The USA Men’s Rugby Sevens Team defeated Canada 21-14 with no time on the clock in the 5th Place Semi-final at the Tokyo Olympics. The USA will meet South Africa for 5th place, while Canada faces Australia for 7th place.
5th Pace Recap + QF & USA Pool Recap
The USA struck first after going through phases with Danny Barrett offloading to Carlin Isles, who sped away for a try, with Madison Hughes converting, 0-7.
The ensuing restart was taken by Conor Trainer and Canada went through multiple phases before a knock-on gave the USA a scrum. Stephen Tomasin appeared to be on the verge of scoring, but Andrew Coe slapped the ball underneath and the ball went forward.
Following a Canadian scrum, Harry Jones skipped past Isles for a try under the posts with Nathan Hirayama adding the extras to level the match at 7 all at the break.
In the second half, the USA stole a Canadian scrum and Martin iosefo scored under the posts with Hughes converting, 7-14.
Canada answered back with a try by Justin Douglas, with Hirayama converting again, 14-14.
With no time on the clock, Carlin Isles sealed the win with a try and a final of 21-14 after Hughes’ conversion.
The USA will play for 5th place against South Africa at 4 am ET on Wednesday. Canada will play Australia at 3:30 am ET for 7th place.
Squads
USA: Perry Baker, Danny Barrett, Maceo Brown, Madison Hughes (capt.), Martin Iosefo, Carlin Isles, Matai Leuta, Cody Melphy, Folau Niua, Joe Schroeder, Brett Thompson, Stephen Tomasin, Kevon Williams
Canada: Phil Berna, Connor Braid, Andrew Coe, Justin Douglas, Mike Fuailefau, Lucas Hammond, Nathan Hirayama (co-c), Harry Jones (co-c.), Pat Kay, Matt Mullins, Theo Sauder, Jake Thiel, Conor Trainor
USA Rugby Comments
Carlin Isles
About bouncing back from defeat
“It’s about character. Representing who we are as a team and as a nation, it’s all about bouncing back in a journey. It’s always tough, you know. Especially when you were so close and it slipping through your hands; going back to the drawing board and looking each other in the eyes as men and asking who we are and what we’re fighting for. We definitely had to do that last night and it was grueling; but, it was the character check-in we needed. You go through ups and downs but you have another day to bounce back and get things right.”
On dealing with emotional losses
“So you gotta have a short-term memory, but it’s tough because, with emotions, you never know how long they’re going to dwindle around for. So to put them in the right perspective and get your mind back on track is key to getting the next job done efficiently. You gotta learn how to adapt it and hone those emotions quickly.”
On who the squad represents
“We represent each other. Our families, our fans, the people who believe in us as a collective. It’s just everybody in the whole organization who’s there for us to play. The people who support us, our loved ones, the staff, the people who do things for us in a day out that you can’t really see.”
Other Articles
DJCoil Rugby articles by Doug Coil are also available on Facebook. Other Social Media sites to follow or subscribe to include Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube for interviews.
