The goal for the USA women's national 7s team is to get into the top three.
They want to step onto the podium and make a statement in advance of Paris 2024.
Can they do it? Certainly. But despite being 4th overall in the SVNS World Series standings, the Eagles have only made the podium twice in seven tournaments, third in LA and 2nd in Hong Kong. They also finished 4th two other times, but in their latest event in Singapore, couldn't buy a performance and were 10th out of 12.
That didn't change much for this tournament. The teams have been seeded based on their standings and that means #1 is seeded with #4 and #5 and #8—New Zealand, USA, Canada, and Great Britain. Not an easy pool at all. That's OK, the other pool is Australia, France, Fiji, and Ireland. Not easy either.
But unlike the regular season in which pool play is almost irrelevant, this tournament makes pool play extremely relevant. The USA will have to make the top two in the pool to make the Cup Semifinals. Going 1-2 in a plucky way won't cut it.
