The good news, and there is very little of it for USA fans at the Glasgow 7s, is that the USA has clinched a return to core status for the 2014-2015 Sevens World Series.
The USA accomplished this not from anything they did - the Eagles were a poor 0-5, losing to Scotland, Spain, Australia, Japan, and Samoa. But Spain has been so bad this year that they were far behind in 15th, and even though the Spanish won the Bowl, what they needed to do to dig out of 15th was much more than that. With one tournament left, Spain is 23 points behind the USA, and even if Spain won in London and the USA finished last, the Lions would not be able to catch the Eagles.
That is the sum total of good news for the USA as they did not show anywhere near the tenacity or teamwork they showcased in Japan and Hong Kong.
Meanwhile, Canada continued their outstanding run of form. The Canadians are simply unafraid to right straight and to daylight, and then offload short little passes for their strong runners to punch through the same gaps. Canada has a plan and the athletes to execute it. Clearly the USA is still finding its way.
To be fair, the Eagles still have had to deal with player turnover, and every pair of tournaments this year, Head Coach Matt Hawkins has not only blooded new players, but has had to give those players major minutes.
Canada lost big to New Zealand in the final, but they beat Japan 52-0 (a team that beat the USA 19-14), and beat France before tying England. They then beat Kenya and Scotland before losing to New Zealand. A bit lucky in their draw? Maybe, but they've earned it by performing well in previous tournaments. Canada is almost guaranteed to finish 6th this season. Consider this - the top four next season will earn automatic qualification to the Olympics. At this rate, the USA might be hoping Canada makes it.
Just a reminder of how the Olympic Qualification works, and how, if we used today's standings, things would stand:
Automatic Qualifiers:
Host Team - Brazil
Top Four 2014-2015 World Series (Current top four New Zealand, South Africa, Fiji, England (dba as Great Britain))
To Qualify:
North America (USA or Canada)
South America (Probably Argentina)
Europe (Probably France or Portugal but Republic of Ireland might make an appearance)
Asia (Almost certainly Japan)
Africa (Almost certainly Kenya)
Oceania (Australia or Samoa)
Repechage:
Teams who didn't qualify. This would, if we're looking at current form, include:
USA
Uruguay
Zimbabwe
Hong Kong
Portugal
Samoa
Tonga
and somebody else
Current HSBC World Series Standings
| Rank | Team | AUS | DUB | RSA | USA | NZL | JPN | HKG | SCO | ENG | PTS |
| 1 | New Zealand | 22 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 22 | 15 | 22 | 22 | 0 | 158 |
| 2 | South Africa | 15 | 19 | 22 | 22 | 19 | 19 | 13 | 10 | 0 | 139 |
| 3 | Fiji | 13 | 22 | 13 | 8 | 17 | 22 | 17 | 17 | 0 | 129 |
| 4 | England | 17 | 15 | 8 | 13 | 15 | 17 | 19 | 13 | 0 | 117 |
| 5 | Australia | 19 | 8 | 7 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 10 | 0 | 97 |
| 6 | Canada | 7 | 5 | 2 | 17 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 19 | 0 | 82 |
| 7 | Kenya | 12 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 3 | 12 | 0 | 72 |
| 8 | Samoa | 10 | 5 | 17 | 15 | 10 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 69 |
| 9 | Argentina | 5 | 13 | 15 | 10 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 68 |
| 10 | Wales | 10 | 12 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 60 |
| 10 | Scotland | 5 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 0 | 60 |
| 12 | France | 8 | 3 | 12 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 0 | 58 |
| 13 | United States | 3 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 38 |
| 14 | Portugal | 2 | 7 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 25 |
| 15 | Spain | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 15 |
| 16 | Japan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 |
| 17 | Tonga | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 18 | Russia | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 18 | Zimbabwe | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 18 | Uruguay | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |