2016–17 United States national rugby sevens team season
| 2016–17 season | |
|---|---|
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]
Perry Baker and Danny Barrett were both selected to the 2016-17 Dream Team.
Tournament results
[edit]| Leg | Date | Finish | Record (W-L-D) |
Leading Try Scorer | Leading Points Scorer | Dream Team selection |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dubai | December 2016 | 9th | 4–2 | Perry Baker (5) | Madison Hughes (39) | — |
| South Africa | December 2016 | T–7th | 2–3 | Perry Baker (5) | Perry Baker (25) | — |
| New Zealand | January 2017 | T–11th | 2–2–1 | Baker & Barrett (3) | Madison Hughes (23) | — |
| Australia | February 2017 | 6th | 3–3 | Carlin Isles (5) | Madison Hughes (24) | Danny Barrett |
| United States | March 2017 | 3rd | 4–2 | Danny Barrett (5) | Danny Barrett (25) | Danny Barrett |
| Canada | March 2017 | 4th | 4–2 | Perry Baker (9) | Perry Baker (45) | Perry Baker |
| Hong Kong | April 2017 | 4th | 4–2 | Perry Baker (9) | Perry Baker (45) | Baker & Pinkelman |
| Singapore | April 2017 | 2nd | 4–2 | Baker & Tomasin (8) | Baker & Tomasin (40) | Baker, Barrett & Tomasin |
| France | May 2017 | 5th | 4–2 | Perry Baker (8) | Perry Baker (40) | - |
| England | May 2017 | 4th | 3–3 | Perry Baker (8) | Perry Baker (40) | Perry Baker |
| Totals | 5th | Perry Baker (57) | Perry Baker (285) | Baker (4), Barrett (3) |
Player statistics
[edit]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.
| Player | Matches | Tackles | Tries | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stephen Tomasin | 57 | 156 | 27 | 171 |
| Madison Hughes | 49 | 143 | 13 | 279 |
| Folau Niua | 57 | 91 | 10 | 58 |
| Perry Baker | 53 | 82 | 57 | 285 |
| Ben Pinkelman | 35 | 73 | 11 | 55 |
| Martin Iosefo | 55 | 66 | 19 | 95 |
| Andrew Durutalo | 54 | 64 | 13 | 67 |
| Maka Unufe | 47 | 60 | 14 | 70 |
| Danny Barrett | 42 | 44 | 22 | 110 |
| Matai Leuta | 40 | 27 | 3 | 15 |
| Mike Te'o | 13 | 22 | 5 | 29 |
| Don Pati | 18 | 11 | 3 | 15 |
References
[edit]- ^ "Baker scores 100th Sevens Series try", Americas Rugby News, March 13, 2017.
- ^ "U.S. rugby concludes best-ever season", NBC Sports, Seth Rubinroit, May 21, 2017.
- ^ "U.S. rugby concludes best-ever season", NBC Sports, Seth Rubinroit, May 21, 2017.