Eagles 7s vs. Australia – Silicon Valley Sevens
The Eagles lost a heartbreaker to Australia 15-12 in the closing minute of the Silicon Valley 7s. Australia now has won the Oktoberfest 7s, the Central Coast 7s, and the Silicon Valley 7s.
To advance to the Cup Final, the Eagles 7s defeated England 27-0, while Australia beat Chile 27-0. The Final was a battle of unbeaten teams. England beat Chile 31-12 for third place.
In the Cup Quarterfinals, the Eagles 7s beat Fiji 24-5 to advance to the Cup Semi-Finals against England, who beat Samoa 25-10. To reach the Semi-Finals, Australia beat New Zealand 38-7 and Chile defeated Japan 24-10.
The Eagles 7s were undefeated in Pool play beating Tonga, New Zealand, and Chile at the Silicon Valley 7s and advanced to the Cup Quarterfinals against Fiji. The USA was seed second for the Finals, while Fiji was the seventh seed, having gone 1-1-1 in the Pool rounds.
All matches for the November 4-5, 2017 tournament are being streamed live by USA Sevens Rugby on their Facebook page.
Eagles 7s v Australia – Silicon Valley Sevens Recap
The Eagles 7s took the early lead against Australia as Ben Pinkelman took an offload from Chris Mattina for a try. Shortly later, Stephen Tomasin evaded the sweeper and Folau Niua converted to increase the lead to 12-0.
The USA had dominated the early possession, but a late attack by Australia had John Porch finding a gap and offloading to Ed Jenkins for a try to narrow the score to 12-5 at the break.
Second Half
The Eagles 7s attacked early in the half, but after moving the ball from side to side, the ball was turned over to Australia. This resulted in a second try by Ed Jenkins to narrow the score to 12-10.
The Eagles 7s attacked again, but Simon Kennewell saved a potential try 5 meters out on Kevon Williams. Australia had one last attack as the ball went wide to Maurice Longbottom, who outpaced the defense for the winning try with a minute to spare.
Australia survived the Eagles 7s assault and came back with three tries to win 15-12.
USA Rugby Men’s Sevens – Saturday, November 4th, 2017
- United States v Tonga – W 29-7
- United States v New Zealand – W 24-12
- United States v Chile – 29-21
- United States v Fiji – Cup Quarterfinals 24-5
- United States v England – Cup Semi-Finals 27-0
- United States v Australia – Cup Final L 15-12
Squads & Silicon Valley Sevens Preview
USA: 1. Malon Al-Jiboori 2. Ben Pinkelman (C) 3. Joe Schroeder 4. Matai Leuta 5. Ryan Matyas 6. Anthony Welmers 7. Folau Niua 8. Maka Unufe Jr. 9. Stephen Tomasin 10. Chris Mattina 11. Kevon Williams 12. Martin Iosefo 13. Madison Hughes
USA Rugby Men’s Sevens Staff: Mike Friday (Head Coach), Chris Brown (Assistant Coach), Brian Green (Physio), Paul Goulding (Team Analyst), Sarah Sall (Team Manager)
Australia: 1 Charles Taylor 2 Simon Kennewell 3 Sam Myers 4 Lewis Holland (C) 5 Ben O’Donnell 6 John Porch 7 Tim Anstee 8 Boyd Killingworth 9 Ed Jenkins 10 Tom Lucas 11Maurice Longbottom 12 Lachie Anderson
Eagles 7s: Silicon Valley 7s Preview
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