Men’s Eagles Sevens Beats Spain in Hong Kong Sevens Opener

USA Rugby Men’s Eagles Sevens opened the Cathay Pacific HSBC Sevens Series Hong Kong Sevens with a 36-7 win over Spain in Pool D. Preceding the match, England beat Wales 36-19. Matches are being broadcast LIVE in the U.S. on watch.espnplus.com.

The Eagles Sevens come into the tournament ranked 1st in the world. They are in Pool D along with 11th ranked Spain, 13th ranked Wales, and 5th ranked England. Knockout rounds for Pool D begin as early as 9:30 PM ET on Saturday, April 6.

Match Recap – USA vs Spain

The Men’s Eagles Sevens team controlled the territory during the first half, with Spain not crossing into the USA half.

After multiple phases, a Martin Iosefo offload to Stephen Tomasin resulted in a try in the left corner.  They then extended the lead to 10-0 after a Ben Pinkelman offload to Matai Leuta for a try in the right corner.

From the ensuing restart, Martin Iosefo gathered the ball and raced in for a try under the posts, with Madison Hughes slotting the kick. A Pinkelman poach at the breakdown then led to a second Tomasin try in the left corner for a 22-0 lead at the break.

Matai Leuta gathered the second half restart and Carlin Isles stepped two defenders for a try under the posts. Hughes slotted the kick to push the lead to 29-0.

Spain answered back with their solo try of the day by Alejandro Sanchez de la Rosa Hernandez from a pop pass by Josh Taylor. Hernandez, who was making his debut in the Series, slotted the conversion to cut the lead to 29-7.

The USA added a final try by Brett Thompson, who intercepted a Juan Pedro Ramos pass and raced 65-meters for a try. Hughes slotted the conversion for a 36-7 win.

The USA will continue Pool play on Saturday, April 6 at 12:25 AM ET against Wales and then finish with England at 4:08 AM ET.

Men’s Eagles Sevens Squad – Extended Squad Preview