2018 Rugby World Cup 7s

The United States entered the tournament as first-time hosts of the Rugby World Cup 7s. The team was seeded fifth and will play Wales, who beat Zimbabwe 33-12 in the Round of 16 on Friday, July 20.

In the round of 16, the USA Men’s Eagles defeated Wales 35-0 and will play England, who beat Samoa 19-15 in the Championship Quarterfinals July 21 at 4:38 pm PT.

USA vs. Wales Recap

USA Men’s Eagles had the majority of possession during the first half. An errant pass by Martin Iosefo was intercepted by Wales to stop an early Eagles attack. The Eagles would get on the board first after a Folau Niua offload to Martin Iosefo had him scoring under the posts. Madison Hughes then converted for a 7-0 lead. Perry Baker then did what he does best. He raced in for a try from the wide channel and Hughes converted as the Eagles took a 14-0 lead into the break.

After an early Wales attack, the Eagles attacked from near their goal line and after swinging the ball wide right, Perry Baker put on a clinic in racing end-to-end to a try. Hughes remained perfect with his foot increasing the lead to 21-0. A Barrett try and Hughes conversion pushed the score to 28-0. Carlin Isles added another and Hughes converted again to claim a dominant 35-0 win over Wales.

With the win, the USA will advance to the Championship Cup Quarterfinals against England Saturday at 4:38 PT.

Men’s Eagles 7s: 1 Carlin Isles 2 Ben Pinkelman 3 Danny Barrett 4 Matei Leuta 5 Brett Thompson 6 Kevon Williams 7 Folau Niua 8 Maka Unufe 9 Stephen Tomasin 10 Madison Hughes (C) 11 Peter Baker 12 Martin Iosefo + HC Mike Friday & Traveling Reserves: Chris Mattina & Patrick Blair

Wales: 1 Luke Treharne 2 Ethan Davies 3 Lloyd Williams 4 Luke Morgan 5 Owen Jenkins 6 Tom Glyn Williams 7 Cory Allen 8 Afon Bagshaw 9 Adam Thomas 10 Cai Devine 11 Jared Rosser 12 Ben Roach