In this opinion column, Goff Rugby Report Editor Alex Goff turns a critical eye toward the USA Men's 7s team, and why he believes they can, and should, do better.

In this business, it’s easy to get caught up in the negative; it’s easy to just see the mistakes and miss the mitigating factors or the good things.

So I look at the USA Men’s 7s team and I have to acknowledge the many positives - the fact that they are right there among the best teams in the world (they really are); the fact that this past weekend they finished 4th in the USA 7s, ahead of New Zealand, Argentina, England, Samoa, and a bunch of other teams that are pretty good at this game. The Eagles moved past England in the standings, and are tied with Argentina (ranked ahead by points difference), and now sit 5th in the World Series.

All of that is good. All of that is pretty darned nice. A year ago I’d be pretty pleased with that. Two years ago I would be ecstatic. Now? Well, frankly, it’s not good enough.

It’s not good enough because they were a little lucky - one mistake against Wales and they’re in the Bowl. Kenya doesn’t upset New Zealand in pool play, and the Eagles maybe don’t make the semis. 

That’s picky stuff. The real stuff is this - these guys can play better, much better. If this was the best this group could do, I would say well done, keep battling. But it’s not. I’ve seen them play better, we all have.

We’ve seen them execute their own lineout, so much so that it’s a real strength. Now Fiji kicks a restart deep and into touch thinking that the USA will screw up a lineout, which is exactly what happened.

We’ve seen them handle the ball and be so confident in their support that all they do is concentrate on the ball and ensure the catch. Now Zack Test, he of the 58 World Series events and over 130 tries, drops an easy pass where a try was just begging to be scored. We see knock-ons at the base of a secure ruck. We see Madison Hughes get nonchalant on a pass in his own 22 (we never use that word for him) and his arm gets hit and the ball rolls to South African hands. Oy.

We’ve seen a team that, finally, got the idea last season: set up your fast - really fast - guys and you’ll get six or seven tries a series from them. Now we see Carlin Isles go an entire half without receiving a pass. We see players seemingly refuse to pass to them, or run them out of space. Shades of 2012 and 2013. 

(Note to everyone on the USA team, the tries per tournament for Isles and Baker is almost three times that of the rest of the team, despite the fact that they never share time on the field.)

David Barpal photo.

In Las Vegas, Fiji was bigger, more audacious, and more cohesive, and yet the USA should have beaten them. The American tackling was, for the most part, brave and effective. The aggressiveness at the ruck generally worked in the USA’s favor. The only reason Fiji scored any points at all was through USA flubs - kickoff not ten meters, overthrown or inaccurate lineout, and a dropped pass.

So when the tournament winners beat you because they feast on your leftovers, maybe you should take some confidence that you’ve got the ability to beat them, but, really, you should stop making all of those errors.

The 3rd/4th game against South Africa was more of the same. They could have dominated, but instead opted to give the game back.

The good news, of course, is they beat Wales, beat Kenya, and put aside the implosion demons that plagued them in the last couple of tournaments. The mitigating factors may well be that injuries and the like have meant this is not a settled side, and yet it's an unsettled group that is 5th in the world.

How the USA can be better in Vancouver

We can’t, of course, make Maka Unufe not injured, or revers Will Holder’s concussion. We can’t bring Andrew Durutalo back from japan (where he is tearing it up for the Sunwolves in Super Rugby) to be the poaching king once more.

But … we can expect players to follow the laws regarding poaching in the ruck. You have to release the tackled player, even if you just assist him to the ground. You have to be quick, and you have to have your feet under you. 

We need to see more players behind the ballcarrier when he is tied up. Too many players are failing to find passing targets. (See this piece we did over a year ago about Folau Niua and the illustration of how vertical support can be deadly ... in a good way.) 

We need to figure out what the heck is making Garrett Bender not pass in open play when Isles is open, and then get hit by two guys, and then decide it’s time to fake one offload and make another.

We need to figure out why everyone thinks hands out to Perry Baker is too simple, when sometimes that’s all you need to do.

We need to figure out that when the USA is up against a bigger, more physically imposing team, they decide to play rugby league and go one pass and head down into three tacklers.

We need to figure out why a kick downfield for Isles or Baker has a hugely successful strike rate, and the team only employs it three times a year.

Trust and leadership are huge parts of the rugby game, and I don’t see enough trust in this team. Because there’s a reduction in trust, players start to doubt themselves and their teammates. That doubt shows itself in a player going out of position to assist in a tackle, leaving a hole. That doubt shows itself in aimless sideways running that takes away space. That doubt shows itself in slow passing.

This is a group of very good 7s players, and at times a very good team. They have made the quarterfinals every tournament this year, and finished in the top four twice. But I know they can do better, I’ve seen it.

David Barpal photo.