MUNICH, GERMANY: Offensive struggles and inconsistency proved costly for the Eagles Sevens on day one of the Oktoberfest Sevens as they finished the pool stages winless against Fiji, Germany and France.
Coach Phil Greening’s side showed moments of brilliance in each of their matches, but struggled to play an even-rounded 14 minutes at the Olympic Stadium in Munich.
Coach Greening’s thoughts:
“It’s been a tough day at the office. It was always going to be like that, it’s a strong tournament and a lot of nations have brought their big guns. I’m pretty pleased with some of the new guys coming in, I think they stuck it in really well and they have not been too out of place for us.
It’s pre-season for us and it’s a long season. We’ve got 12 weeks to Dubai, so this is an opportunity for our boys to get fit.
I’m pretty disappointed with some of the handling errors and it’s not the shape or style of play we’ve been playing or what the American team is used to playing. So, I’m a bit disappointed with that but it’s rustiness. I’m pleased with the way they’ve gutted it out, especially against France with the way they clawed their way back, but disappointed with our basic skill set.”
Game one: USA vs Fiji
The flying Fijians set the tone for the tournament off the opening kick-off as they secured possession and scored a thrilling try through Anasa Qaranivalu after multiple sideline-to-sideline phases and patience with ball in hand.
The Eagles would respond shortly after with a try of their own. After a brilliant mid-field poach by Captain Cody Melphy to cause a turnover, USA executed a set piece brilliantly and the ball made its way through the hands to Marcus Tupuola who dotted down in the right corner. However, that’s as close as it would come for the Eagles.
With two minutes left on the clock before half time, Fiji capitalized on an American error which allowed Qaranivalu to gather a loose ball and sprint 75m for his second try of the match. The captain Osea Natago added another on the half time whistle to give his side a 19-5 advantage at the break.
In the second half, Asaeli Tuivuaka furthered Fiji’s lead off the kickoff with another try before Tevita Mociu sealed it with his team’s fifth score after some excellent offloading.
USA showed life on the final whistle with an impressive burst of energy, however it fell short as a knock-on at the breakdown sealed a 33 – 5 win for Fiji.
Game two: USA vs Germany
Having lost their opening game of the day and the Germany defeating France, the second match was a must-win for Coach Phil Greening’s side against the hosts to keep their cup dreams alive.
USA would touch down for the opening points of the game after Harley Wheeler laid an explosive hit to force a forward pass in the German attack. Off the ensuing scrum, Germany’s defence fell for a perfectly executed set play in the backs which gave space for Marcus Tupuola to score in the left corner. Captain Melphy’s near-sideline conversion attempt just skimmed over the bar to give the visiting side a 7-0 lead early on.
However, similar to the opening game against Fiji, that’s as close as it would be.
The reigning European Sevens Series champions scored their first try in the left corner. Captain Tim Lichtenburg bounced off two tacklers before offloading to Phil Szczesny for the score.
Melphy put his team on the front foot not long after with some brilliant stepping which gave space for a blistering run from Maceo Brown, however Robert Haase was there for the cross-cover tackle into touch.
USA then couldn’t maintain possession not long after as Germany forced a turnover at the breakdown, giving Fabial Hempel a chance to score his side’s second try of the match after receiving an offload from Lichtenburg. After the conversion attempt unsuccessfully struck the near post, the home side took a 12 – 7 lead into the break.
The opening of the second half looked promising for the Eagles as they put nearly half a dozen phases together, however their attack fell short after a knock on in the breakdown.
Carlos Soteras Merz would then further his team’s lead with their third try after a brilliant solo effort from Tim Biniak.
Trailing by 10 points with less than three minutes to play, USA tried to ignite a come-back but back-to-back penalties for not releasing at the tackle swung the momentum back in favor of the home side. The latter penalty seeing Brown head to the sin bin for a yellow card.
Much to the excitement of the home crowd, Merz sealed his team through to the cup round tomorrow with a final try in the left corner. After an unsuccessful conversion, the final whistle blew seeing Germany defeat USA 22 – 7.
Game three: USA vs France
Our final pool match of the day would see the two winless sides of pool B go head-to-head looking to build momentum ahead of tomorrow’s tournament final day.
Alexandre Benard opened the scoring for France 45 seconds in, which was almost immediately followed up with another from their #9 which saw the Eagles trail by 14-0 early on.
Rugby ATL’s Harley Wheeler continued his physical dominance on the day as he scored the Eagles Sevens’ opening try finishing off after multiple phases for the team on attack. However, France would score a crucial try before the half time whistle from Jordan Sepho to take a 21 – 5 advantage into the break.
Mathieu Tixier furthered France’s lead to 28 – 5 almost immediately after the start of the second half off of a turnover, which would prove to be the game’s winning score as the remaining points of the match were from the Americans.
Naima Fuala’au initiated the Eagles’ comeback with a brilliant chip-and-chase try before Marcus Tupuola and Maceo Brown each added their own scores under the sticks. However, it proved too little, too late for the Eagles as they fell short by two points. Final score: France 28, USA 26.
Stay tuned with @USARUGBY for tomorrow’s opponent and kick off time.
