RAN Olympic Qualifier All About a Perfect 14 Minutes
RAN Olympic Qualifier All About a Perfect 14 Minutes
Does it all come down to just 14 minutes?
All the hard work this summer seems like it does. Back in 2015 when the USA men’s 7s team had to play in an Olympic Qualifier, it, predictably, came down to a rather contentious final against Canada. That tournament actually came down to 20 minutes, because back then the final of a major 7s tournament was always 10-minute halves (until someone realized that was stupid).
That game started with three blistering tries from the USA before Folau Niua was yellow-carded for stepping too aggressively into a tackle. The tone of that game changed, with Canada scoring in the second half. But the USA hung on doggedly and won 21-5. It seemed a lot closer than that.
This time around USA Head Coach Mike Friday repeatedly talked about that final 14 minutes. Certainly the USA is expected to make the final comfortably, and the same goes for Canada.
“We have a full-fit squad for the first time in a lone time,” Friday told GRR. “We have focused primarily on us and on being as fit as we can be.”
For the first half of this summer the players were working remotely, getting their conditioning right. That conditioning was crucial, said Friday, because the next half was going to be all about little decision-making things, little skills, and execution.
“All of this so we can get down to two teams, one referee, and 14 minutes,” he said.
As the team heads up to Langford, BC for the RAN Qualifier (with the roster being named tomorrow), all of that hard work is expected to pay off.
“We’re feeling really good as a team,” said captain Kevon Williams (the only player we will divulge as expected to be on that qualifier squad of 13. “Through the work we’ve done we’ve done to some really dark places and in the midst of it heads were down. But now we’re all on the other side of it we’re reaping the benefits.”
The Eagles invited Japan in to California to scrimmage and in those sessions they were able to work on some tactical aspects of the game. But in the end, it’s all about a mindset.
An Inconsistent Season
The USA 7s team started strong in the 2022-23 world 7s circuit, but ended poorly. However, both Friday and Williams point to some positives. Their points total in the World Series standings was not all that dissimilar from other years where the Eagles finished higher, said Friday. That was partly down to how “brutally competitive” the World Series (now branded SVNS) has been.
For his part, Williams pointed out that, aside from New Zealand, his team was competitive with every opponent.
“We could play every team,” he said. “The thing we needed was more consistency.”
Certainly that remains true. Consistency is hugely important and a lot of that has to do with fitness. It also has to do with experience, and there have been more experienced players in the Qualifier camp.
“We over-performed at the start [of the 2022-23 season] and we saw mistakes double and treble at the end," said Friday. “With young players sometimes they made mistakes, and we have worked hard on the skills and the decision-making piece. When we were very good, we were absolutely ruthless with ball in hand. We’re a possession-based team and we use possession to impose ourselves on the opposition.”
Keeping possession puts the opposition under pressure. Keeping possession in 7s means not having to score a try in the next three seconds, if you can be more sure of a try a minute later. Keeping possession means the talent that is clearly in the USA squad can express itself.
“We just have to take care of the ball,” echoed Williams. “We take cape of the ball we’ll be fine.”
RAN Qualifier Notes:
The schedule is already set and can be seen here>> The USA plays Bermuda and Mexico on Day One. The Eagles are in a three-team pool while Canada is in a four-team pool and plays three times on Day One: St. Vincent & The Grenadines, Barbados, and Jamaica. The Canada women are heavily favored to win their qualifier, especially as the USA has already qualified by being top four in the World Series. In fact, the USA and Canada women's teams have never met in an Olympic qualifier. In 2015 Canada had an automatic spot, and in 2019 both teams qualified via the standings.
Canada has already named their squad for the men’s qualifier.
4. Phil Berna (Vancouver, BC) – Vancouver Rowing Club
5. Alex Russell (Chichester, ENG) – McGill University
6. Josiah Morra (Toronto, ON) – Castaway Wanderers / Toronto Saracens
7. Brock Webster (Uxbridge, ON) – Oshawa Vikings RFC
8. Cooper Coats (Halifax, NS) – Halifax Tars
12. David Richard (Milton, ON) – Mississauga Blues RFC
19. Matthew Oworu (Calgary, AB) – Pacific Pride
23. Thomas Isherwood (Okotoks, AB) – Foothills Lions RFC
33. Kal Sager (Peterborough, ON) – Peterborough Pagans / Trent University
44. Lockie Kratz (Victoria, BC) – Castaway Wanderers / NOLA Gold
64. Elias Hancock (Ottawa, ON) – Bytown Blues
99. Jack Carson (Victoria, BC) – University of British Columbia
“I’m continually impressed by our group,” said interim Head Coach Sean White, himself a former Canada 7s international. “Their effort level, attention to detail, and consistent willingness to make the small adjustments in training allow them to grow as a collective. We’ve had this date circled on our calendar for over a year now. To host it in front of our home crowd, family and friends is going to be special. We’re ready to take the challenge head-on.”
Both the USA and Canada are heavily favored to sweep their pool games and win their semifinals on Sunday. Then it just comes down to those last 14 minutes.