The official line is, we have to build depth, and that’s true about the USA Men’s National 15s team, but it also could be heard as “we have to figure out if these guys can play.”

And it also means, sometimes, that you have to take an opportunity to show how it all fits together. Take Lorenzo Thomas, for example. The powerful former Union HS (Oklahoma) and current Lindenwood center Lorenzo Thomas not only got called up from the U20s, he’s going to start for the USA. It’s not a charity start - with Mike Garrity and Moto Filikitonga injures, the USA needs someone in the midfield. But it also serves as an opportunity.

Mitchell said when asked by GRR about handing out the jerseys to the USA U20s last week, that it was an honor to be part of that ceremony for the younger players, but also important to show that the National Team Coach was there, watching them, opening up the door, so to speak.

And now, with the World Cup behind us and a new competition in progress, getting an older doesn’t quite make sense. 

So Thomas gets a shot, just as Tameilau (older, but less experienced) did. Tom Bliss also, finally, gets his chance in an Eagles jersey. The Wasps scrumhalf has been talked of for some time. On the bench, Demecus Beach gets a shot. Beach played for the Toledo Celtics as high schooler while also excelling at football and wrestling, and the went on to Davenport, and is now on the Life University men’s team. He’s part of the pathway, too.

Some other changes and shifts and what they indicate:

Certainly Mitchell wants to see Nic Edwards at wing. Edwards hasn’t really played for the USA 7s team and it doesn’t look like he will break back into the starting lineup there anytime soon. But his aggressive running style should help him in 15s. Edwards is the latest in a long line of players who got their international start in 7s. Former Arizona All American Ryan Matyas, on the bench, is another, as is former Tacoma U19 and Central Washington product Patrick Blair, also on the bench.

Mitchell’s shift at flyhalf is a nod to the fact that James Bird isn’t a running flyhalf, and the coach is looking for a little bit more aggressive play. Was it Eloff who influenced the USA’s 20-5 run in the second half against Canada? Maybe - he came on at halftime, so there’s a correlation, We’ve not seen a ton of backline play in the first couple of games. We should see more on Saturday.

Mike Te’o - should we stop trying to figure out where Te’o should play and acknowledge that he can be useful almost anywhere? He can play loose forward, scrumhalf, flyhalf (in a pinch) and certainly fullback and wing. He’s been an effective sweeper in 7s, and against a run-and-gun Chile team, he’s a good choice at fullback. Let’s just see how it goes, right?

Fun stuff: Eric Fry (Jesuit), Joseph Taufete’e (Belmont Shore), Ben Landry (Kettle Moraine), Brodie Orth (Park Hill), Nate Brakeley (St. John’s Prep), Todd Clever (College Park), David Tameilau (Peninsula Green), Lorenzo Thomas (Union, Okla.), Mike Te’o (Belmont Shore), Olive Kilifi (West Seattle), Demecus Beach (Toledo), Patrick Blair (Tacoma), Ryan Matyas (Tempe), Jake Anderson (Marin) all played high school rugby in the USA.

(We're pretty sure Brakeley is the first St. John's cap.)

Fry (Cal), Baumann (Wyoming), Landry (UW-Whitewater, Brakeley (Dartmouth), Clever (Nevada), JP Eloff (Davenport), Thomas (Lindenwood), Beach (Davenport), Alec Gletzer (SBCC/Cal), Blair (CWU), Niku Kruger (Kutztown), Matyas (Arizona), and Jake Anderson (Cal) all played rugby in college.

(Note, congrats to Davenport for getting their first cap last week with Eloff, and to Lindenwood, for their first this week - it's a big month for this new breed of college program.)

Fry, Landry, Clever, Tameilau, Tom Bliss, Thomas, Te’o, Gletzer, and Anderson played for age-grade national teams. Fry, Landry, Brakeley, Clever, Eloff, Beach, Gletzer, Blair, Kruger, Matyas, and Anderson were Collegiate All-Americans.

That’s an impressive list, but it’s worth noting that players like Brodie Orth or Olive Kilifi didn’t make those elite teams, and still made the Eagles.

Clever, Edwards, Hume, Te’o, Blair, and Matyas all got their first senior international experience in 7s.