It was feast or famine for the USA on Day Three of the Men’s Rugby World Cup 7s, and that meant a 6th-place finish.

And while 6th place is the best the USA has ever done at the World Cup (for the men’s team), it could have been better. The Eagles took Scotland apart in the opening game of the day 28-0, but then were similarly dismantled 33-7 in the 5th/6th playoff.

Watch the USA Rugby Club 7s Nationals LIVE on FloRugby August 11-12

Against Scotland, the USA should have scored early on a short ball to Danny Barrett, but he was grabbed around the ankle and later pinged for not releasing. Moments later, the Eagles could have scored on a give-and-go move with Perry Baker and Madison Hughes, but Hughes was flipped over expertly as he went over the line.

Third time was the charm, as Maka Unufe found his way through and Hughes converted for a 7-0 lead.

Scotland got a yellow card for time wasting and a talking to about doing it again, and continued to get on the wrong side of the referee. A nice tackle and poach attempt by Perry Baker led to a penalty, and eventually an excellent team try finished by Hughes, and that made it 14-0 at halftime.

In the second half, Brett Thompson picked up and rambled over, and then some good work from the former Arizona All American to force a turnover led to a classic Carlin Isles try.

That was it, 28-0.

The USA dominated in all aspects, showing off a tackle rate of 85% (compared to Scotland’s 51%), and committing fewer errors and giveaways. 

But as dominant as the USA team looked, it looked overmatched against Argentina. Los Pumas controlled possession expertly, and benefitted from a couple of poor calls (an early penalty against the USA led to a try, and should have been a penalty against Argentina).

But that didn’t account for the USA’s inability to get possession or make wise decisions with the ball when they got ball.

“That’s just a disappointing performance by us and we know that," said USA head coach Mike Friday. "But unfortunately that’s the way the game goes. Fair play to Argentina, they harassed at the breakdowns, they pushed the laws to the edge, they got away with it, and they got the win. It’s never nice losing; it’s even harder to lose in front of a fantastic rugby crowd as we had out there.”

Yes it was disappointing, and in some ways shows where this team is - a very good team with the ability to beat anyone, but also vulnerable to having things fall apart. Friday said he needs depth, and he does. But also, tactically, a couple of opponents had their number.

And the aspects of play where the USA has been very strong this season - winning restarts, being secure in the tackle and with the ball, and being solid in the lineouts - were not their best this weekend.

At the same time, the USA lost in overtime to runners-up England, and Australia, a superb rugby team, ended up 10th. You never know.

All RWC 7s Scores