Breaking Down the USA Men After Dubai
The USA Men’s second outing in the Sevens World Series was inconsistent.
But that’s to be expected, really, because the team itself is inconsistent. Big changes have happened and more will happen as Head Coach Mike Friday transitions to a younger team.
Day One
The Eagles took apart a poor Canadian team, but at least that’s what they did. Kevon Williams showed once again he can take over a game when it’s needed, and we saw the superb acceleration of Lucas Lacamp and his potential. Steven Tomasin is going back to what he enjoys most, it seems, which is making tackles and making sure other players are in position to shine. He scored 18 points against Canada but that wasn’t why he’s so crucial to the team.
USA Women 5th in Dubai: Our Analysis
A week ago we wrote about how the USA women's 7s team was not as bad as a 7th-place finish made it appear, and sure enough the Eagles were a bit better this week in Dubai; but they can be better still.
The Eagles finished 5th, with Naya Tapper scoring six tries and some other players putting in some notable performances. But they had head-scratching moments, too. Here's a look at the games and what we saw:
Why the USA Women 7s Are Better than 7th Place
Seventh place isn’t so great for the USA Women’s 7s team, but it may not be an accurate reflection of the quality of the Eagle team.
First off, let’s leave aside the rather distressing 45-5 loss to Australia in the opening game of the first tournament in Dubai. The USA team wasn’t ready for an Australian team that was, clearly, the best team there. The Aussies had only one close game (more on that later) in cruising to the Cup. We’ll, for now, consider a do-over regarding that game.
Two Wins and We Forget Australia
And the rest? Well the Eagles ended up playing a pretty snappy little game against France, using their aggression to create scoring opportunities.
Did the USA Men 7s Find Their Identity in Dubai?
The USA Men’s 7s team is in the middle of finding a new identity, and may well have jumped the queue and found it early in Dubai.
The Eagles, looking somewhat shaky on Day One of the first of two Dubai World Series tournaments, turned things around in somewhat spectacular fashion on Day Two to defeat Great Britain and Fiji to make the Cup Final in the desert.
Yes, true, the Americans were then thumped by South Africa in the championship game, but truth be told South Africa thumped almost everyone they played this weekend. Instead, we look at how the glass became half full … or even more full than that.
Day One
The Eagles produced some effective rugby and some problematic rugby on Day One. And since all the games were close it was essentially those little things that made the difference.
USA Rugby Appoints Emilie Bydwell USA Women's Sevens Head Coach
USA Rugby Release—USA Rugby has announced that Emilie Bydwell has been selected as Head Coach of the USA Women’s Sevens National Team, in a unanimous decision by a five-person selection panel.
“It is the honor of my career to be selected for this position,” said Bydwell, “I have been working towards the dream of coaching this team and leading this program for over a decade. The USA Women’s Sevens team is more than a rugby team, it is a group of incredible women that have the power to inspire meaningful change in their communities and unite our country through their actions and gold medal performances.”
“My goal has always been to find a way to unlock the potential of this team and program, on and off the field. We have a unique opportunity to develop a truly American brand of sevens, and ultimately, win Olympic Medals.”
Eagle Women Shake Off Pain of Loss, Focus on Next Challenge
Coming off the USA's 20-10 loss to Ireland, the Eagles were bitterly disappointed.
It took the team two days to shake the feeling. They knew they should have won.
"I think for us the feeling was one of frustration," said scrumhalf Olivia Ortiz, who came off the bench in the game against Ireland. "It hurt. We know we're capable of so much more. We know we can do more."
Yes it's been two years since the USA Women's 15s team has played any test matches, and once they got back on the field again they lost 15-9 and 26-13 to Canada and 20-10 to Ireland. Tries have been hard to come by, and, perhaps, luck has been scarce, too. But dwelling on all of that doesn't help.
Ireland Women Defeat USA in Frustrating Night for Eagles
Ireland defeated the USA 20-10 Friday night in a women’s test match in Dublin.
The Eagles, who continue to lose close matches where they struggle to finish, but they also ran into a physical and delightfully cantankerous Irish side. Unfortunately, what could have been a nailbiter was also undercut but some key question refereeing decisions.
The two teams seemed evenly matched early on although Ireland appeared to have a bit more of the upper hand physically, especially away from the rucks.
At 14 minutes the Eagles had a prime scoring opportunity when wing Tess Feury broke through and had a two-on-one with Bulou Mataitoga on her outside. The pass, though, didn't go to hand—Mataitoga looked a little tense in trying to catch it—and an excellent try-scoring chance was gone.
Eagle Women Face Big Game Against Ireland Friday
USA Women's 15s Head Coach Rob Cain has made nine changes from last week’s game with Canada as the USA faces Ireland on Friday at 2:15 PM ET.
The game will be shown live on FloRugby.com.
This will be the first-ever women's test match at the RDS Arena (Royal Dublin Society).
Catie Benson starts at prop with Nick James named to the reserves while Alycia Washington returns to start at lock. Rachel Ehrecke is in at flanker with Elizabeth Cairns named to the reserves and Megan Foster suits up at flyhalf. Amy Bonte starts at center with Tess Feury in at wing for Alev Kelter and Ilona Maher, who return to sevens residency.
USA Men Add Seven to Eagle 7s Camp Before Dubai Trip
The USA Men’s Sevens National Team brings in seven athletes to high performance training camp with just two weeks left before the squad departs for the two opening rounds of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2022 in Dubai.
Canada joins the group for a series of scrimmages this week, after which Coach Friday will review performances and make selections for the first two events of the new season.
Athletes returning to camp are as follows:
Aaron Cummings
Aki Raymond
D’Montae Noble
Lucas Lacamp
Chase Haskin
Logan Tago
Canada 2-0 Over USA in Glendale
Canada defeated the USA 26-13 Friday night at Infinity Park, overcoming an early USA try and a late red card to win the series with the Eagles 2-0.
The USA came very close to scoring more than the one try, getting bundled into touch, getting turned over, and dropping the ball all within five meters of the tryline.
Still it was an Eagle try that opened the scoring just a few minutes into the game. A penalty led to an attacking lineout, and from there captain and No. 8 Kate Zackary popped off the back of the maul, sold a dummy, and stretched over with flanker Karen Paquin dragging her down. Gabby Cantorna converted and it was 7-0 USA.
USA, Canada Lineups for Women's Test Friday
USA Women's 15s Head Coach Rob Cain has made 12 changes to his lineup as the Eagles face Canada for the second time in five days.
The game will be played Friday Nov 5 at Infinity Park in Glendale, Colo. Kickoff is at 6PM MT, 8PM ET. Live stream is here>>
Saher Hamdan (hooker) and Ilona Maher (wing) will start after earning their first cap on Monday. Bulou Mataitoga (wing) and Katana Howard (center) make their first test appearances since 2019, while Kathryn Johnson and Amy Talei Bonte could play for the first time since 2019 if they come in off the bench.
Nick James gets the start at prop with Charli Jacoby on the bench, and it's a similar switch at flanker with Elizabeth Cairns starting in place of Rachel Ehrecke.
Scoring Chances Go Begging as USA WNT Falls to Canada
Canada beat the USA 15-9 Monday night in the first women's test match for either team since 2019.
While it's common to say that a team handed the opposition points with mistakes, this wasn't quite the case Monday at Infinity Park. Instead, USA mistakes merely served to undercut their own chances. Repeatedly the Eagles had attacking lineouts, attacking scrums inside the Canadian 22, or some open-field space, and scuttled it with a lineout miscue, a penalty, or a dropped ball.
Canada, meanwhile, also had rust to shake off, but did produce two well-taken tries.
USA, Canada Women Set to Kick Off
GLENDALE, Colo.—USA Women's 15s Head Coach Rob Cainand Canada Head Coach Sandro Fiorino have named match-day rosters for Monday's test match at Infinity Park in Glendale, Colo.
The match takes place as part of World Rugby’s Pacific Four Regional Series and will be dedicated to the memory of former Captain and Head Coach Kathy Flores who passed away last week.
Kickoff is set for 6:00 PM Mountain Time with a live stream on World Rugby’s website, Facebook, and YouTube channels.
Nineteen of the players involved play their rugby in the UK or France, an indication of a massive change in the women's game over the past couple of years.
Tess Feury Enters Eagle Camp After Saving a Life
The USA Women's National Team is in assembly in Glendale, Colo. getting ready for a two-game series against Canada, and slowly the team has started to realize that one of them is a life-saver.
Andrew Guerra Recovering From Injury Sustained in Test Match
USA flanker Andrew Guerra is recovering after breaking his leg in the USA's test match against New Zealand.
Guerra was struck by a New Zealand player's leg as that player was being tackled. When he attempted to step on his leg to stand up, it became evident that he had hurt himself badly. There was maybe two minutes left in the game, won by the All Blacks 104-14, and it was halted for some time as Guerra was tended to and stretchered off the field.
