If you were in Las Vegas last week (as I was), then there's a good chance you ran into a group of large, jolly men in windsuits clutching a Gatorade.

Yes, it was USA Sevens time in Las Vegas, the annual rugby tournament that attracts the best teams in the world, including the New Zealand All-Blacks and Manu Samoa, who defeated their pacific rivals 26-19 to take home the championship on Sunday.

Las Vegas Weekly's Robin Leach reported that the USA Sevens featured 45 matches in three days among 16 teams, and brought unparalleled interest to the somewhat anonymous sport (at least in this country). 

In fact, Saturday's game between the U.S. and France drew more than 30,000 spectators to Sam Boyd Stadium - just 8,000 short of the TOTAL attendance at last year's tournament. 

Rugby players and fans were a fixture in Las Vegas last week, as fans donned their national and team colors seemingly 24/7 around the Vegas Strip. Several players made trips around public schools in Las Vegas during their down time, in hopes of generating curiosity in American rugby.

This was the third straight year that the USA Sevens has taken place in Las Vegas, and given the spirited interest in this year's tournament, there's a strong chance that rugby's best players will make a return trip to Sin City in 2013.