USA 7s vs Fiji 7s

Fiji struck first through their leading try-scorer Vuwa Naduva, who split the USA defence wide open after just two phases of possession. The Fijians doubled their lead before the break when Naduva collected again on the edge and stepped his way over in the corner, leaving the Americans scoreless at 14-0.

USA emerged from the interval with renewed intent. Captain Stephen Tomasin orchestrated a quick tap penalty, shifting the ball to David Still III, who powered over for the Eagles' first try — though the tough conversion was missed.

With Fiji's lead cut to nine, momentum swung further when Will Chevalier scored under the posts off a line-out move, and Tomasin converted to bring the Eagles within two points at 14-12.

With 45 seconds remaining and Fiji in possession at a line-out inside USA's half, the match appeared destined for a Fijian victory. But Chevalier read a blind Fijian pass, intercepted, and turned possession over inside the 22. USA worked the phases with composure — Marcus Tupuola trucking the ball to within five metres, Rand Santos picking at the base, and Lacamp bursting onto the short-side pass to dive over in the corner as the hooter sounded. The conversion was academic; the Eagles had won 17-14.

Vuwa Naduva (Fiji 7s) — The Fijian flyer scored both of his side's first-half tries, taking his tally as Fiji's top try-scorer for the season. His sharp acceleration and footwork carved USA open twice in the opening seven minutes.

Will Chevalier (USA 7s) — Scored the critical try that dragged the Eagles within two points, then produced the match-defining intercept with under a minute to play that set up the winning sequence.

Lucas Lacamp (USA 7s) — The hero of the hour. Constant work-rate across the full 14 minutes, forcing a turnover that led to Still's try and finishing the match-winner from close range with ice-cold composure.

Fiji's first-half efficiency was devastating — needing only two attacking entries to score two converted tries, a reflection of Naduva's finishing and Fiji's clinical edge in broken play. USA's second-half response, by contrast, was built on territory and pressure: three tries from sustained multi-phase attacks, each from inside Fiji's half. The Eagles' ability to hold possession and wait for Fijian defensive lapses flipped the match.

The win secured USA 7s fifth place at the HSBC SVNS Bordeaux 2026 championship and crucially guaranteed promotion to SVNS 1 for the 2027 season, capping a season that began in SVNS 2 with a second-place finish in Nairobi. Fiji, who topped their pool but lost 14-12 to South Africa in the quarter-finals, finished sixth.

USA head coach Zack Test told eagles.rugby: "I'm so proud of the boys and efforts we put in. We've been preaching all week about our belief in each other, and what we're building. We knew this weekend, we'd have to be resilient, and fight for 14 minutes to the bitter end."

Captain Stephen Tomasin added: "At the beginning things weren't going our way, and I think the team we were in Hong Kong would have folded, but we've done a lot of work since Hong Kong on ourselves, on our group, and who we are, building the resiliency."

This was a game of two halves in the truest sense: Fiji's devastating first-half attack met USA's unbreakable second-half resolve. The Eagles showed a resilience that was absent earlier in the season, and Lacamp's cool finish under the ultimate pressure was the perfect capstone to a campaign built on steady improvement.