Coming out of a 3-3 performance in Vancouver, USA 7s team Head Coach Mike Friday seemed relatively at ease.

And perhaps he should be. The Eagles produced a more consistent group of games this past weekend at BC Place, crushing France, beating England, and beating Wales handily.

They lost to New Zealand in a game where they were enormously unlucky on calls, lost to Fiji in overtime where bad luck played a small part, and lost to Samoa in the Plate Final where it may have been one game too far.

Friday used his starters more than he usually does, and that was, in part, because he was missing four players due to injury. 

“I can’t fault the effort and character of my players,” Friday said about his squad’s results. “I think they’ve been a credit to each other first and foremost, and to the people that they represent. So I am really, really pleased with the performance, and really, really pleased with the character of this team. We played with desire, with nous, and with enthusiasm. We did have some silly little mistakes at crucial times.”

Character. USA captain Madison Hughes comforts Ben Pinkelman after a Pinkelman mistake led to Fiji scoring. Steven Seiller photo.

But that, added Friday, is a function of the team’s overall youth. (This might partly be illustrated by a conversation Goff Rugby Report had with USA captain Madison Hughes about the newer players on the team. “It’s great to have these young kids come out and show how they can handle themselves in the circuit,” said Hughes, and since is only 23, calling other players kids is a little amusing, but illustrative of the fact that he is supposed to be the season veteran.)

Mike Friday ponders the game at BC Place. David Barpal photo.

“We do experience some problems of consistency,” added Friday. “But I am pleased with the group. We’re young, still. We don’t have the rugby education that a lot of these super rugby powers have between the age of 12 and 18, so we’re playing catchup. But they’re working hard, they’re getting better, the characters’s where I want it. The behavior is where I want it. We’ve just got to keep working hard on the little bits and pieces so we can be better next time.”