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Sat 25 Jan 2014 | 11:00
Highlights from Day One of the 2014 Las Vegas Sevens

7
Comments

Local hero Carlin Isles scored a brilliant try on day one of the USA Sevens but it wasn't enough for the home side to get a win, despite coming close on two occasions. New Zealand, South Africa, France, Samoa and Argentina all went unbeaten.

Uruguay came close to a big upset but were edged out by Samoa, while England, who earlier lost to Samoa, produced the biggest win of the day as they beat Portugal 54-0. South Africa are yet to concede a point after beating Wales 43-0 and Canada 29-0.

The United States lost 19-12 to Argentina and were pipped 14-12 by France.

"It is Incredibly frustrating, the guys put so much into that. But they have to learn from things like this, and they need to come back tomorrow and pick themselves up. We are doing the right things, but we just need to get the results in our favour," said USA coach Matt Hawkins.

Today is the final round of pool play, which includes exciting matchups with New Zealand vs Fiji and Argentina vs France, before the quarter finals are decided. The Semis and Finals are on Sunday.

The official IRB highlights wrap (8 minutes) can be viewed below, and we'll have more as it happens

Posted By: Grant Constable

7 Comments

  • calihooker
    6:23 PM 28/01/2014

    From the way the Lions staff was talking about Isles they just want him to gain some weight. He has all the other skills.

    Just to put his size to a comparison. Darren Sproles is 5'6" and 190lbs and has been an incredible back for many years, he got even better with the move to New Orleans with a real QB to get him the ball. Danny Woodhead 5'8" 200 lbs and Wes Welker 5'9" 185 lbs are also great examples of guys who aren't massive but make huge plays for their teams every game. But I think given time in a pro weight room we'll see Isles currently 5'8" 160 throw on 30-40 lbs in a single offseason, and still keep his insane speed. Barry Sanders was one of the greats and he was 5'8" and 200 lbs.(with 15 lbs of sand in his uniform)

    Remember Football conditioning is nothing compared to rugby conditioning. 90% of the monsters in the NFL would have strokes trying to keep up with 15's let alone 7's. So he can pack on 30-40 extra lbs and still stay top form because he's getting 20-30 seconds between every sprint.

  • 10:23 PM 27/01/2014

    That's if he makes the team, which is still a long shot. Plenty of pure kick returners his size though, but will he stand up to the physical punishment of getting absolutely hammered by 250 lb guys who play with no regard for his or their own safety?

  • calihooker
    8:26 PM 27/01/2014

    Yeah the lions have him for next season. I heard some talk on NFL today about him finishing his rugby time at Vegas and going straight over to the Lions training camp for the rest of this year. I don't know how true that is but I wish him the best. He isn't exactly the physical specimen you see in football but maybe with time in a football gym with their "supplements" he will fill out that frame and only drop a few hundredths off that 100 time.

  • stroudos
    6:53 AM 26/01/2014

    4:00 - Watching a sevens match decided by a penalty kick is just sickening. Where I come from, just kicking the ball at all in a sevens game is a penalty against your team. I don't care if it's a sensible way to secure the points and win the game, that's not the point.

  • matt
    11:32 PM 25/01/2014

    If you're right then that's a shame, he was fun to watch

  • hendogo
    9:14 PM 25/01/2014

    Doesn't matter he just got a contract to play American Football. Since US Rugby doesn't pay worth a damn, I think he will take the football money next year.

  • matt
    8:57 PM 25/01/2014

    It seems a shame to discuss only one player from that, especially one who already receives so much attention. But Isles appears to be developing into a genuine rugby player.

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