USA beats Canada in Plate Final of Canada Women’s Sevens

The Women’s Eagles Sevens kept their fifth-place position in the 2014-15 World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series standings with a Plate victory at the inaugural Canada Women’s Sevens Sunday, April 19.

Lauren Doyle and Victoria Folayan paced the Eagles with at least a try per match apiece, finishing in the top four of the tournament try-scoring table with eight and seven tries, respectively. Ric Suggitt’s squad defeated Canada for the first time this season – 19-12 in the Plate Final – to gain 12 points towards the Series standings.

Folayan opened the Eagles’ scoring account at Westhills Stadium with a first-minute try – one of two in the match for the U.S.’s all-time leading scorer – against South Africa in the first match of pool play. A quick response from South Africa pushed the Eagles into action, scoring five unanswered tries to take the 40-5 victory.

Eventual tournament runner-up Russia proved a much stiffer test than South Africa for the Eagles, but the U.S. prevailed, 17-14. Baizat Khamidova put her side in the lead before Doyle’s half-ending try gave the Eagles a two-point advantage. Russia’s death knell was rung by Kristen Thomas, who came off of the bench late to provide the match-winning try.

Already qualified for the Cup Quarterfinals, the Eagles went into their final match of Pool C with Canadawith knockout-round seeding on the line. Backed by the home crowd at the end of a long day of sevens rugby, Canada emerged victorious, 19-15. The defeat was much closer for the Eagles than the 36-0 shutout dealt by Canada in this season’s only other meeting at Emirates Dubai Rugby Sevens, and gave the U.S. confidence going into day two in Langford.

Holding down fourth place in the Series standings going into the weekend, France played like a team possessed in its Cup Quarterfinal, a 17-0 loss for the U.S. The match was played in stark contrast to recent performances from the Eagles, who finished second at their own home tournament a month ago.

The Eagles bounced back with a second consecutive defeat of Australia, ranked second in the standings, with a five-try, 29-10, win in the Plate Semifinal. Australia’s hunt for its first title of the season was ended by the U.S. in a nail-biting Atlanta 7s Cup Quarterfinal, but Sunday’s match was one-way traffic for the Eagles.

The atmosphere at Westhills Stadium Sunday night compounded with the home team facing off against its border rival, but with England, France, and Russia all finishing in the top four at Canada Women’s Sevens, both Canada and the Eagles left everything on the pitch in the Plate Final. Doyle and Folayan received the accolades by scoring tries in the 19-12 win, but the match was won with a complete team effort on both sides of the ball to knock off the host.

The Eagles will travel across the Atlantic for the fifth and sixth legs of the 2014-15 World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series, London Women’s Sevens and Amsterdam Sevens, on back-to-back weekends in May. With 48 points, the Eagles continue to trail France in the race for Rio 2016 Olympic Summer Games qualification.

Women’s Eagles Sevens | Canada Women’s Sevens
1. Kathryn Johnson
2. Kelly Griffin
3. Megan Bonny (1 try; 5 points)
4. Alev Kelter (1 try, 5 conversions; 15 points)
5. Akalaini Baravilala (1 try, 4 conversions; 13 points)
6. Lauren Doyle (8 tries; 40 points)
7. Victoria Folayan (7 tries; 35 points)
8. Joanne Fa’avesi (1 try; 5 points)
9. Irene Gardner
10. Melissa Fowler
11. Kate Zackary
12. Kristen Thomas (1 try; 5 points)

Women’s Eagles Sevens | Canada Women’s Sevens
v. South Africa – W 40-5
v. Russia – W 17-14
v. Canada – L 19-15
Cup Quarterfinal v France – L 17-0
Plate Semifinal v Australia – W 29-10
Plate Final v Canada – W 19-12

View full results from #Canada7s.