2018–19 United States national rugby sevens team season

The United States national rugby sevens team got off to a strong start in the 2018–19 World Rugby Sevens Series. The team reached the finals in Dubai, South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia, the first time the U.S. had reached four consecutive finals and was ranked joint first in the overall Series after the first four legs. In the fifth leg, the U.S. won beating Samoa 27–0.[1] This was the U.S.’s second straight USA Sevens win, giving them sole possession of first place in the Sevens World Series. The U.S. remained in first place for several more tournaments, but consecutive semifinal losses to Fiji in the last two tournaments in London and Paris meant that Fiji won the Series with the U.S. finishing second. The U.S. overall had its best season ever — the second-place finish beating their previous best of fifth. Additionally, qualifying for five consecutive tournament finals as well as reaching the semifinals in all ten tournaments were U.S. records.[2] Carlin Isles scored 52 tries, ranked first overall among all players.

United States
2018–19 season

Standings

edit

The following shows the standings for the 2018–19 series for the 15 core teams. The top four finish by the U.S. qualified the team for the 2020 Olympics.

2018–19 World Rugby Sevens
Series XX
 
Pos
Event 
Team
 
Dubai
 
Cape Town
 
Hamil­ton
 
Sydney
 
Las Vegas
 
Van­couver
 
Hong Kong
 
Singa­pore
 
London
 
Paris
Points
total
1   Fiji 13 22 22 15 12 17 22 19 22 22 186
2   United States 19 19 19 19 22 15 17 15 17 15 177
3   New Zealand 22 15 17 22 17 13 12 12 13 19 162
4   South Africa 12 17 15 13 10 22 10 22 10 17 148
5   England 17 13 8 17 13 12 10 17 2 5 114
6   Samoa 8 7 12 3 19 10 15 13 8 12 107
7   Australia 15 10 10 12 10 8 5 10 19 5 104
8   France 7 5 2 10 1 19 19 8 15 13 99
9   Argentina 10 8 5 8 15 10 13 10 5 10 94
10   Scotland 10 10 13 1 8 5 8 7 7 3 72
11   Canada 5 5 10 5 3 7 1 5 10 8 59
12   Spain 5 12 5 10 7 3 3 2 1 1 49
13   Kenya 1 3 7 1 5 1 5 3 1 10 37
14   Wales 3 2 1 5 2 5 2 5 5 1 31
15   Japan 2 1 1 7 1 2 7 1 3 2 27

Source: World Rugby

Legend
No colour Core team in 2018–19 and re-qualified as a core team for the 2019–20 World Rugby Sevens Series
Pink Relegated as the lowest placed core team at the end of the 2018–19 series
Qualified to the 2020 Olympic Sevens as one of the four highest placed eligible teams from the 2018–19 series.[3]

World Series results by tournament

edit
2018–19 Season
Leg Date Finish Record
(W-L-D)
Pts Diff Most tries Most points Dream Team
selection
Dubai Nov–Dec 2018 2nd 4–2 +34 Perry Baker (6) Perry Baker (30) ---
South Africa December 2018 2nd 5–1 +104 Stephen Tomasin (5) Stephen Tomasin (43) Hughes & Barrett
New Zealand January 2019 2nd 5–1 +31 Carlin Isles (7) Madison Hughes (39) Pinkelman, Niua, & Isles
Sydney February 2019 2nd 5–1 +89 Isles & Williams (5) Madison Hughes (35) Tomasin, Hughes
United States March 2019 1st 5–1 +74 Carlin Isles (8) Carlin Isles (40) Isles, Iosefo, Tomasin, Pinkelman
Canada March 2019 4th 3–3 –8 Carlin Isles (6) Madison Hughes (32) Stephen Tomasin
Hong Kong April 2019 3rd 3–3 +33 Carlin Isles (9) Carlin Isles (45) Carlin Isles
Singapore April 2019 4th 4–2 +68 (multiple) (3) Madison Hughes (27)
England May 2019 3rd 5–1 +53 Perry Baker (5) Perry Baker (25) Stephen Tomasin
France June 2019 4th 4–2 +33 Carlin Isles (5) Madison Hughes (36) Madison Hughes
Totals 2nd Carlin Isles (52) Madison Hughes (299) Stephen Tomasin (4)

U.S. vs Fiji

edit

Fiji and the U.S. were the top two teams at the end of the Series and during the final rounds of the Series. The teams met during seven of the ten Series tournaments. All their matchups were during the knockout rounds; they never met during pool play. The U.S. won the first matchup, and Fiji winning all of the other six matches.

2018–19 U.S. vs Fiji
Leg Round Result
Dubai Quarterfinal Win: 24–12
South Africa Final Loss: 15–29
New Zealand Final Loss: 0–38
Australia
United States
Canada Third/Fourth Loss: 14–24
Hong Kong Semifinal Loss: 19–28
Singapore
England Semifinal Loss: 10–17
France Semifinal Loss: 14–33

Player season statistics

edit

The following table shows the leading players for the U.S. at the conclusion of the 2018–19 World Rugby Sevens Series. Carlin Isles led all players on the Series with 52 tries and 48 clean breaks. Madison Hughes ranked second in the Series with 299 points. Ben Pinkelman ranked third with 191 carries. Stephen Tomasin ranked fifth with 101 tackles.

Leading U.S. players (2018–19 Series)
Player Position Matches Tackles Tries
Stephen Tomasin Forward 60 101 29
Ben Pinkelman Forward 60 84 16
Madison Hughes Halfback 59 89 20
Carlin Isles Back 55 49 52
Folau Niua Halfback 55 37 8
Martin Iosefo Back 53 49 16
Matai Leuta Forward 52 48 10
Kevon Williams Halfback 52 35 18
Maceo Brown Back 47 42 6
Brett Thompson Forward 43 37 6
Danny Barrett Forward 39 38 12
Perry Baker Back 25 21 16

Source: World Rugby website.

Player and coach Series awards

edit

Three U.S. players made the seven-man World Series Dream Team:

Player Position
Stephen Tomasin Forward
Ben Pinkelman Forward
Folau Niua Halfback

2018–19 Coach of the World Series: Mike Friday, U.S. head coach.[4]

2019 USA Sevens

edit

The United States won the 2019 USA Sevens by beating Samoa 27–0 in the final. This was the first second time that the United States won its home tournament (2018 was the first). USA's Ben Pinkelman was named Player of the Final.

2019 USA Sevens final:
U.S. starting lineup

References

edit
  1. ^ "USA Sevens rugby team beats Samoa to repeat in Las Vegas", Las Vegas Review-Journal, Doug Drowley, March 3, 2019.
  2. ^ "USA Men's Eagles Sevens Shuts Out Samoa In 5th Straight Podium Finish", Team USA, Paul Bowker, March 3, 2019.
  3. ^ "Olympic qualification pathway for rugby sevens confirmed for Tokyo 2020". World Rugby. 17 September 2018. Archived from the original on 20 November 2018.
  4. ^ "Best in class celebrated at HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series Awards in Paris", World Rugby, 2 June 2019.