Americans dominant in opener
As Martin Iosefo strode from the pitch to the locker room late Friday night, he asked no one in particular: “Is it Sunday yet?”
The U.S. men’s team certainly looks like it could be playing meaningful matches in the Rugby World Cup Sevens on Sunday after a dominating 35-0 victory over Wales on the opening night of the tournament.
The semifinals and championship will be played AT&T Park on Sunday, and to get there the fifth-seeded United States will have to win Saturday’s quarterfinal against No. 4 England, which beat No. 13 Samoa 19-15 on Friday.
The U.S. team’s round-of-16 victory was even more impressive than that of England as the American team fed off a chanting and standing crowd, got two scoring tries from Perry Baker and showed a stalwart defensive effort.
Baker, the country’s alltime leader in scoring tries, had only three touches and was able to score on two. The U.S. squad also got scoring tries from Pacifica native Danny Barrett, Carlin Isles and Iosefo as the team appears poised for a major stepping-stone in the program’s history.
Team USA had never before finished better than 13th in the World Cup and has already secured at least an eighth-place finish in this one. They want more, and they believe the home crowd can boost those chances.
Well after the final horn, U.S. players ran laps around the baseball field that was converted into a rugby pitch and celebrated with fans decked out in red, white and blue.
“The fans stayed until 9:37 at night to watch us. It’s after 10 now, and they’re still here,” Baker said. “You have to give them some type of support and love back. …
“All along, we’ve believed we could do it, and now, people are starting to see it. … The sky is the limit for this squad.”
No. 8 Scotland 31, No. 9 Kenya 26: Jamie Farndale scored two tries in the final minutes, including one on the match’s final play, to pull off a dramatic comeback. Scotland scored the game-tying try when Kenya was down to five players because of penalties and will play top-seeded South Africa in Saturday’s quarterfinals. South Africa made easy work of No. 16 Ireland in the round of 16, coasting to a 45-7 win.
No. 11 France 22, No. 6 Australia 17: Tavite Veredamu scored two tries, including the match winner in the closing minutes. France will play No. 3 New Zealand, a 29-5 winner over No. 14 Russia, in Saturday’s quarterfinals with hopes of securing its first World Cup finish better than fifth.
No. 2 Fiji 35, No. 15 Japan 10: The Fijian team outscored Japan 28-0 in the second half to race to victory. In Saturday’s quarterfinals, Fiji will play No. 7 Argentina, which dominated time of possession and got a combined 23 points from Santiago Mare and Gaston Revol in a 28-0 drubbing of 10th-seeded Canada.