The U.S. has never beaten New Zealand on the HSBC Sevens Series and despite an overall solid match that continued as the Eagles fell to the All Blacks 28-7 in the Cup quarterfinals at the Port Elizabeth 7s. The final score may have yawned in the favor of New Zealand but the Eagles played well for most of the match and did a lot of things right. However, New Zealand are the defending Series champions for a reason and they were simply too skilled, especially at the breakdown, and too experienced for the Eagles. The U.S. all now play Scotland in the Plate semi-finals.
The U.S. had a couple of nice chances early in the match as they stayed patient on offense. However, the work at the breakdown from the All Blacks caused problems all match and on this early sequence led to a turnover. With the possession the All Blacks stayed patient and scored through Sam Dickson to make it 7-0. The U.S. defense was solid but the All Blacks made the right passes and all it took was one missed tackle to put Dickson through.
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A second try came just a minute later. Sherwin Stowers stripped Garrett Bender and the ball was quickly flung out to Joe Webber who easily scored to make it 14-0.
Credit to the Eagles. Despite the two tries they kept attacking and when Tim Mikkelson was shown a yellow card for his team's persistent infringement at the breakdown (it led to turnovers but it wasn't always legal!) the U.S. had a golden opportunity to capitalize. That is exactly what they did as Carlin Isles showed he has more than just pace by putting in a big fend and breaking through a tackle to make it 14-7 at halftime.
The second half was as even as the first except that the U.S. weren't able to pick up another score. The New Zealand defense was too organized for the U.S. to breakdown and on offense they continually made smart decisions and great offloads to keep the ball alive. That was eventually rewarded when Gillies Kaka drew in the defense and then put in a pass to Mikkelson for the score. Kaka would score a try a minute later to seal the match at 28-7.
It wasn't the legendary win the Eagles were hoping for but there are plenty of positives to take away. If they play the way they did against New Zealand against a majority of teams they will come out with a win. They will play Scotland in the Plate semi-finals at 9:17 a.m. et/6:17 a.m. pt.
Starters: Barrett, Test, Durutalo, Isles, Niua, Unufe, Hughes