GRR: Ben Cima
The USA Men’s 15s team only had to score a converted try at the end of their game with the Argentina XV to win the Americas Rugby Championship.
They did that, putting David Tameilau over under the posts and having Ben Cima slot to kick to get a bonus-point tie, just enough to win it all. The thing is, nobody knew that was going to be enough.
The USA Men’s 15s team seemed to have their game against the Argentina XV in hand, and then they didn’t.
Two yellow cards and two penalty tries turned a 15-3 lead into a 17-15 deficit … a deficit that ballooned to 27-15 before the Argentineans were done.
In something of a shock result, the USA has won the Americas Rugby Championship, taking the team's first major 15s international tournament win since the 1924 Olympics.
A little over a year ago a very green USA team tied a pretty young Argentina XV 35-35 in the opening round of the new-look Americas Rugby Championship.
The USA did what was required in Santiago, dispelling the demons of a 2002 loss to Chile and defeating the Condors 57 to 9 Saturday in Americas Rugby Championship Round 4.
The USA improves to 4-0 in the ARC, matching Argentina XV and setting up a winner-take-all clash in Comodoro Rivadavia next week.