The USA Men’s Eagles went undefeated in Pool C, beating Wales 31-12, Kenya 17-14, and England 22-7 at the HSBC Singapore Sevens. The team will face Argentina in the Cup Quarterfinals on April 13 at 11:52 ET, with England, also advancing out of Pool C to face Australia.
The USA Men’s Eagles left Hong Kong with high hopes and their sixth medal of the season, a Bronze. The team is ranked first in the world and based on their performance, could qualify for the Olympics prior to the Series conclusion. Matches are broadcast LIVE on ESPN+.
The USA vs Wales
Prior to the match against Wales, Martin Iosefo had a last-minute injury that will keep him out of the Singapore Sevens Series. As a result, Ben Broselle took his place on the roster with Pat Blair joining the team after Pool play as an injury reserve.
The USA opened Pool C play with a 31-12 win over Wales. Prior to the match, England defeated Kenya 36-7.
Both teams opened the match with mistakes that disrupted the flow of the match. George Gasson appeared to ground the ball for Wales, but a TMO ruled that he knocked the ball on during the tackle by Folau Niua.
Instead, the USA struck first from a Matai Leuta offload to Madison Hughes for a converted try to lead 7-0. Wales claimed the restart and after a Gasson break, Afon Bagshaw finished with a try to cut the lead to 7-5.
The USA answered right back with a break by Maceo Brown and a finish by Folau Niua for a 14-5 lead at the break after Hughes’ conversion.
The Eagles Sevens pushed their lead to 19-5 after offloads by Brown, Tomasin to Niua for a try in the left corner.
Brett Thompson then picked up a loose ball from an errant pass by Cai Devine and added the team’s 4th try. Hughes then slotted the kick to lead 26-12. Carlin Isles then scored his first try of the tournament for a 31-12 win.
Isles is currently five tries away from passing Perry Baker and becoming the United States’ all-time leading try scorer.
The USA vs Kenya
Prior to the match between the USA and Kenya, Wales shutout England 12-0. The match against Kenya was not easy, but the USA prevailed 17-14 to improve 2-0 at HSBC Singapore Sevens.
The Eagles Sevens had the first scoring opportunity from a lineout inside Kenya’s 22-meters, attacking to within 5-meters of the try line before the ball bounced off Maceo’s Brown’s chest and into Kenyan hands. Daniel Taabu then raced down the pitch for a try under the posts for a converted try.
The USA answered back with a line break by Matai Leuta with Ben Pinkelman advancing the ball to within meters from the try line. Carlin Isles took an offload in for a try with Madison Hughes converting to level the match at 7 all.
Another break by Leuta gave Hughes a chance to create space near touch for Isles and he finished with his second try to lead 12-5 at the break.
The USA pushed their lead to 17-5 as Madison Hughes added a try after a scrum to lead 17-7. A grub kick by isles had the Kenyans answering back with a try by Johnstone Olindi with Taabu converting to cut the lead to 17-14.
The Eagles Sevens had a final scoring chance after a break by Marcus Tupuola inside Kenya territory. A Hughes offload to Joe Schroeder, however, was recovered by Kenya, who turned over the ball on a penalty and enabling the Eagles Sevens team to kick to touch for a 17-14 win.
The USA vs England
With Kenya defeating Wales 19-14 prior to the USA match against England, the Eagles Sevens had already secured a spot in the Cup Quarterfinals. The USA finished with a 22-7 win over England to go undefeated and will face Argentina next. England, Wales, and Kenya finished with 1-2 record, but England advanced to the Cup Quarterfinals against Australia based on point differential.
The USA started fast with a try by Madison Hughes and then starved England of possession with Stephen Tomasin adding another for a 10-0 lead.
England’s Richard de Carpentier forced a penalty turnover and tapped quickly and offloaded to Ethan Waddleton who ran down the right-hand side and offloaded to Dan Norton for a try and a conversion by Will Edwards to cut the lead to 10-7.
Prior to the break, Marcus Tupuola added a third try for the USA with Folau Niua converting for a 17-7 lead.
Kevon Williams added a try after evading Will Muir to push the lead to 22-7. England would have failed to qualify if they lost by 26 points, but their defense held on late to confirm the quarter-final spot.
MEN’S EAGLES SEVENS ROSTER
| PLAYER NAME | POSITION | HSBC TOURNAMENTS TO DATE |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Carlin Isles | Wing | 48 |
| 2. Ben Pinkelman | Prep/Hooker | 30 |
| 3. Joe Schroeder | Prop | 7 |
| 4. Matai Leuta | Prop | 33 |
| 5. Brett Thompson | Prop | 30 |
| 6. Kevon Williams | Halfback/Wing | 18 |
| 7. Folau Niua | Halfback | 66 |
| 8. Maceo Brown | Center | 7 |
| 9. Stephen Tomasin | Hooker | 28 |
| 10. Madison Hughes (C) | Halfback | 44 |
| 11. Marcus Tupuola | Wing | 3 |
| 12. Martin Iosefo | Center | 40 |
| 13. Ben Broselle | Wing/Prop | 2 |
MEN’S EAGLES SEVENS STAFF
Head Coach | Mike Friday
Assistant Coach | Phil Greening
Strength & Conditioning Coach | Jon Hood
Athletic Trainer | Brian Green
Team Manager | Scott Novack
HSBC SINGAPORE SEVENS 2019
Pool C
- vs Wales W 31-12
- vs Kenya W 17-14
- vs England W 22-7
- Cup Quarterfinals v Argentina – April 13 at 11:52 pm ET
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