The USA men’s 7s program sent a team to Mar Del Plata in Argentina to compete in the American Sevens, and the Falcons placed 4th, losing to Chile 17-7 in the bronze medal match.

Argentina defeated South Africa in the final.

The USA Falcons opened their tournament with a loss to Chile 19-15, but rebounded with a defeat of Brazil 19-7. A 20-5 loss to Argentina finished off pool play.

That put the Falcons into the quarterfinals against Uruguay, which finished 2-1 in Pool A. The Falcons beat Los Teros 19-12 to make the semis. There they played perhaps their best game, losing to Argentina 20-14.

So all-in-all a 2-4 weekend and 4th place. The final placements are as follows:

1. Argentina

2. South Africa

3. Chile

4. USA Falcons

5. Brazil

6. Uruguay

7. Canada

8. Paraguay

Obviously the tournament organizers splits the pools poorly, as Pool B finished 1, 3, 4, and 5, while Pool B finished 2, 6, 7, and 8.

The USA Falcons team included seven current or recently-graduated college players.

 

USA Falcons | 2016 South America Tour 

Aaron Davis - Columbus Rugby Club / Tiger Rugby 

Alex Faison-Donahoe - Kutztown University 

Seth Halliman - Central Washington University / Men's Eagles Sevens 

Tua Laei - Brigham Young University / Rugby Utah 

Peter Malcolm - Wheeling Jesuit University 

Kingsley McGowan - Trinity College 

Jope Motokana - Seattle Saracens / ATAVUS Academy 

Aladdin Schirmer - Central Washington University 

ConRoy Smith - Northern Virginia Rugby Club 

Joey Sok - Columbus Rugby Club / Men's Eagles Sevens 

Mike Te'o - Men's Eagles Sevens 

Anthony Welmers - Davenport University

 

Former West Point All American Andy Locke was the team’s coach.

"The focus is absolutely on getting the systems correct," Locke said before the team left for Argentina. "All of these guys have played within our systems before at Camp, and we have three guys who will be playing at this level for the first time. We will have four training sessions on the ground together and the focus will be roles and pattern.

Next up, the Falcons will ship off to Chile for the Seven de Vina del Mar, which covers three days of competition on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

The Falcons will join Argentina, South Africa, and Canada in the Copa Naciones.