If there was a bright spot in the disappointing tenth place finish this weekend it was Nate Ebner. The New England Patriot safety made his first three starts for the US and scored a pair of tries in a 26-0 bowl semifinal win over Portugal. Ebner is making a late push for a spot on the Olympic team and after looking decent this weekend will need to continue to show progress next month in Paris and London to solidify his chances.

The US opened Sunday with a 24-5 win over Russia where Zach Test, Danny Barrett, Make Unufe, and Perry Baker all found time for a try and a 26-0 win over Portugal behind those two Ebner tries and Test and Unufe’s second tries of the day.

A good match finally awaited the US in the bowl final against Scotland and the US found themselves down 14-0 at the half. Much like yesterday’s final match against New Zealand the US battled back and Test and Unufe once again scored tries but without conversions on the two kicks Scotland held on for a 14-10 win. The tenth place finish by the US was their worst since losing in the bowl semifinals in Dubai last year, a run of 14 straight tournaments.

Looking back at the nine-tournament run of cup quarterfinals it’s a streak of pool play success I don’t think anyone anticipated when the US started it last May in Scotland. The US had only reached the cup quarterfinals in nine of the 19 tournaments leading up to this streak. The only other countries to make each cup quarterfinal during that stretch are the big four of Fiji, South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia. For an upstart country like the US to pull off a stretch that long say something about how far they have come over the last couple years and why they will be medal contenders, though certainly not favorites, in Rio.

It does seem to me that while the US is missing something when Carlin Isles is not part of the team. Being able to throw out fresh legs by swapping Isles and Baker surely makes a difference in such a physically demanding two days. Hopefully he will be back for the US in Paris in May.

Previous Rugby Sevens Coverage:
Singapore Preview
Singapore Update

France? The French!?! Yes… France are the ones shocking everyone on the first day of the Singapore Sevens stunning New Zealand 24-0 in their opening match of the day before narrowly outscoring the US 19-17 to win pool B and create total chaos in their wake. France had only reached the cup quarterfinals once so far this season (a third-place finish in South Africa) but that mattered little on Saturday.

The US started things off great with a blowout win of their own, 36-14 over Canada after leading 31-0. Nate Ebner made his debut and Zach Test and Madison Hughes each had two tries in the romp. With France beating New Zealand in their opener everyone knew the US desperately needed a win over the French in their second match to avoid a winner-take-all final showdown with New Zealand.

The US opened the scoring and led 5-0 after a Hughes try but fell behind 19-5 before beginning to rally. Hughes and Perry Baker added late tries to get the US back into it but the conversion on the second was no good and they held on for the two point 19-17 win.

With the loss France was through and the US and New Zealand were battling for the final spot from the pool. History favored New Zealand, they had advanced to the cup quarterfinal in every tournament held so far, and so did the play in the first half where they quickly ran out to a 19-0 lead at the break. With their backs against the wall the US played admirably in the second half and after an early Maka Unufe try had reason to think they could get back into it. The play of the game came midway through the second half when Baker broke free on a kick and went alone into the endzone. His final kick was a bit too heavy but he also didn’t seem to see just how quickly the endline approached as it was partially obscured by a patch of muddy turf. He set the ball down on the line, no try, and the US were still down 12. Test would add a try and the US had a final chance to try and tie it but fell 19-12.

The opponent in the bowl quarterfinals for the US will now be Russia with Portugal/Japan potential semifinal opponents. It’s amazing how much easier the competition looks on the final day when you aren’t in the cup quarterfinals.

Previous Rugby Sevens Coverage:
Singapore Preview

The US heads to Singapore looking for their tenth straight cup quarterfinal appearance and a change in fortune after an topsy-turvy weekend in Hong Kong. While the US swept pool play in Hong Kong they were shutout by both South Africa and England in the knockout round competition.

The squad is slightly changed as Pat Blair replaces Ben Pinkleman in the 12-man squad. Carlin Isles will once again not be participating and you have to imagine that this weekend Nate Ebner will see some time as playing with only 11 for the weekend is not something you want to do once, let alone twice in two weeks.

The US opens with their northern rivals Canada before taking on France and finally New Zealand. You would expect the France match to be for the second spot in the cup quarterfinals out of the pool while New Zealand will be favored to top the pool. The pool matched up for the next round is Scotland, Kenya, Russia, and South Africa. So finishing top of the pool likely will have a big benefit in who the matchup would be against in the quarterfinals.

Previous Rugby Sevens Coverage:
Hong Kong Recap

A sweep of pool play did not result in the matchup the USA would have hoped for in Hong Kong. England had upset South Africa in pool play to win their group so instead of the USA face England they had to play one of the clear three best teams on the tour, South Africa. This matchup was always going to be a tough one and while the US were in it for a bit they never had anything close to enough for South Africa and were shutout in this one by a score of 28-0 with 14 coming in each half.

That set up a much easier plate semifinal with Wales and the US did respond with a strong 27-0 shutout of their own. The US had a 10-0 lead at the break before pulling away in the second half as Perry Baker ended up with three tries. Having wished they could have played England in the cup quarterfinals the two sides did actually meet in the plate final. And perhaps this match showed that the US was heading this way one way or another on the day because this was another shutout and not the one the Americans were hoping for. A 14-0 lead at the break turned into a 19-0 England win.

Of note, Nate Ebner did not appear for the US this weekend. This was back-to-back tournaments without Carlin Isles and while Baker has been brilliant for the US you do wonder how much having a fresh pair of rocket legs to alternate with would help the US over these long weekends. It is not yet known if Isles will be back for Singapore next weekend but since Ebner didn’t play at all you get the feeling Head Coach Mike Friday doesn’t feel he is ready to throw into the fray and Isles will be back in the squad if he is ready to go.

The US has been drawn with New Zealand, France, and Canada for the tournament which begins Friday. The US will face easier competition to advance from their pool than this weekend, but as we learned Saturday the real question is who fate has lined up for you in the quarterfinals. The pool matched up with the US includes Scotland, Kenya, Russia, and…. South Africa. So most likely the US will need to beat New Zealand or South Africa to find themselves in the cup semifinals next weekend and not the plate semifinals.

While the US had handled Portugal fairly easily on Friday they certainly had not showed the level of play they would need to go far in this tournament. That was the feeling still near the end of the first half of the USA-Argentina match to start things off on Saturday as the US found themselves down 14-0. Perry Baker was able to score for the US to start to pull them back into it and a Madison Hughes conversion meant the US had momentum going to the break even if they trailed on the scoreboard. The second half reflected that as Maka Unufe, Baker, and Hughes would all score second half tries as the US scored the final 26 points of the match to clinch a spot in the cup quarterfinals for the ninth straight tournament.

The final match of the pool against Australia would be to determine seeds in the cup quarterfinal and was somewhat reminiscent of the Argentina match earlier in the day. Australia would score first but this time the US rallied for tries from Garrett Bender and Madison Hughes. Hughes converted his own try to give the US a 12-7 lead at the break. Baker and Ben Pinkleman would add tries to push the US to a final 22-7 margin and first place in the pool.

Of course the reward for the US winning their group is the team who is unfortunately 2nd place on the tour by one point… South Africa. They ended up second in their group to England. The matchup is tough and the US probably won’t be favored to advance in the cup competition at all but we will at least get another match between the US and one of the big rugby powers with a lot on the line.

The US will take on South Africa at 11:20 PM ET on Saturday in the States. Live stream is available on the World Rugby Website. The US will face the corresponding winner/loser from the New Zealand/Wales match and if they make a final will take one on of Austrlaia, England, Fiji, and Kenya.

In any pool where there is strong potential for a three-way tie at 2-1 you want to do everything you can to run up the margin against the minnow. The US certainly did not do that as a sloppy performance limited them to just a 16 point margin over an outmatched Portugal side on Friday. The contest was never in doubt as the US dominated possession from the start. Give credit to the Portugal defense which was respectable all match long and kept the US from scoring with ease. Too many sloppy passes and dropped passes from the US will have to be improved on moving into matches against Argentina and Australia on Saturday.

The US got their opening try from Martin Iosefo and a second in the first half on a spectacular Perry Baker try (is their any other kind?) before giving up their only points of the match to lead 14-5 at the break. Being held in check most of the second half the US eventually got seven more, all thanks to Madison Hughes, to finish with a 21-5 lead. New England Patriots safety Nate Ebner did not make his debut in this match.

In the other pool C match Australia with 14 first half points on the way to a 28-0 win. The US should be able to lock up a cup quarterfinal spot by beating Argentina in their first match on Saturday at 12:48 AM ET but a loss could see them in trouble heading into the final match of the day against Australia at 5:10 AM ET. Live stream is available on the World Rugby Website.

After coming in 6th in the Vancouver Sevens in mid-March the US will face tough competition in their quest to advance to the Cup quarterfinals for the ninth straight tournament. While bottom feeders Portugal represent what should be an easy win for the US in their first match of the weekend the next two matches against Australia and Argentina will provide real tests. Australia, the US, and Argentina, currently sit 4-5-6 in the season standings. Argentina last week missed the Cup quarterfinals for the first time this year while Australia is riding the same eight-tournament streak as the US. Something will have to give in Hong Kong and while Argentina won’t be favored to finish in the top two it will be no shock if they do.

The US was boosted ahead of Hong Kong by the news that Zach Test and Maka Unufe would rejoin the team after missing out on the Vancouver Sevens. The same was also said of Carlin Isles but he is a late scratch for the US and will be replaced by New England Patriot safety Nate Ebner. Ebner just signed a 2-year $2.4 million contract with New England in the last month and is certainly taking a chance with his foray into rugby sevens. He was an exceptional rugby player as a youth making the Sevens team at age 17 (though apparently never playing on the tour). Surely he will get a chance to play this weekend and it will be a moment to watch.

Things begin bright and early on Friday with the US taking on Portugal at 6:54 AM ET. They’ll be back in action on Saturday with Argentina up first at 12:48 AM ET and Australia to close the pool at 5:10 AM ET. Live stream is available on the World Rugby Website.