 10 | KEN | 25 |
| 11 | IRE | 22 |
| 12 | SAM | 21 |
| 13 | SCO | 19 |
| 14 | ESP | 13 |
| 15 | JPN | 6 |
| 16 | WAL | 4 |
