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USA Sevens cemented their status as 'big dwags' with Las Vegas triumph

Perry Baker celebrated winning the Las Vegas Sevens last weekend. Brandon Magnus/Getty Images

We have always talked as a United States squad about winning one of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series titles on home soil with our family and friends there to cheer us on and now we have actually achieved that goal and Las Vegas was truly amazing.

I remember standing there on the podium and thinking 'Wow man, this is over the top!' There were fans running onto the pitch screaming with joy and the fact it was being televised by ESPN3 meant I received texts and messages from people I never knew would be watching the rugby all over the country.

That was really cool. With the USA retaining the Americas Rugby Championship trophy together with our win in Las Vegas, it was a very special weekend for rugby in this country and if that doesn't help grow the game then I don't know what will!

That type of success is awesome and I was buzzing because it was an unbelievable experience. With the Rugby World Cup Seven being held in the San Francisco Bay area in July we have now confirmed our status as one of the 'Big Dawgs' and have always believed we are one of the top four countries.

This win on home soil sends out a clear message that we are not pretenders -- we are contenders and now we have real momentum going into Vancouver and Hong Kong. I mentioned in my column last week that we were launching something in Las Vegas and it's awesome to share that World Rugby Sevens Series partner HSBC announced a documentary following us over the series.

It will will follow us ahead of the Rugby World Cup Sevens on home soil, elevating the profile of our team even further and ultimately contributing to further growth of Rugby Sevens in the US. 'The Pioneers' will help us replicate the kind of fantastic support we received in Las Vegas when the Rugby World Cup arrives which will make a big difference for us.

On Sunday and Monday it was a case of letting what we achieved sink in and then it was onto the next job which is building on our Las Vegas win this weekend.

The quick turnaround means that we have to tailor our preparation to ensure we get enough rest to be ready for Vancouver and we have to trust in ourselves and deal with the pressure which is on all the big teams.

I know my try against Fiji has been seen a lot on social media and it came at a time when I really wanted the chance to get the ball in my hands. At half time some of the guys in the team said to me: 'Hang in there bro your time is going to come to get one'.

Thankfully, the guys grabbed possession and the crowd started chanting "USA, USA" and I got the ball early and saw the Fiji guys rushing up and so I checked and found myself standing still.

I still felt I had room outside and so I attacked that space trying to use the width to stress the defence and that hesitation got me past those initial tacklers and then I needed to find the sweeper Jerry Tuwai, who is an amazing defensive player and just went for him.

Then I had to finish and as I was running I was looking up at the Jumbotron screen just trying to see where the defenders were coming from. While that try was very enjoyable I was also very happy to have got back and tackled the Fiji wing who I had given too much room on the outside and our coach always says you never give up and thankfully I got him just before our try line.

Later, I was able to give my great friend Carlin Isles an early pass and he raced away for a great try and that made me very happy because a little earlier I had tried to get the ball to him and the pass was too high which was very upsetting.

That is why I was intent on getting it right to allow Carlin to finish it off and we love playing together. I honestly don't think I am as fast as people believe I am and I just like to use space.

I know I can run but I don't feel I am as fast I can be and that is why I am constantly working to be more flexible. I am not flexible at all and if I can become better then I really can get faster.