USA beat Argentina 28-0 to win their first Cup final of the season, as Fiji take Bronze at HSBC Sevens Series in Las Vegas.
Winning their second ever Cup final, the first in 2015 at the London Sevens, Mike Friday’s USA thrilled the crowds and held opponents Argentina to a zero score line after another blockbuster day of rugby in Las Vegas.
USA, unbeaten in the weekend’s tournament, outplayed Fiji in the Cup semi-final 19-7 and faced stiff opposition in Argentina who also went into the game with a clean sheet and a well-worked 12-10 victory over South Africa.
Eager to improve on last year’s Bronze finish in Vegas, USA secured a 28-0 victory with Perry Baker getting their first points on the board. HSBC Player of the Final, USA’s Danny Barrett, scored his first of two tries and the two successful conversions from Folau Niua gave the hosts a 14-0 half time lead. Barrett added his second score straight out of the gates and after holding firm USA added a fourth and final try through Carlin Isles which combined with Niua successfully kicking four from four, sealed an emphatic victory at full time.
On the momentous day for USA Sevens, head coach Mike Friday said, “Credit to the men in the arena they were outstanding, they went out there and executed. They’ve executed all three days but especially today. This is a total squad effort and I’m lucky to have such a great bunch of players and support staff.
“We want to show the sporting landscape in the USA what rugby can be and how it can fit within the American landscape. Hopefully today will touch and reach a lot of sports fans who realise they’ve got another national team that they can be proud of and that they can support.”
HSBC Player of the Final, Barrett added, “It’s such a team effort, we’ve worked so hard for so long. Three straight years in a semi-final in Las Vegas and to come here, missing our captain and missing a number of players, it’s just so amazing to win on home soil. A second Cup final ever for the USA and it feels great to be at home.”
It was day full of breath-taking action as Fiji, champions in New Zealand, beat South Africa 26-22 in the Bronze Final, whilst France secured the Challenge Trophy with a 26-19 win over Canada.
After five rounds South Africa remain top of HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2018 standings, New Zealand stay in second place, 10 points behind the Blitzbok, and Fiji hold onto third place.
The teams will reconvene in Vancouver 10-11 March for the sixth round HSBC Canada Sevens where Las Vegas champions USA will play in Pool A against Australia, hosts Canada and Uruguay.
In Pool B USA Sevens runners-up Argentina face England, Wales and Samoa. Bronze winners Fiji are drawn in Pool C with Kenya, France and Spain. Series leader South Africa will face second place New Zealand, Scotland and Russia in Pool D.
Canada Sevens is the sixth of 10 tournaments in HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2018. To date the series has produced five different winners in South Africa (Dubai), New Zealand (Cape Town), Australia (Sydney) and Fiji (Hamilton) and USA (Las Vegas).
There is added significance to the series this year with Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018 under six months away in San Francisco where crucial seeding points which will determine the all-important draw for RWC Sevens 2018 in July.
Source: www.worldrugby.org
