Recaps, Rugby, Rugby Sevens

USA Women’s Sevens Rebounds on Second Day of Atlanta Sevens, Wins Plate

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After going 1-2 with no competitive matches on Saturday the US rebounded in a big way on Sunday by winning their final two matches over England and Spain to grab the plate in Atlanta.

The first match of the day for the US was the exact same matchup of their opening match on Saturday: Canada. Unlike the 31-0 loss in group play the US was much more competitive in this one with first half tries by Lauren Doyle and Jessica Javelet and a conversion from Amelia Villines giving the US a 12-7 lead late in the first half. Canada took a 14-12 lead at the end of the half and added two second half tries and a conversion to get the 26-12 win.

The US next faced England in the plate semifinal and raced out to a 14-0 lead on two Javelet tries and two Kelly Griffin conversions. England cut it to 14-5 at the half but they would get no closer as Javelet added a third try in the second half and the US won 19-5.

In the plate final the US only led 5-0 at the break from a Villines try but broke it open in the second half behind tries from Jillion Potter, Javelet, and Doyle, and a conversion from Christy Ringgenberg. The fifth place finish in Atlanta was two better than the seventh in Dubai and the US is now in a three-way tie for fifth in the series standings with Spain and England. These three appear to be a tier below the top four teams but above all the rest at this point.

Surely the best thing to come out of this tournament for the US was the amazing debut of Jessica Javelet who scored seven tries, second most in the tournament, despite being on a team shutout twice. She could be a real difference maker for the US.

Next weekend will be the Brazil Sevens and the USA has been placed into a group with New Zealand (1st), England (tied for 5th), and Ireland (tied for 12th). Obviously hanging with New Zealand would be a huge ask but the US should have no problem with Ireland and the matchup with England will likely determine who finishes second and definitely gets to play in the cup quarterfinal. There will be a preview of Brazil Sevens later in this week.

Finally following up on my post yesterday and my suggestion that they implement tiered pools for the first day of competition to increase competitive play… (Group A = Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Russia, Group B = USA, Spain, England, Brazil, Group C = non-core teams)
On Sunday Group A teams were 4-0 against Group B and Group B teams were 3-1 against Group C.

So far this year Group A teams are now 15-0-2 vs. Group B teams and 10-0 against Group C teams. Group B teams are 10-3-1 against Group C teams. Split it up, have some tiered pools, have more competitive play on Saturday and let the teams separate themselves on Sunday. Teams that do well on Sundays can earn a spot in a better pool in the future.

We leave you with some reactions from the USA Sevens players after this weekend.

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