2016–17 United States national rugby sevens team season

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United States
2016–17 season
  2015–16
2017–18  

The United States national rugby sevens team began the 2016-17 World Rugby Sevens Series slowly, sitting in 11th place after the first three rounds. The U.S. was missing certain key players from the previous season. The U.S. turned things around mid-season. In the second half of the season, the team for the first time reached four consecutive semifinals: first at the USA Sevens where the U.S. finished third; then at the Canada Sevens where Perry Baker scored 9 tries including his 100th career try; [1] followed by Hong Kong and Singapore. The U.S. finished the season in fifth place overall, a record high for the team. [2]

The United States national rugby sevens team competes in international rugby sevens competitions. The main competition they play every year is the World Rugby Sevens Series, a series of ten tournaments played around the globe that includes the USA Sevens tournament in Las Vegas every spring. The team also participates in major tournaments every four years, such as the Summer Olympics, the Rugby World Cup Sevens, and the Pan American Games. The national sevens team is organized by USA Rugby, and the team has been led by Head Coach Mike Friday since 2014.

The 2017 USA Sevens was the fourteenth edition of the USA Sevens tournament, and the fifth tournament of the 2016–17 World Rugby Sevens Series. The tournament was played on 3–5 March 2017 at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The 2017 Canada Sevens was the second edition of the Canada Sevens tournament, and the sixth tournament of the 2016–17 World Rugby Sevens Series. The tournament was played on 11–12 March 2017 at BC Place in Vancouver, BC.

Contents

Perry Baker and Danny Barrett were both selected to the 2016-17 Dream Team.

Tournament results

LegDateFinishRecord
(W-L-D)
Leading Try ScorerLeading Points ScorerDream Team
selection
Dubai December 20169th4–2 Perry Baker (5) Madison Hughes (39)
South Africa December 2016T–7th2–3 Perry Baker (5) Perry Baker (25)
New Zealand January 2017T–11th2–2–1 Baker & Barrett (3) Madison Hughes (23)
Australia February 20176th3–3 Carlin Isles (5) Madison Hughes (24) Danny Barrett
United States March 20173rd4–2 Danny Barrett (5) Danny Barrett (25) Danny Barrett
Canada March 20174th4–2 Perry Baker (9) Perry Baker (45) Perry Baker
Hong Kong April 20174th4–2 Perry Baker (9) Perry Baker (45) Baker & Pinkelman
Singapore April 20172nd4–2 Baker & Tomasin (8) Baker & Tomasin (40) Baker, Barrett & Tomasin
France May 20175th4–2 Perry Baker (8) Perry Baker (40)-
England May 20174th3–3 Perry Baker (8) Perry Baker (40) Perry Baker
Totals5thPerry Baker (57)Perry Baker (285)Baker (4), Barrett (3)

Player statistics

Perry Baker was the season's leading try scorer (57) and points scorer (285) on the Series. [3] Madison Hughes ranked third in points (279).

The following table shows the players who appeared in at least 12 matches for the U.S. during the 2016–17 Sevens Series season.

Leading U.S. players (2016–17 WS season)
PlayerMatchesTacklesTriesPoints
Stephen Tomasin 5715627171
Madison Hughes 4914313279
Folau Niua 57911058
Perry Baker 538257285
Ben Pinkelman 35731155
Martin Iosefo 55661995
Andrew Durutalo 54641367
Maka Unufe 47601470
Danny Barrett 424422110
Matai Leuta 4027315
Mike Te'o 1322529
Don Pati 1811315

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References

  1. "Baker scores 100th Sevens Series try", Americas Rugby News, March 13, 2017.
  2. "U.S. rugby concludes best-ever season", NBC Sports, Seth Rubinroit, May 21, 2017.
  3. "U.S. rugby concludes best-ever season", NBC Sports, Seth Rubinroit, May 21, 2017.