Big Test Ahead for USA Women at Dubai 7s
Big Test Ahead for USA Women at Dubai 7s
The USA Women's 7s team going to the Dubai is largely the same lineup that played at the RWC 7s, but there are some important changes.
Young standouts Sam Sullivan and Spiff Sedrick are in the squad and the hope is that they will see more game time as both continue to make an impact when they take the field.
In the absence of the injured Lauren Doyle, Naya Tapper steps in as captain, putting the wing/prop in an even more central role within the team. Stephanie Rovetti returns to the team, providing an injection of pace.
This is the USA's first outing of a seven-stop World Series tour for the 2022-23 season. The top four will garner automatic Olympic qualification for Paris 2024, which, amazingly, is just around the corner. What the Eagles will be looking for here is to improve their offensive output. With Australia, Canada, and China in their pool the USA will have their work cut out for them. At the RWC 7s the USA edged Canada 10-7 in the quarterfinals and lost to Australia 17-7 in the semis, so they are familiar with that opposition.
“We are so excited to get this season under way, we know that it’s going to be fiercely competitive with all teams bringing their very best to each competition," said Head Coach Emilie Bydwell. "We know how much every game is going to matter in our pursuit of Olympic qualification so we plan to take everything game by game and moment by moment.
"Our pool is a perfect way to kick off this season, especially seeing two teams we faced at the Rugby World Cup Sevens in September, this way we’re able to measure our progress and assess how the things we’ve been focusing on at home have developed. We know how hard playing a brave and spirited Canadian team in game one is, so it’s exactly what we need to practice our ability, to remain present and take on what’s in front of us. China is skilled and resilient and will be a really good way for us to again, remain present, focus on our plan and give us some different problems to solve. Lastly, to end the first day of the tournament with the World’s best team in Australia, couldn’t be a better opportunity!”
Dubai 7s Women's Pools:
Pool A
Australia
USA
Canada
China
Pool B
France
New Zealand
Great Britain
Brazil
Pool C
Fiji
Ireland
Spain
Japan
What this USA team has the potential to be is fast, dynamic, and explosive. Key to that will be keeping the ball alive, and, when taken into contact, getting it back into the hands of expressive runners quickly and accurately.
All of that needs to be combined with increased power in contact. One of the issues for the USA in the World Cup was their losing the point of contact when running with the ball. One solution to that is to move the ball more and not go straight into contact so much; another is to be stronger when contact happens.
Defensively, the USA has largely been successful in keeping scoring down. Their relatively big loss to France in the RWC 7s was as much the fault of turnovers as anything else.
The Dubai 7s kicks off with USA vs Canada at Midnight Eastern Time, Friday, Dec 2 on Peacock. The Eagles play China at 4:05AM and Australia at 7:35AM.
| USA Women 7s Squad to Dubai | ||||
| No. | Name | College | Pos. | World Series Apps |
| 1 | Cheta Emba | Harvard | Prop/Hooker | 22 |
| 2 | Ilona Maher | Quinnipiac | Center/Prop | 17 |
| 3 | Kayla Canett | Penn State | Flyhalf / Scrumhalf | 14 |
| 4 | Nicole Heavirland | West Point | Hooker/Scrumhalf | 28 |
| 5 | Alex "Spiff" Sedrick | Life University | Flyhalf/Center | 6 |
| 6 | Alena Olsen | Michigan | Scrumhalf | 9 |
| 7 | Naya Tapper | North Carolina | Captain - Wing/Prop | 26 |
| 9 | Joanne "Nana" Fa’avesi | US Army | Prop | 23 |
| 10 | Stephanie Rovetti | BYU | Flyhalf/Center | 6 |
| 11 | Kristen Thomas | Central Florida | Hooker/Prop | 32 |
| 12 | Kristi Kirshe | Williams * | Center/Prop | 13 |
| 22 | Sammy Sullivan | West Point | Prop | Yet to debut |
| 99 | Jaz Gray | Norfolk State* | Wing | 6 |
*Did not play rugby at college
