6 Nations & USA Sevens: While you were sleeping...

We had the two semi-finals at the USA Sevens - Netherlands v France, and Spain v Canada - under floodlights in the main Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas.

First up was the all European battle, and an impressive performance by the Dutch. In a closely fought battle good handling and effective defence shut out the French in the first half, which finished with the Dutch 10-0 ahead. And so it continued in the second half with the Dutch extending their lead to 17 points before France finally broke through on the final whistle.

The second semi was a rather more scrappy affair, but a noticeably larger Canadian side frustrated all Spanish attacks - the whole first half taking place in the Spanish half - while scoring three well-taken tries.

And so, later today, its Canada v Netherlands - North America v Europe - in what should be a fascinating battle, while on this side of the Atlantic its Scotland v Wales. Both games look too close to call.