After getting turfed out of the Perth SVNS quarterfinals the USA Men's 7s team capped off their weekend with a win over Spain to take 7th.
It was a bit of a galling finish considering the USA lost just the one game. However, the SVNS system now judges quarterfinal losing teams based on their losing margin. So if you're one of the two worst losing margins you play for 7th, and the top two you play for 5th, no argument.
“When we look at the performance over the weekend, to go 4-1, it’s real progress from Dubai and Cape Town with the more experienced boys coming in," said Mike Friday. "More importantly, the chemistry and the continuity in attack was improved. We played with real purpose, freedom, and we played some really exciting stuff. Defensively, we were relentless. We caused real havoc. When we take a step back and look at the performance over the weekend, I’m really pleased and proud of what the boys have achieved and moved forward to actually be more like themselves."
Imploding somewhat against Australia in the quarterfinals undercut a pretty good performance from the USA, and it showed that if have a bad showing at the wrong time, you can suffer for it.
