2015–16 United States national rugby sevens team season

The United States national rugby sevens team season began the 2015–16 World Rugby Sevens Series by "shocking the world" when it defeated New Zealand for the first time at 2015 Dubai Sevens.[1] The United States team beat the 12-time World Series champion in pool play and again in the tournament's third-place match[2] before a third victory in as many matches in the 2015 South Africa Sevens Plate Semifinal.[3] The U.S. once again finished the season in sixth, tying its best ever finish. The previous season's scoring records were broken again, as Perry Baker notched 48 tries and Madison Hughes scored 331 points.

United States
2015–16 season

World Rugby Sevens Series

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Leg Date Finish Record
(W-L-D)
Leading Try Scorer Leading Points Scorer Dream Team
selection
Dubai December 2015 3rd 4 – 2 Perry Baker (6) Perry Baker (30) Perry Baker
South Africa December 2015 6th 3 – 3 Madison Hughes (5) Madison Hughes (59)
New Zealand January 2016 T-7th 2 – 3 Carlin Isles (4) Madison Hughes (21)
Australia February 2016 T-7th 2 – 3 Perry Baker (5) Madison Hughes (30)
United States March 2016 4th 2 – 2 – 1 Perry Baker (5) Perry Baker (25) Perry Baker
Canada March 2016 6th 3 – 3 Perry Baker (8) Madison Hughes (48) Martin Iosefo
Hong Kong April 2016 6th 4 – 2 Perry Baker (7) Perry Baker (35)
Singapore April 2016 10th 3 – 3 Zack Test (6) Madison Hughes (34)
France May 2016 11th 2–3 Zack Test (5) Zack Test (25)
England May 2016 3rd 3–2–1 Perry Baker (8) Perry Baker (40) Perry Baker
6th Perry Baker (48) Madison Hughes (331) Perry Baker (3)

Dubai Sevens

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Coming into the tournament, the U.S. had lost 28 consecutive matches to New Zealand. In pool play at the 2015 Dubai Sevens, however, the U.S. notched its first win, despite missing regular forwards Danny Barrett and Andrew Durutalo. The U.S. won 14–12 behind two tries from Perry Baker, and a touchline conversion from Madison Hughes at the end of the match.

2015 Dubai Sevens pool play:
U.S. lineup vs. New Zealand
Player Position
Garrett Bender Forward
Zack Test Forward
Matai Leuta Forward
Folau Niua Scrum-half
Madison Hughes Fly-half
Maka Unufe Center
Perry Baker Wing

Players

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World Series

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Leading U.S. players (2015–16 WS season)
Player Matches Caps Tackles Tries Points
Perry Baker 55 10 78 48 240
Folau Niua 55 10 87 11 55
Madison Hughes 54 10 118 23 331
Zack Test 49 9 89 22 110
Danny Barrett 42 8 25 6 30
Garrett Bender 39 8 67 4 20
Martin Iosefo 37 7 31 10 50
Ben Pinkelman 36 7 42 8 40
Maka Unufe 34 7 31 10 50
Nate Augspurger 32 9 25 3 35
Carlin Isles 27 5 30 16 80
Thretton Palamo 23 6 12 2 10
Matai Leuta 19 21 2 10

Updated: May 23, 2016

2016 Summer Olympics squad

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The table below shows the U.S. roster assembled for the most recent tournament. The statistics (events, points, and tries) refer to statistics generated in World Rugby Sevens Series tournaments.[4]

References

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