The USA Falcons got off to a creditable start in their two-tournament development trip to South America, beating Uruguay and Canada, and losing four to finish 4th. While 2-4 may not be considered a big victory, when you bring a disparate group of players together, with a new coach, you’re going to have trouble with teams that have been together more regularly. 

 

And look at the four losses. Of those, only one, against Argentina, was anything close to a blowout. Two were within a try, and one more was just 19-7. So they were right there.

 

USA Rugby 7s HP Director Alex Magleby said winning is important, but there’s more to it than that. In being part of the team that chose Nese Malifa was the Head Coach, with Paul Goulding as an assistant and Al Caravelli as advisor, he is looking to develop players and coaches.

 

“The reality is, we don’t have a lot of coaches in the US who can transition to the international 7s arena,” said Magleby. “Most of them don’t get the opportunity to develop. We have some who are working in the Development Academies, but we don’t ave an expansive list. Nese is very connected to the program and this is a good time to help a former player’s transition to coaching.

 

“When we’re looking at the HP coaching model, and you’re evaluating a coach, you look at whether the team is winning first. If they’re not winning, then are they developing national team players, or they’re changing the game in some way. The goal then is to win, or develop the national team.”

 

Experience in an international tournament is important, too, and the USA Falcons got that. They found out how good a high-level team in Argentina can be, and they didn’t beat those teams. They beat Canada (whose development team had a very difficult time in Mar Del Plata), and Uruguay.

 

Things will be tough in this coming weekend, too. The Seven Vina this weekend had a four-team Super Cup bracket with Argentina, Canada Development, USA Falcons, and and Invitation 7. That Invitation 7 won’t be a pushover at all. 

 

In Mar Del Plata, Argentina won the tournament, going 5-1 with a points difference of +104. The USA Falcons were 2-4, 5th, with a pd of -2. Canada was 0-6, last, and a pd of -135. So it seems as if the question will be, can the Falcons finish second and push Argentina? If they do that, the trip is definitely a big win.