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 then beat Argentina 12-10 in the Cup Quarterfinals, before losing to eventual Cup champions South Africa 24-12. That set up a Bronze Final rematch with England with the Eagles Sevens losing 28-7.
The team still is ranked first in the world could qualify for the Olympics at the next stop in London.
Cup Quarterfinals: the USA vs Argentina
The USA Men’s Eagles Sevens team defeated Argentina 12-10 in the Cup Quarterfinals at the HSBC Singapore Sevens.
Argentina struck first with two tries by Maare for a 10-0 lead.
The USA answered after Carlin Isles won a turnover and Argentina was penalized twice. Madison Hughes drew in defenders allowing Matai Leuta to score under the posts, making for an easy conversion for Hughes.
A lineout steal by Leuta led to a try by Stephen Tomasin for a 12-10 lead before the break.
Argentina claimed the opening restart of the second half and raced into the try zone, but Carlin Isles tracked back to strip the ball on the tackle. Neither team added any points during the second half, with the USA winning and advancing to the Cup Semifinals against South Africa.
Cup Semifinals: USA v South Africa
The USA reached their eighth Cup Semifinal in a row but lost 24-12 to eventual Cup winner, South Africa.
The Blitzboks took a 7-0 lead on a try by Soyizwapi and conversion by Preez. They increased their lead to 12-0 after a try by Gans in the corner.
Early in the second half, the U.S. attacked close to the try line with Stephen Tomasin scoring his 75th
Penalties were fairly evident on both sides of the ball halting either team from scoring more points until halftime career World Rugby Sevens Series try.
The Blitzboks answered back, going down the left flank with Visser scoring to increase the lead 17-5. The Blitzboks then moved to within 5-meters of the try line with Tomasin being sent to the bin, resulting in a penalty try to lead 24-5.
Ben Pinkelman then found a gap and Joe Schroeder finished with a try, which Hughes then converted for a final of 24-12 to South Africa.
Bronze Final: USA v England
The USA Men’s Eagles Sevens team fell to England 28-7 in the Bronze Final to take fourth-place at HSBC Singapore Sevens and add 15 rankings points to their World No. 1 position. The teams reversed an earlier Pool match result.
The USA and England picked up early yellow cards to Joe Schroeder and to Richard de Carpentier.
The Eagles Sevens scored first as Marcus Tupuola used a pick and go for a try, with Hughes slotting the conversion to lead 7-0. England answered back with a Dan Norton try and a Will Edwards conversion to level the match at 7 all.
Then Dan Norton drew and yellow card and Joe Schroeder followed with a second yellow for a tip tackle. This meant he had a red card, which resulted in the USA playing down a man for the rest of the match.
England extended the lead to 14-7 at the break after an Edwards try and conversion.
Kevon Williams had a long line break but was caught to stop the attack. Ben Pinkelman was outstanding in defense and in his decision making.
England ultimately added tries by Glover and by Ellery in the closing minutes with Edwards and Mitchell adding conversions for a 28-7 win.
England maintained a fifth place in the Series rankings with the top four teams at the end of the season qualifying for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. Two tournaments remain in the Series, in London from May 25-27 and Paris from June 1-2.
The USA will likely see the return of key players in Perry Baker, Danny Barrett and Martin Iosefo for the final two stops.
The Eagles Sevens leave the Singapore Sevens ranked No. 1 ranking with 145 points, with second place Fiji with 142. New Zealand follows with 130, and fourth-place South Africa has 121. England will need two strong performances in the final two tournaments to avoid participating in an Olympic Qualifier as they sit in fifth place with 107 points.
MEN’S EAGLES SEVENS ROSTER
After an injury to Martin Iosefo, Pat Blair was added to the squad.
| 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 Recap & Preview
- vs Wales W 31-12
- vs Kenya W 17-14
- vs England W 22-7
- Cup Quarterfinals v Argentina W 12-10
- Cup Semifinals v South Africa L 24-12
- Bronze Final v England L 28-7
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