Following an opening fixture loss to Fiji, 28-14, the Men's 7s Eagles needed a pair of wins to get their way out of pool play and into the Cup Quarterfinals. 

They took care of business in the first game, defeating Japan 42-0, but they knew their third and final game could well be the toughest. 

They were in need of a win against tournament hosts South Africa, also winners of the last week's tournament in Dubai. 

The United States put up a really good fight, and despite scoring the same number of tries as the Blitzboks, lost 21-15 and thus missed the Quarterfinals for the first time in two seasons. 

To the 9th place game they headed for a matchup with England. 

9th Place Match

Three outstanding first half tries were enough to get the job done, as the boys took down England 17-12. 

Maka Unufe was superb, scoring a blistering try of his own and opening things up with his offloading and strength in the carry. 

Carlin Isles notched another spectacular try, skinning his way around the edge and then zigging and zagging his way under the posts for a beautiful score. 

Danny Barrett was also dangerous with every touch of the ball. He opened the game with a 70 meter scamper right up the middle, running a beautiful line and steaming onto it at pace. 

He was ultimately dragged down meters from the line, and some messy work at the breakdown saw the scoring opportunity vanish. 

Though points eluded them on that occasion, the big man came back minutes later with a try from close range, bulldozing his way up the sideline and over the defender to slam down the try in the corner. 

Kevon Williams and Madison Hughes were both solid, and are slowly working out their partnership in the middle of the field together. 

Looking ahead

The next stop on the series will be Hamilton, New Zealand on January 25th. The United States have not gotten off to the start they might have envisioned based upon last year's results, but there's still a very long way to go. 

You can see the drastic impact that Folau Niua, Ben Pinkelman, and Martin Iosefo's absences have had on the squad. The good news though is it's given other guys opportunities to develop and figure out how to work together within the framework of the team. 

At the moment though, the Eagles 7s seem to be lacking the same creativity and dominance in the middle that they had last year. 

Guys don't seem to be on the same page, and therefore we're attempting to play into a lot more contact rather than exploit the spaces. That may all come together as we move further into the circuit and closer to the Olympics. 

What this result means

Although the United States have already qualified for the 2020 Olympics, their standing in the table this season still carries importance in regards to how they get seeded at Tokyo. 

For now, they sit all the way down at 9th place after two tournaments. The return of some experienced players will help, and there is still time to turn it around, so no need to hit the panic button just yet.