GRR: Columns
It's evident that the USA Men's 7s team is playing better now than it was at the beginning of the World Series.
The Varsity Cup's 1st Round kicks off this weekend and in recent years we've seen a few surprises in this round.
While most would think that Cal and Central Washington are heavily favored to make the final (both teams get a bye this weekend), that doesn't mean all of the other games are foregone conclusions.
Here's what we think (Goff Rugby Report rankings in parentheses):
Can the Eagles make a move?
Well, they can try, but really the next few World Series tournaments are about holding steady.
The United States sits 5th in the World Series, which is a pretty nice place to be. But they are 17 points out of 4th, and 33 points out of 3rd.
How hard will it be to move up? Well, think of this way:
There was something historic about the Saint Mary’s victory over Cal this past weekend.
Part of it might have been television - the game was shown live on Pac-12 Networks Bay Area, and on delay elsewhere. It was exciting. It was sometimes well played, and sometimes featured mistakes. And it had atmosphere - palpable atmosphere you could see on the screen.
Day Two out of five competition days covering nine days on the calendar isn't easy for any international 7s team, and the USA did pretty well, considering.
The Eagles ended up 1-2 in Vancouver on Sunday, winning that crucial quarterfinal game to make the semis, but losing the next two to finish fourth.
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