USA Rugby has won its first rugby 7s tournament ever. They participate in the 7s World Series every year, which is a series of tournaments taking place through half the year in such diverse places as Dubai, Hong Kong, Brisbane, Las Vegas, and London.
7s isn't real rugby (which is what you'd expect me, a forward, to say), but you can be proud of your 'Mericans for having broken through on this. In 7s you have seven players a side, instead of the standard fifteen, playing on the same size pitch for seven-minute halves. Each tournament features several games, including pool play and finals. There are loser's brackets, and you can earn points for the season by winning plates or bowls from those brackets, but the overall winner of each tournament goes home with a cup.
Before today, the U.S. had never won a cup. They've had a good year, especially by their standards, and now they've finally broken through to win a tournament. The Americans are never short of speed or power, but usually lack enough uniform know-how and experience to win consistently.
Looks like that might be changing.
You can watch the U.S. win their first cup, against Australia in London earlier today. Finals have ten-minute halves.
