USA Rugby is sending a Boys High School All-American team to the fourth-annual World School Sevens tournament in New Zealand.

Taking place December 13-14, the tournament will bring together 16 national men’s sides at Pakuranga Rugby Club in Auckland for a weekend of international competition.

Led by JD Stephenson as Head Coach, the USA has named a squad of 14 players including 2018 Youth Olympian Ben Wierenga and Jake Broselle, younger brother to senior USA Sevens player Ben Broselle.

Tohi Angilau has also been named following an impressive performance at the Northwest Regional Cup Tournament. Angilau has also been selected for the Eagles Sevens Academy in Chula Vista.

Including Wierenga and Broselle, a total of 11 players return from summer assemblies in Canada with eight from the Great North Sevens and three from the North American Summer Series in XVs.

World School Sevens provides a unique opportunity for the BHSAA Sevens program to measure itself against a wide range of teams at the international level; marking two crucial touchpoints for under-18 athletes when added to the summer tournament in Canada.

As the demands of international competition are constantly growing, participation in the New Zealand-based tournament gives up-and-coming USA players greater exposure to increased levels of play at a crucial stage in the development process.

“It is imperative for the development of our future Eagles to ensure they have opportunities to compete internationally against some of the world’s best players,” said Coach Stephenson. “We are fortunate that through this vehicle, we can develop holistic rugby players that will hopefully represent the Eagles in 7s or XVs in the near future”.

Originally introduced in 2016, World School Sevens has grown in success year over year with the total number of participating teams on the men’s side moving from 10 to 16 for the fourth iteration. In its first appearance in the tournament, the United States will join the following sides:

New Zealand
Fiji Academy
Indigenous Australia
Australia
New Zealand Maori
Canada
Cook Islands
Fiji
Samoan Barbarians
Two Blues Sydney
Vanuatu
New Zealand Fijians
Tongan Barbarians
Sydney Pasifika
New Zealand Niue

As a whole, age-grade competitions are vitally important for the development and growth of future USA National Team players. As such, the U18 High School All-American Sevens program relies heavily on philanthropic support to reduce or sometimes fully cover the costs of assembly for each athlete.

To support the High School All-Americans in their World School Sevens campaign, please contact Chris Reed at creed@usa.rugby.

*Unavailable for selection

Tevita Faleta - Iowa Central Community College

John Campbell - Unattached

Dylan Van Stry - Mount St. Mary’s University

BHSAA STAFF

Head Coach | JD Stephenson

Assistant Coach | Brendan Keane

Physiotherapist | Alan Wallace

Tour Manager | OJ Hawea

Strength & Conditioning Coach | Trey Ford

Performance Analyst | Dave Gardner

Operations Manager | Leanne Knox