Amazing Amsterdam 7s: Canadian Cup Victory, NZ Win Series, USA Heartbreak

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AMSTERDAM – Welcome to the Heartbreak Hotel. Your reservations are listed as 12 USA Eagles, the coaching staff and the remaining pool players, administration and fans, is that correct?

Apologizes for the joke but that is the only way to try and put on a brave face after the gut-wrenching, painful victory by England over the @USAWomens7s in the third place match. As for the rest of the tournament, New Zealand sealed their series title win when they qualified for the cup. The cup was won by a Canadian side that was unrelenting in every match. It was one hell of a tournament.

Let’s review:

American Heartbreak:

The Eagle Womens 7s side had very good day one but could not repeat their day one efforts on day two. The USA was fortunate enough to start the tournament against South Africa who quite frankly as a side are not on the USA’s level so they looked good in a 26-7 win. In their second match against Fiji the USA yet again looked in dominant form and were un-phased by what Fiji threw at them in 36-14 victory. In their final pool match, the USA took on the Series winners, New Zealand. The Kiwis had already been crowned champions after defeating Fiji and South Africa. By qualifying for the Cup round, they were assured of an unassailable total series points. So from then on, it was all gravy. Much like last week in the Men’s circuit, when Fiji clinched the series, they lost some fire. It appeared that was the case for the Kiwis because the Americans handed it to them, in a very rough manner, 34-5. This meant going into day 2, the USA had a chance to win the whole thing and looked like good money for it. The USA was lined up in the cup quarterfinal against Spain and they once again a controlled the match from start to finish, winning 38-10. Maybe all that dominance was not good for the USA because when they faced, their old rival, Canada in the cup semi-final. It was another tight affair between these long-time rivals but once again, the Canadians found the extra gear needed to win 19-14. The loss moved the USA into the third place game where they faced an England side that was just crushed by Australia. The top four teams of the series automatically qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics, so with the USA up by two points over England in the Series Standings for the all important fourth place Olympic seed going into this match, this was an Olympic qualifier for all intents and purposes. It was a see-saw match that saw England take the lead early then the USA took the lead going into the half. In the second half, England pulled ahead and held on despite a furious USA comeback to win 15-14. The loss now means the USA will have to win the NACRA 7s in Cary, North Carolina to qualify for the Olympics.

Amazing London 7s:

The Women’s World Series had its most unpredictable leg in the final leg. New Zealand seem less invincible lately, whether it is a result of them tiring or a lack of motivation since they have been unstoppable for so long, it is good for the series. Hopefully, it continues to be more competitive going into next year.

In Amsterdam, after the first day, it appeared anyone could win the tournament, which made for the most exciting second day ever.

Canada defeated Australia in a re-match of the London 7s tournament. The Canadians steamrolled their way into the Cup semi-final including beating France twice. The Aussies seemed on a collision course with the Canadians after the first day as they completely crushed the competition and continued all the way until the final. England fought like the desperate side they were. They wanted to qualify for the Olympics and they did just as they managed to edged out the Kiwi’s to make the Cup semi-final then held on against the USA to win 3rd place. Fiji once again showed that they are the best of the bottom 4 sides as they cruised to a Bowl victory against China.