USA Mens Sevens Team Comes Back to Win Shield in Wellington

By KENT CURRIE
5 Feb 2008

We would like to thank the great staff at USA Rugby for allowing www.usacollegerugby.com post this article.

WELLINGTON, N.Z. – In a spectacular comeback victory, the USA Men’s Sevens Team captured the Shield at the Wellington Sevens on February 2, after defeating Kenya. After trailing by 17 before the half, the Eagles held their opponent scoreless in the second and persevered to muscle out a 19-17 final.

Following their last meeting with Kenya, where the Eagles were edged out during the late minutes of the George Plate final in December, this time the USA refused to go down without a fight. Todd Clever (OMBAC) got the Eagles off to a flying start in the second half, scoring inside the first minute of play. With Valanese Malifa’s (Belmont Shore) conversion, the U.S. soon pulled within 10 points.

Two minutes later, the USA’s Jason Pye (Park City Haggis) capitalized on a poor pass from the Kenyan team and slipped across the try line to bring the score up to 17-12, with four minutes remaining. With the clock winding down, Clever kicked the ball ahead and was able to toe it ahead a second time before his chase was cut short by a Kenyan tackle without the ball. The USA was awarded a penalty try beneath the posts to tie the game and Dallen Stanford’s (Austin RFC) conversion put the Eagles over the top, 19-17 for the Shield.

Earlier, the USA dominated the first half of their Bowl Quarterfinals match against France, but struggled to score down the homestretch in the second.

Propelled by vice captain Todd Clever and an added conversion by Valanese Malifa the Eagles shot off to an early 12-0 lead and held their opponents scoreless heading into the break.

However, in the second, the game took a new course, as France continued to launch a comeback. France captain Vincent Roux started his team’s unanswered scoring surge after halftime and teammate Joffrey Michel also touched down one just inside of four minutes to bring the game to an even 12-12 with three minutes remaining, following Sebastien Mercier’s conversion. The USA was able to fend off French attack as the game continued on, but in the eleventh minute, France’s Manoel Dall Igna scored to put France up 17-12.

Knocked into the Shield semifinals, the Eagles went on to face Canada, in a match that saw both teams held scoreless at the end of the first seven minutes. After the half Canada drew first blood, with an Adam Kleeberger try and conversion from team captain Phillip Mack; however, the USA turned up the heat inside the fifth minute. Mike Palefau (Petrarca, Italy) led the charge for the Eagles, to bring them within two points. Two minutes later, the USA’s Matt Hawkins (OMBAC) added a try of his own and the Valanese Malifa conversion put the Eagles up top, 12-7. Hawkins snuck in once more just before time ran out and with the help of Malifa’s accurate boot, the USA went on to win it 19-7.

The USA Men’s Sevens Team now sets its sights on San Diego for the USA Sevens at PETCO Park on February 9-10. For more information about the USA Sevens, please visit www.usasevens.com.

For more information on the Men’s National Team, including its online daily journal, please visit USA Rugby's Official Sevens Section. For more information on the IRB Sevens World Series, please log on to Official IRB Sevens Website.

IRB Sevens World Series –

Wellington, N.Z. Day 2 Results

44 New Zealand 22 - 17 Samoa Final Cup

43 Wales 12 - 19 South Africa Final Plate

42 England 12 - 7 Argentina Final Bowl

41 USA 19 - 17 Kenya Final Shield

40 Tonga 21 - 24 Samoa SF Cup

39 New Zealand 32 - 7 Australia SF Cup

38 South Africa 26 - 19 Fiji SF Plate

37 Wales 24 - 12 Scotland SF Plate

36 Argentina 36 - 5 Cook Islands SF Bowl

35 England 14 - 5 France SF Bowl