New Coach for 7s Eagles - Part III
So Matt Hawkins lost his job in part because his situation was untenable. He had very few players to start with, and had to develop experience, losing games in the process. But he exacerbated the problem by shutting out players he needed, picking the wrong captain, and not giving Carlin Isles more playing time.
I am not sure any of that is really the fault of Matt Hawkins. USA Rugby - specifically Nigel Melville - gave him the job. However, if we blame someone for hiring the wrong guy, shouldn’t we at least give him some kudos for recognizing it early enough?
New Coach for 7s Eagles - Part II
The leadership void on the USA 7s team I think, also exposed a tactical problem with the USA 7s team at present. They relied too much on a player or two knowing what to do, rather than an approach and a system that put them in the right place. We’ve seen it happen at every level - a player new to the game or the team is set up for success by more knowledgeable, better players, but he takes a long time to realize that’s the case. Then when those knowledgeable players aren't there, the player in question struggles.
New Coach for 7s Eagles - Part I
As early as the end of this week we might find out about who is the new USA Men’s 7s Head Coach.
Matt Hawkins was let go (Dismissed? Terminated? Choose your euphemism) last week and we found out in an announcement that was intriguing in its candor.
Tough Win for Eagle Women
A slim 10-7 victory isn’t exactly a rout, but the Eagles will take it.
Women’s National Team Head Coach Pete Steinberg wanted to test some players and see what worked against Wales. The Eagles were the better side, said Steinberg, but there is a lot of room for improvement.
Wales is an experienced and savvy side, very good at slowing the ball down and boasting, as of today, a 50-cap player, as outside center Elen Evans achieved her half-century with her start.
The heavy rain before the game made for difficult handling conditions, and played into the hands of the tough, ball-slowing Wales team.
Women Eagles Beat Wales
The USA Women’s National Team kept their undefeated record against Wales intact, although it was a close-run thing.
The Eagles defeated Wales Saturday 10-7 at Cross Keys RFC in Wales. The only try for the USA came in the first half, which was capped off a by a nice back line movement with Emilie Bydwell, and debutant Bui Baravilala setting up Vanesha McGeee for the try.
Flyhalf Kimber Rozier slotted the difficult conversion for a 7-0 halftime lead.
Wales rumbled back in the second half, using their forwards to push the USA to their own line. The Eagles didn’t help with a series of penalties, and finally the Welsh punched it in to level the score 7-7.
Eagles Improvement - The Stats
The USA Men’s National Team is playing better, and even the most basic stats bear that out.
In the last seven test matches, the Eagles are significantly better in all measurements over the seven test matches before that. We asked USA Head Coach Mike Tolkin how he felt about the recent results, and he said: "well, it's a lot better than the seven games before. We have a ways to go but we are seeing a progression."
Here’s how they measure up:
Eagle Women Set for Wales
BRIDGEND, Wales – The USA and Wales women's senior national teams meet up Saturday at Cross Keys RFC in a World Cup warmup test match that is closed off to the press.
The entire game is seen as a way for the coaches to test out combinations, and certainly USA Head Coach Pete Steinberg is doing that. Still, he is aware that the USA has a 3-0 record against Wales, and the coach added, “we are seeing what combinations work best during this tour, but we are playing to win.”
The game, the first of three for the USA on their summer tour of the UK, kicks off at 830am ET, 530am PT.
“We have continued to shape and grow the team over the past few years and we are now looking at fielding the best in these competitions,” said Shaina Turley, who will captain the Eagles against Wales.
Hawkins Out as USA 7s Coach
USA Rugby has posted a report that USA Men's 7s Head Coach Matt Hawkins has stepped down.
Hawkins, who was captain of the USA team before being named Head Coach a little over a year ago, is one of the USA's most experienced 7s players.
The South-African-born former water polo player with the nickname The Polar Bear, is the USA's third coach since early 2011.
According to the report, Hawkins was asked to leave, as opposed to leaving of his own accord. USA Rugby CEO Nigel Melville said the new USA coaching staff will be named in the next ten days.
The Eagles Comeback and Why it HappenedWas this the greatest comeback in USA Men’s National Team history? Down by 17 points in the second half, the USA scored 20 unanswered to win 38-35 over Canada, and in so doing finished June on a high and garnered no little bit of fan appreciation in Sacramento. As far as I can tell, this is most certainly the biggest USA comeback. The last one was against Canada, also. In 2000 in Manchester, NH, the Eagles were down 25-10, and then reeled off three scores - two in lineout-and-mauls with prop Joe Clayton and hooker Robbie Flynn scoring, then Juan Grobler went over late to put the USA ahead. Grant Wells, who converted all four tries (Kurt Shuman scored the first one) added a drop goal for the 34-25 win. At the time that game set the record for the most points, and biggest winning margin, for USA v.
Eagles Cap Amazing ComebackSACRAMENTO, Calif. – The USA Men's National Team capped their greatest-ever comeback against Canada, overcoming a run of soft tries to overhaul their rivals and win 38-35 in front of a sold-out crowd at Sacramento's Bonney Field Saturday. The hot afternoon (91 degrees at kickoff) forced the referee to stop play during each half for water breaks, but both teams ensured the fans would get a full match of rugby and then some. The Eagles dominated possession in the first 10 minutes of the match and turned it into points when Canada was penalized for offside in the fourth minute.
Petri Has Faith in Eagle Offense
It’s easy to forget in the wake of the USA’s 37-29 loss to Japan last weekend that they scored just as many tries - four - as the Brave Blossoms.
The offense, so often struggling for tries, has shown signs of finishing. USA scrumhalf Mike Petri sees it.
“You’re not necessarily encouraged by a loss - it’s disappointing, it’s frustrating - but we were right there, right in it, and just let ourselves down in a number of ways,” Petri told Goff Rugby Report. “We were able to take some things from that game and use them as springboards for this week. And this week was a big one for us.”
The forwards and backs worked hard this week preparing for Canada in Sacramento. Part of it was fine-tuning the USA game so their playmakers can make plays.
Scrum Focus of Week Three Work
The scrum remains a difficulty for the USA Men’s National Team, and they’ve been working hard at it this week; and the message is, scrum all the way.
“We have to keep up the pressure,” said Scott LaValla, who started at lock last week but moves to flanker this week. “We’re fine with the initial hit, but we’re not staying with it. We’re getting manipulated. For the back row we need to stay down - we were popping up too much worrying about what was going on rather than the task at hand.”
Prop Nick Wallace concurred.
“We can hold our own in the scrum,” said Wallace. “But we need to scrum for all of it, even if it lasts ten, 12 seconds. We know what it takes, we just have to put the work in.”
Wallace stopped short of agreeing with LaValla that the flankers needed to do more. But, what he did say was interesting:
LaValla Looks Ahead to Test
Scott LaValla moves back to flanker for the USA as they take on Canada Saturday in Sacramento and he will roam the field with Todd Clever and Danny Barrett, hoping to keep the hard-nosed Canadian attack in check.
The Eagles are coming off a better performance against Japan, but a performance that was, ultimately, a loss.
“We were frustrated,” LaValla told Goff Rugby Report. “We were in a position to win that game, and while it was a decent match to watch from a fan standpoint, and it was better than when we played them a year ago, we’re competitors, and we want to win.”
Part of the difference was the set pieces, with the scrum folding somewhat for two Japan tries in the second half, and the lineout mis-firing at key moments.
Eagles, Canada, Name Lineups
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Men’s Eagles Head Coach Mike Tolkin has announced the lineup for his team’s final match of the 2014 Summer Series, an IRB Pacific Nations Cup matchup against border rival Canada at Bonney Field Saturday, June 21.
Todd Clever captains the side, which features Brett Thompson on the wing in his first appearance for the Eagles. Thompson has accumulated 21 tries and 105 points with the Men’s Eagles Sevens on the IRB HSBC Sevens World Series circuit in 16 tournaments.
“We have been looking at him for quite some time,” Tolkin said. “He is an athletic, knowledgeable young man who plays with confidence and has a good amount of ability.”
Sacramento Homecoming for EaglesSacramento seems like a no-brainer for a USA test match simply because of the density of young players and fans in the region. It’s not just that Jesuit has been at the forefront of boys High School rugby for years. It’s the fact that Sacramento has its own conferences in the single-school, HS club, and silver divisions, and number 24 teams there. The middle-school rugby is even denser. And then you look at where those players go. Three players showed up at the USA v Canada pre-game press conference who are from Sacramento. Lou Stanfill and Eric Fry were stars for Jesuit before going on to Cal and the Eagles and pro rugby. Blaine Scully actually didn’t play rugby while at Jesuit. He didn’t pick it up until he started at UCLA and then transferred to Cal.
