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The USA have successfully defended their Las Vegas Sevens title, defeating Samoa in a one-sided Cup Final on Sunday. It was the fifth consecutive Cup Final appearance for the Men’s Eagles but just their first win of the season. That consistency, however, puts them alone on top of the HSBC Sevens Series table.
A thrilling last-gasp win over New Zealand in the Semi Final assured the Eagles their place atop the standings. with the game tied at 19-all, New Zealand left the blindside unmarked at a ruck and Carlin Isles took full advantage. It was his third try of the game and gave him the tournament lead with eight all told.
The Eagles saved the best for last. Samoa had done coach Gordon Tietjens proud by beating Argentina in the second Semi Final, but the Islanders had no petrol left in the tank for the grand finale. Two tries for Ben Pinkelman led the way as the USA took the 27-0 result much to the delight of the Vegas faithful.
Los Pumas would finish fourth overall, watching a 19-7 lead slip away against New Zealand in the Bronze Final. While it was an improvement on previous tournaments, the inconsistency that has plagued them all season continued with a lackluster performance against Samoa in the Semi Final.
Invitational side Chile saw their tournament come to a close in the Trophy Semi Finals as they were undone by Scotland. In tying the Kenyans for 11th/12th the Condores still did better than four other teams including Canada.
The Canadians would finish just behind by winning the 13th place Final against Wales. Nathan Hirayama led the way with 16 points. He had earlier scored 13 against France in Canada’s first match of the day.
Vancouver is the next stop on the circuit next weekend. Chile will continue as the 16th team with the USA entering as top seeds and favorites.
DAY THREE RESULTS
13th PLACE SEMI FINALS
Wales 31-14 Japan
Canada 28-12 France
TROPHY SEMI FINALS
Spain 24-7 Kenya
Scotland 17-5 Chile
5th PLACE SEMI FINALS
Fiji 14-12 South Africa
Australia 13-44 England
CUP SEMI FINALS
New Zealand 19-24 USA
Samoa 33-19 Argentina
13th PLACE FINAL
Wales 12-21 Canada
TROPHY FINAL
Spain 14-15 Scotland
5th PLACE FINAL
Fiji 15-19 England
BRONZE FINAL
New Zealand 26-19 Argentina
CUP FINAL
USA 27-0 Samoa
