USA Gains 14 Points After 4th Place Finish at Sao Paulo 7s

USA takes 4th at Sao Paulo 7s

Jules McCoy’s Women’s Eagles Sevens leave Brazil Women’s Sevens with a fourth-place effort following a second consecutive defeat to New Zealand, 28-0, in the Third-Place Match Sunday.

The U.S. gains 14 points from the second leg of the 2015-16 HSBC World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series, ascending to eighth in the season standings. The third leg, HSBC Atlanta 7s, will be held in Kennesaw, Ga., April 8-9. Pools and match times for the Friday and Saturday tournament will be announced ahead of the weekend.

Despite Alev Kelter giving the Eagles the initial possession from the kickoff, she did not release the ball in the tackle. The Eagle defense held its shape as the opponent drifted into midfield, but Rachel Griendling could not make the tackle on Portia Woodman for the match’s opening score.

A New Zealand knock in front of the try line in the fifth minute was nullified by a forward pass to Kristen Thomas in-goal beneath the posts. The Eagles kept New Zealand out of the try zone, however, with Kelter’s steal in the breakdown. A pass into touch ended the attack, and Kristen Thomas chased a kick to the corner before it was knocked out behind the end line. The Eagles denied one final first-half attack to keep the deficit to a single converted try, 7-0.

Griendling’s break in the eighth minute ended in a turnover, and Niall Williams juked one defender behind New Zealand’s 10 to create the running lane to the try zone. The 14-0 lead held until the 13th minute, when another Eagles turnover gifted possession for Kelly Brazier to step through the defense. The ensuing restart did not travel 10 meters, but bounced off of the leg of Jillion Potter for New Zealand to maintain possession. Sarah Goss took a quick tap from a penalty on the play to bring the final score to 28-0.

The Eagles improved on their 11th-place finish in Dubai and saw three new caps each score debut tries on the weekend. They also defeated fifth-ranked England Saturday morning in their first Cup Quarterfinal of the season.

Fifth Third Bank Stadium at Kennesaw State University will host Atlanta 7s for the third year April 8-9, with tickets available for as low as $10 per day. Visit the Atlanta 7s event page for more information.

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