The Eagles walked away from the Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens with seven series points after an impressive day two rally following an 0-3 start to the tournament.
The USA stormed into the bowl final by taking out Zimbabwe 41-7 in the quarters and Canada 33-17 in the semifinals. A 0-26 shutout by Scotland in the final was a harsh end to an otherwise excellent day for the Eagles.
Against Zimbabwe, the USA simply hit a groove and did well to deprive the Zimbabweans of possession. It turned into a track meet for the USA. Mike Palefau, who was very consistent in Dubai, notched a hat trick. The win put the Eagles on a collision course with bitter rivals Canada who defeated Samoa to cement their place in the semifinal.
It was truly a story of two halves against Canada, with the Eagles scoring 26 unanswered points after eight minutes of play. Three consecutive Canadian tries made it an interesting second half for spectators, but the Eagles kept a comfortable lead. Former Brown University track and football star, Miles Craigwell, put the proverbial nail in the coffin by scoring a 70 meter try as time expired.
In the bowl final against Scotland, an early scoring opportunity went awry as Peter Tiberio lost the handle on the ball in the try zone. Scotland was able to execute from deep in their own half, releasing Andrew Turnbull down field to score his first of three tries in the final.
With 12 total Series points, the USA hold 11th place in the standings, seven points clear of Canada who are in 12th.
Next weekend, the USA will face Pool A opponents England, Samoa, and Argentina in the Nelson Mandela Bay Sevens in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
USA MEN'S SEVENS SCHEDULE 2011-2012
October 29-30: 2011 Pan-Am Games (Guadalajara, Mexico)
November 25-26: Gold Coast Sevens (Gold Coast, Australia)
December 2-3: Emirates Airline Dubai Rugby Sevens (Dubai, United Arab Emirates)
December 9-10: South Africa Sevens (Port Elizabeth, South Africa)
February 3-4: Wellington Sevens (Wellington, New Zealand)
February 10-12: USA Sevens (Las Vegas, Nevada, USA)
March 23-25: Hong Kong Sevens (Hong Kong, China)
March 31- April 1: Tokyo Sevens (Tokyo, Japan)
May 5-6: Emirates Airline Edinburgh Sevens Festival (Edinburgh, Scotland)
May 12-13: Emirates Airline London 7s (London, England)
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