TOKYO, Japan – The Men’s Eagles Sevens finished Day One at Tokyo Sevens with a 1-1-1 record with an inspired win and draw against Samoa and Fiji, respectively, before falling short of a third comeback attempt against France.
Samoa led 17-0 at the half of the Eagles’ first match at Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium, but the Eagles scored four unanswered tries and received accurate kicking from Madison Hughes to take the first match, 24-17.
Fiji, who sat third in the 2013-14 IRB HSBC Sevens World Series standings heading into the sixth tournament of the circuit, also took a lead into halftime in its match against the Eagles, though a much smaller Eagles deficit at 12-5. Zack Test led the Eagles’ comeback with a try early in the second half and Brett Thompson tied the match for the Eagles to earn a draw, 19-19.
A win against France in the third and final match would have given the Eagles top spot in Pool C, but Les Blues did not roll over for the men in white. France scored four tries en route to a 22-12 win to knock the Eagles into second in the pool.
The Eagles will still make their first Cup competition of the Series, though their Quarterfinal matchup will be against second-ranked South Africa Saturday, March 22, at 10:34 P.M. ET. Watch live on Universal Sports and follow live updates with @USARugby on Twitter.
