USA Men's 7s HEad Coach has named his squad for the Sydney, Australia and Hamilton, New Zealand 7s tournaments.

Friday has made three changes from the previous tournament with Ben Pinkelman, Martin Iosefo and Marcus Tupuola back in the group. 

Pinkelman and Iosefo were both rested after competing in Rugby World Cup Japan 2019 and will take their respective places in the starting lineup. Tupuola will be ready to jump in as an injury reserve where all three players prepare for their first tournament of the season. 

Hamilton will also see another USA Sevens staple cross the half century mark as Captain Madison Hughes appears in his 50th World Series event. 

Since his sevens debut at Wellington in 2013, Hughes has gone on to become the highest overall points scorer in team history (1,450 pts) and has served as Captain for the Olympic Games Rio 2016 and Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018. 

In seven years, Hughes has helped lead the Eagles to some of their highest achievements including a first ever gold medal at London 2015, No. 1 world ranking in 2018-19 and qualification to the upcoming Olympics in Tokyo. 

Led by Hughes, the full squad owns 416 World Rugby Sevens Series tournaments. 

USA Roster (Number, Name, Position, Tournaments) 
1. Carlin Isles, Wing, 53
2. Ben Pinkelman, Prop/Hooker, 33
3. Danny Barrett, Prop, 50
4. Matai Leuta, Prop, 38
5. Naima Fua’laau, Halfback, 4
6. Kevon Williams, Halfback/Wing, 23
7. Ben Broselle, Wing/Prop, 5
8. Maka Unufe, Center, 39
9. Stephen Tomasin, Hooker, 33
10. Madison Hughes (C), Halfback, 49
11. Perry Baker, Wing, 43
12. Martin Iosefo, Center, 42
13. Marcus Tupuola, Wing, 4

STAFF

Head Coach | Mike Friday

Assistant Coach | Anthony Roques

Strength & Conditioning | John Hood

Athletic Trainer | Brian Green

Team Manager | Scott Novack 

The USA Men’s Sevens will face Scotland, New Zealand and Wales in a new adjustment to the competition structure for Hamilton: 

No Cup Quarterfinals will be held and teams who finish first in their respective pools will advance directly to the Cup Semifinals.

The two highest ranked teams remaining will face one another in the 5th Place playoff while the two highest ranked teams after them will face one another in the 7th Place play off. This sequence continues for the 9th place, 11th place, 13th place and 15th place rounds, respectively. 

Scotland, currently in 13th place overall, will be up first on Friday, Jan 24 at 8:09 PM ET. Home team and No. 1 New Zealand will be next after claiming silver and gold medals in the opening two tournaments of the season, respectively. The U.S. will conclude group play against No. 15 Wales. 
 

HAMILTON SCHEDULE
vs Scotland | Friday, Jan 24 - 8:09 PM ET
vs New Zealand | Saturday, Jan 25 - 2:33 AM ET 

vs Wales | Saturday, Jan 25 - 7:19 PM ET

Knockout rounds begin at 10:20 PM ET on Saturday, Jan 25

“We have hugely reflected as a group since returning to training at the start of 2020," said Friday. "We were unhappy with some of our moments in the first two legs which were in our control and we continue to work hard as a group to be better at taking those moments.

“On pitch we have had a huge focus on our basics where we felt our pass and catch let us down together with the fundamentals of our lineout and kick off execution. Physically we still have a lot more to give and impose in terms of speed and power as well as repeated effort. 

“It’s great for the squad to have Martin and Ben rested and now sevens ready for these two legs and their ability and experience will be a huge positive to the squad. This is going to be another extremely difficult group to progress from due to the enforced changes to format which means we have to win our pool.”

“It is great to see Madison reach his 50th tournament. He has been not only a great player for the Dawgs but an immense leader who is balanced, measured and passionate in everything he does. To have been Captain for 46 of that 50 epitomizes him as Captain America. We are very fortunate to have him.”