GRR: National Teams
The USA Women have life yet, as their 26-7 win over Spain was enough for the last berth to the Sao Paulo 7s Cup quarterfinals. The Eagles (1-2) finished third in Pool A, and with a points differential of -6, beat out fellow third-best Fiji (-17) for a spot in tomorrow's playoffs.
Optimism prevailed when the USA Women 7s team scored during the opening 30 seconds against France, but momentum never realized itself. The teams scored two tries apiece in the second round of the Sao Paulo 7s, but two conversions from Christelle Le Duff gave France the necessary margin of victory, 14-12.
The USA Women needed to be clinical in its opening match at the Sao Paulo 7s today, and it wasn't. Unforced errors and an overmatched defense allowed New Zealand to score five tries in the 35-12 loss.
Day Two of the NZ 7s in Wellington was a rough day for the USA as they lost two close games and bowed out early as Plate Semifinalists. The USA earned 10 points in the Sevens World Series and moved up a spot in the standings, but were within a few points and a few decisions from being higher. Reports from USA Rugby.
The USA Men’s 7s team should, by all rights, be in the Plate Final or the top four of the Wellington 7s, but they’re not, and as the credit for winning their pool is theirs, so the fault for not capitalizing on that lies squarely on their own shoulders.