Spain will play the semifinal in Bordeaux thanks to its comeback against the United States

The Spanish rugby 7 team has qualified this Saturday for the semifinals of the Bordeaux tournament (France)last stage of the World Series, by coming back in their quarterfinal match against the United States (17-5) in a memorable second half.

In the closing of the group against Australia, Spain accused the rigor of oceanic defensewhich confined it to its zone of twenty-two for almost the entire first half and this led to losses on the oval after which Ben Dowling scored two identical tries at the exit of each scrum, one of them converted by Maurice Longbottom.

A very long attacking play allowed Jaime Manteca to close the gap in the extension of the first period and, as soon as the second half began, the winger from Valladolid scored again, but his countryman Juanchín Ramos did not convert either of the two tries, which determined the final defeat (10-12) against the Australian team.

The two defeats in the group stage did not prevent the ‘Lions’ from qualifying for the quarterfinals as the best third partywhich led them to the easiest half of the draw and to repeat in the penultimate round the duel against the United States with which they opened their competition on Friday at the Atlántico stadium.

Steven Tomasin, the American captain who overwhelmed the Spanish defense on the left, was the author of the only try in the first half of a quarterfinal that both teams faced with nerves and inaccuracies, and in which the ball losses occurred (0-5).

Romero, attentive to the support of Manu Moreno, equalized in the first play of the second period, when Spain turned the score around thanks to its mastery of the restarts, in which the skill of the forwards in the aerial game was decisive.

First, Manteca’s defensive pressure led to a handling error by Aaron Cummings that ended Josep Serres’ try. Without a break in continuity, Moreno won the kick-off with a spectacular blow in flight and Ramos, after outwitting his pair close to the scrum, put the final score at 17-5.

Spain, which has played two finals in its history, but has not yet won any stage of the main international circuit, will face New Zealand in the second semi-final on Sunday. Meanwhile, at the top of the table, France and South Africa will compete for the other place in the duel for gold.