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.
| 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
| 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.
| 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.
| 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 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
- Substitutes: Brett Thompson, Maceo Brown, Kevon Williams, Marcus Tupuola, and Ben Broselle.
- Unavailable due to injury: Danny Barrett, Perry Baker
References edit
- ^ "USA Sevens rugby team beats Samoa to repeat in Las Vegas", Las Vegas Review-Journal, Doug Drowley, March 3, 2019.
- ^ "USA Men's Eagles Sevens Shuts Out Samoa In 5th Straight Podium Finish", Team USA, Paul Bowker, March 3, 2019.
- ^ "Olympic qualification pathway for rugby sevens confirmed for Tokyo 2020". World Rugby. 17 September 2018. Archived from the original on 20 November 2018.
- ^ "Best in class celebrated at HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series Awards in Paris", World Rugby, 2 June 2019.