USA Takes 4th at Cape Town 7s

The USA Women’s 7s team finished fourth in Cape Town, the second stop on the 2023-24 HSBC SVNS series. The Eagles are now sixth in the standings, having banked 14 points in South Africa and eight in Dubai. The circuit resumes on Jan. 26-28, when the field reconvenes in Perth, Australia. [All photos: Mike Lee – KLC fotos for World Rugby]

“Cape Town was a good step forward for us in our season following what we learned in Dubai,” USA Women’s 7s head coach Emilie Bydwell told USA Rugby. “We had a big week in terms of reflecting on our performance [in Dubai] and highlighting the aspect of play that would make the biggest difference in our response this weekend.

“We improved our ability to play to space more effectively and are looking forward on expanding that aspect of our game so that we can be less predictable and best maximize our strengths,” the coach continued. “Defensively, we are always looking to refine details that allow us to apply more pressure, whether that be at the breakdown or by taking space. We saw some positive aspects of that throughout the weekend that we can build from.”

Mike Lee – KLC fotos for World Rugby

Competing in Pool C, the USA started the tournament with a retributive win (21-14) against Canada, which had won the teams’ last meeting in Dubai 15-10. The Eagles had also played and lost to France (38-5) in the series opener and that point differential remained intact for the Cape Town rematch: 31-0 to Les Bleus. Pool play ended on a high note, as the USA posted a shutout (34-0) against host South Africa.

The USA advanced to the Cup quarterfinals on day two and downed Great Britain 19-12 for the semifinal berth. There, eventual champion Australia shut down the Eagles 33-5, and then beat France 29-26 in the gold medal match. The Americans meanwhile took on New Zealand for third place and fell 19-7.

Naya Tapper and Spiff Sedrick scored four tries each in South Africa, while Alena Olsen, Ilona Maher, Jaz Gray, Cheta Emba, Kayla Canett and Ariana Ramsey scored one try apiece. Canett (3), Sedrick and Nicole Heavirland (4) handled the conversions.

Mike Lee – KLC fotos for World Rugby

“The players head straight into a very important remote training block that will give them the opportunity to get away and reset following a long preseason,” Bydwell closed. “We will resemble as a team January 1 for our build up to Perth. Australia, France, New Zealand, and the other teams have all progressed from last season and will continue to grow throughout the season as we look toward Madrid and the Olympics. While we have specific game plans for each team, our Perth block will be focused on refining the actions required to be the best version of ourselves regardless of the opposition.”