Saturday started well for the USA, as the Eagles enjoyed their first win of the USA 7s. But the day ended the way the tournament began, with near-victories and disappointment.
After losing two very close games on Friday night, the Eagles started the rest of their season with an impressive 31-10 victory over Spain that gave the Sam Boyd Stadium crowd exactly what they have been craving – Eagle success.
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The game started nicely for the American team as a nice short ball to Brett Thompson saw the University of Arizona alum gallop over 50 meters to score and make it 7-0.
The USA were ready to secure the restart after that, but Zack Test’s tap back bounced off Nick Edwards’s face, and was gathered by Test in an offside position. That was a penalty, but the USA defended well enough to get the ball back, and after a couple of penalties, Folau Niua rumbled and rambled his way to the corner.
For good measure, Niua booted the ball over the crossbar from out wide to make it 14-0.
Spain, though, rebounded with a try from a misplayed lineout, and then scored again the second half on another soft try.
But the USA, when at other times they might have folded out of indecision, rebounded. Stephen Tomasin got a little space, cut through a tackle, and was gone. Shalom Suniula whacked over the conversion to make it 21-10, and then Thompson was again freed up. That try made it 26-10, and Pono Haitsuka finished it off.
“We felt we had made a lot of strides [on Friday],” said Thompson. “We were in a position to win both games, and small mistakes hurt us, but in previous tournaments we weren’t that close. We feel that fans will see a lot better from us. There’s a good bond on this team, perhaps the best we’ve had. We are disappointed, but we also know that what we’re doing, the pattern we have is working and we’re getting better.”
Thompson was forthright in recognizing his team’s shortcomings, but also made no apology, saying the team is on an upward swing. He played with that confidence against Spain.
And against Wales in the Bowl Quarterfinal. But one thing became achingly apparent: The USA starting lineup lacks scoring prowess. The Eagles owned possession throughout the entire first half but failed to produce a single try. But Wales outdid the Eagles two-tries-to-one in the second half to win 12-7.
The United States repelled any attack from Wales in the first half (and boasted a 100-percent tackle rate throughout the contest) and they churned out an impressive amount of phases, but there was just one true line break, from Zack Test, and it resulted in a knock on. The game was stalemated 0-0 at halftime.
Wales drew first blood less than a minute into the second half when Danny Barrett had a go up the touch line and was tackled out of bounds. Wales threw long quick lineout, and the USA was caught off guard and out of position, resulting in a Luke Morgan try. Rhys Jones converted to push the Welsh up 7-0.
After bringing on Carlin Isles, Shalom Suniula, Steven Tomasin and Ryan Matyas, the Eagles were quicker in the second half. Isles set up the USA's lone try in the game by pirouetting around one defender and dishing to a streaking Matyas, who went in under the posts. Suniula slotted the conversion to level the table at 7-7.
The rest of the four minutes on the clock ticked off with no score. Time expired, Wales kicked the ball deep into the American end, Isles scooped up the loose ball feet from the try line and was tackled into in-goal, resulting in a five-meter scrum for the Welsh. They won the scrum, spun it wide and Isles couldn't force Dylan Morgans into touch before he dotted down the winning try.
The loss drops the USA to 1-3 in Las Vegas and sets up a Shield Semifinal match-up against Uruguay on Sunday.