Next Stop, Cape Town
Next Stop, Cape Town
Both USA 7s teams are in Cape Town for the next legs of the World Series.
This is Leg #3 for the men and #2 for the women. At least in future seasons it will be the same leg for each as everything will be evened out for the 2023-24 season.
World Rugby Confirms Major Changes in Sevens World Series for Next Season
Both teams did relatively well in Dubai, bringing some impressive showings in specific games.
For the women that would be the 3rd-4th game vs France. Eagle Women 3rd in Dubai; Who Also Challenges for Top 4?
For the men it was their victory over Australia. At Times Good Enough, USA Men Take 4th in Dubai
This week the two Eagles teams are definitely in a good position to make the quarterfinals.
The men take on Uganda Friday at 8:12AM ET, followed by Great Britain at 2:35AM on Saturday, and Australia at 8:16AM on Saturday.
They are definitely favored over Uganda (which is a tough team but still ...) and Great Britain (whose form continues to slip). Australia, despite last week's result, is more doubtful. But 2-1 will get them to the quarterfinals.
For the women, they face Japan at 4:22AM Friday morning (ET) followed by Canada at 9:08AM and France at 4:19AM on Saturday. All three of these games are winnable, but realistically, 2-1 is more likely. The USA beat Canada and France last week, but by a combined seven points. One of those (France?) could overhaul them.
This is, by the way, the 50th Women's World Series tournament.
The Eagle women do need to play a more explosive game but also will have to continue to meet the physical power of France. The Eagle men will need to be more patient and not commit silly penalties when things aren't going their way.