Canada came into the women's Dubai 7s with one of the most seasoned lineups, and that fact reiterated itself during the team's 36-0 Cup quarterfinal win over the U.S. The Eagles had a successful day one, going 2-1 and coming within one try of New Zealand, but all confidence belonged to Canada on day two of competition.

Canada wasn't perfect. There were missed passes and turnovers, but Canada was so effective in nullifying those mistakes, quickly. When Alex Kelter's pressure off the scrum forced a turnover, Canada's Karen Paquin pounced on the ball as came out the back of the ruck, and then outran Megan Bonny three-quarters of the pitch for the try. When Vix Folayan pushed Bianca Farella into touch, Canada stole the USA's lineout, worked the ball to Kayla Moleschi, who fended Lauren Doyle, spun out of Folayan's wrap and then dragged Jessica Javelet into the try zone.

The USA's mistakes tended to hurt the Eagles, quickly. When Kelter second-guessed launching forward to tackle Jen Kish, the 7s veteran used that extra time and space to get past the rugby newcomer and streak 70 meters for the try. When Javelet and Doyle overran Ghislaine Landry and Farella out wide, the latter duo switched back inside and Landry scored an easy five-pointer (Landry had two tries on the dayd). And there were little things - like Katie Johnson's attempted receipt of a too-short kickoff, which resulted in a Canadian scrum, or a soft outlet pass that allowed the Canadian defense to swarm and steal possession.

The Eagles didn't have enough ball to do much, and when the USA did have possession, a sense of desperation - whether trying to take the corner when recycling was called for, or heaving the ball backward out of the tackle - seemed to take over. The final try epitomized the game: Canada systematically worked downfield, and even though there was a bad pass here or confusion there, the team kept running fast and working hard. Near the 22 meter, Magali Harvey got the last pass off before the hit to Elissa Alarie, who scored easily.

It was a humbling experience for the USA, who now move onto the Plate semifinals against Fiji. Canada continues on its quest for the Cup and will face Australia in the semis.