Champions!
The USA Men’s 7s team have won the London 7s.
Think about that for a moment.
For the first time ever in the international Sevens World Series history, the USA has won a tournament. They won it. The whole thing.
Eagle Men 3-0 in London
The USA Men’s 7s team went 3-0 in pool play in London, landing them on top of their pool and squarely in the quarterfinals with a date with rivals Canada set for Sunday morning.
The Eagles played much more consistent rugby and enjoyed very strong performances by several players, notably the bash brothers due of Danny Barrett and Garrett Bender. Playing without the injured Zack Test, the USA brought in Thretton Palamo to bolster their squad, but he was not used, as Coach Mike Friday went with his regulars - and it seemed that just about every player has earned that moniker.
Rio Within Reach
The USA women’s 7s team is in the top four in the World Series standings after a 4th-place finish at the London 7s.
With the Eagles finishing 4th they earned 14 points in London, while France earned ten points, leaving the two teams tied at 62 points. The Eagles defeated China and Fiji, and tied Australia to finish 2-0-1 in their pool, just a shade behind Australia in the pool standings.
That set them up for a quarterfinal against France, which they won on a Thomas try in the final minute 19-12.
That put them in the semifinals, and that’s when they just couldn’t get over the hump, losing to Canada 17-14, and, in the third/fourth playoff to New Zealand 24-19.
Friday Expects More
The 7s Eagles finished 4th in Glasgow and now look ahead to finishing things off in London with South Africa, Portugal, and France on their slate, but while 4th is nice, how they got there doesn't sit well with their coach.
South Africa has been one of the Eagles’ most common opponents this season, but familiarity doesn’t necessarily breed more success. They have struggled to beat the #2 team in the World Series standings, and right now, despite the lofty placement in Glasgow, are struggling to play consistent rugby.
Test Hurt, But How Badly?
USA star 7s player Zack Test has an ankle injury of some sort, and his fitness for next weekend's London 7s is in question.
Test left Sunday's Cup Quarterfinal with Australia in obvious pain after twisting when being tackled. He was helped off the field. According to USA Coach Mike Friday, the injury was to Test's ankle, and he is considered day-to-day. Friday added that he is planning on a backup player to come in if Test can't go.
USA 4th in Glasgow
The USA Men’s 7s team finished 4th at the Glasgow 7s, working their way through an up-and-down second day, and in fact an up-and-down weekend to ultimately secure one of their best finishes in a tournament in their history.
The key sequence for the Eagles came near the end of the first half in the Cup Quarterfinal against Australia. Down 7-0, the Eagles were backed up to their tryline. During a wild sequence Perry Baker made a try-saving tackle, and then, as he tried to help out, star Zack Test sustained a leg injury painful enough to make him cry out. Test had to be helped off the field, and the Eagles looked set to give up another try. Instead, they won a scrum deep in their 22 and Baker beat a couple of defenders and went 90 meters for a try.
USA Makes Glasgow Top 8
Somehow the USA Men’s 7s team is into the Cup Quarterfinals at the Glasgow 7s, despite starting off horribly, and then having to weather a comeback that could have unsettled it all.
The Eagles were just plan bad against Canada in the opening game of the entire tournament, as they couldn’t hold onto the ball, seemed scattered on defense, and lost 40-0.
Later on, USA star Zack Test would be blunt in his assessment: “We need to show up on Game 1.”
But with that game out of the way, the Eagles picked it up. Nice offloading out of the tackle and some excellent support running, especially from Maka Unufe, led to a rout of Japan, 38-7. Test scored two tries, including one where Madison Hughes was in-goal but passed back to Test to get the ball under the posts.
Unufe, Hughes, Andrew Durutalo, and Matai Leuta also scored for the USA.
Positive Notes from Selects' Trip South
Back from the USA Selects trip to South America, USA MNT Head Coach Mike Tolkin can rightly be pleased with a lot of what happened.
The results were a 13-3 defeat of Uruguay, a 54-6 loss to the Argentina Jaguars, and a 28-23 loss against those same Jaguars.
The dichotomy of fortunes against the Jaguars is clearly due to the selections - the first team was far less experienced than the second. But then even the 54-6 game was successful in that it gave meaningful and useful international experience to players who needed it.
The first game was an exercise in un-pretty, grind-it-out rugby, and it was a test the USA players passes with flying colors, winning despite being shorthanded for almost half the game. The final game was a test, too, and the USA plays did quite well, and were in position to win it.
Jaguars Win But USA Selects Better
The USA Selects put in a much more impressive performance Saturday against the Argentina Jaguars compared to four days ago.
The USA team lost, but battled all the way in a 28-23 decision to a strong Jaguars team at Padre Ernesto Martearena stadium.
USA Selects, Argentina Jaguars Set for Rematch
The Argentina Jaguars and USA Selects have named their squads for the second game between the two teams on May 2.
The Jaguars won the first match 54-6 against a fairly inexperienced Selects team. This USA squad has a few more caps under their belt.
Jaguars Coach Daniel Hourcade has made seven changes from Tuesday's match. USA Selects Coach Mike Toklin has also made changes, with his lineup for this game being very close to the lineup that beat Uruguay on Friday. Olive Kilifi is back after sitting out the last game following a red card. Shalom Suniula is at scrumhalf with AJ MacGinty at flyhalf. Ronnie McLean moves to inside center, alongside captain Seamus Kelly.
Glasgow Doesn't Matter? Not So Fast
In case you’ve forgotten (and I have to admit I almost did), the USA Men’s 7s team is competing in a World Series 7s tournament this coming weekend.
Head Coach Mike Friday replaced Nic Edwards with Martin Iosefo in a move of startling logic, and we’re now seeing more and more the profile of the team Friday wants.
He found and coached up Iosefo, and then found Matai Leuta, who is every bit as imposing a player. Where the Eagles had one or two tall, long-striding, powerful players who could play prop, wing, center, or hooker, he now has four (Iosefo, Leuta, Zack Test, Maka Unufe), plus three other guys not quite as fast but a bit more punishing in Danny Barrett, Garret Bender, and Andrew Durutalo.
Women's London 7s Pools Announced
The pools and schedule have been released for the London 7s (Friday-Saturday, May 15-16), the fifth stop on the World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series. The USA enter the competition tied for 5th in the standings, but only 12 points separate #2 Canada and #7 Russia, and there are two more tournaments to play.
The Eagles are in pool C with Australia, Fiji, and China. Friday begins with China at 8:06 a.m. ET., followed by Fiji at 10:50 a.m. ET. The USA has played both of these teams just once during the ’14-’15 series. In Dubai, the first stop on the circuit, Fiji beat the USA 24-21, while the Americans shut out China 61-0.
Eagles to Host Harlequins at PPL
Chester, Pa. (USA Rugby Report) – USA Rugby has announced that the USA Men's National Team will play a non-test Rugby World Cup warmup match against Harlequins F.C. on Sunday, August 30 at PPL Park in Chester, Pa..
Harlequins play in the Aviva Premiership in England will be making their first trip to Philadelphia in the team’s history.
Men’s Eagles Head Coach Mike Tolkin is especially excited about returning to PPL Park, as he knows just how raucous it can be for rugby. “Philadelphia is a fantastic sports city,” said Tolkin, “[PPL Park] provided an outstanding venue in 2013 when we played the Maori All Blacks. The stadium was full and the fans were loud and very supportive, which gave a huge boost to the team.”
Tolkin Talks Jaguars Loss
USA Men’s National Team Head Coach Mike Tolkin acknowledged Tuesday that he threw a few players to the wolves, but it’s something he has to do at some point.
The team he ran out against the Argentina Jaguars was quite inexperienced, while the Argentina team had a large contingency of regular Pumas, many of which had a key role in the 54-6 victory for the hosts in Salta.
“That will be their Super 18 team come 2016,” said Tolkin. “Our lineup made it even more of a challenge.”
The lineup included several players who had never played senior international rugby.
Argentina Puts Selects to Sword
The USA Selects got a nice lesson in test match rugby Tuesday evening in Salta, Argentina, as they were beaten by the Argentina 54-6 in the first of two matches between the teams.
