U.S. Women Finish Fourth, Men 11th At Rugby World Cup Sevens

Perry Baker competes against Kenya at the 2022 Rugby World Cup Sevens on Sept. 11, 2022 in Cape Town, South Africa.

The U.S. women’s rugby sevens team kept its streak alive of playing for a medal at every Rugby World Cup Sevens, but for the second tournament in a row it is heading home without one.
The U.S. women matched their performance from 2018 in finishing fourth after falling in the bronze-medal match 29-7 against France on Sunday in Cape Town, South Africa. Naya Tapper, a 2020 Olympian, had the lone try for the U.S., which has won two bronze medals and had two fourth-place finishes in World Cup women’s history.
Coming into the tournament as the No. 4 seed, the U.S. women knocked off Poland and Canada to advance to the semifinals against top-ranked Australia. The Aussies, who beat the Americans to win the bronze medal in 2018, held on for a 17-7 win to advance to the final.
The U.S. men weren’t able to improve on their all-time best finish of sixth at the 2018 World Cup, but their 11th-place finish represents their second-best performance in tournament history.
The U.S. men started off in the championship bracket as the No. 6 seed, but were upset by Samoa 40-12, dropping them into the challenge bracket. The U.S. started off well there with a 33-5 smashing of Wales before losing to Uruguay in the semifinals. Sunday, the U.S. finished strong with a 26-19 victory against Kenya in the 11th-place match.