The High School All American U17 team is already hard at work at the Centre National de Rugby in Marcoussis south of Paris, and they better be, as they have just a day to prepare to face the France U17s program at the French Federation de Rugby HQ.

The players flew in and we put through their paces quickly in order to shake off jet lag (and a three-hour delay) and get on the same page for a very difficult game. 

The team Thompson has in France is a strong one, anchored by two big locks with enormous potential in Liam Jimmons and Leki Fotu. Those players will likely be central to the HSAA efforts to win ball, especially in the lineout. 

The coaches put in a lot of time with the team on Monday, perhaps more than they normally would, because they needed to get set pieces and defensive structure organized, and work on restarts and other issues.

It helps that all but one of the players have been at the Winter Camp, and there are several returning players. 

The USA team is expected to be big and physical up front, but they have a more polished backline than last year. Notable among the team is Ruben de Haas, who is from Arkansas, not exactly a high school rugby hotbed, but his dad, Pieter, played provincial rugby in South Africa. Anton Grigoriou is a nifty flyhalf from Back Bay in Southern California, Soh Nakayama is a Greenwich (Conn.) scrumhalf with skills, and the midfielders such as Tomasi Tonga out of Herriman in Utah and Will Vakalahi out of Penn HS (Ind.) are powerful young players. 

The backs, then are a good mix and bring physicality and some skills. Out wide there is Patrick Madden from the San Diego Young Aztecs, Ryan James also out of San Diego, and Evan Holm out of Edina (Minn.) are speedy and Madden is a good observer of the game and provides good communication for the defense.

Thompson made sure he got more players who can kick on this team, because lack of depth in kicking was a problem for them last year.

Up front, Owen Duvall from the Coastal Dragons in Southern California played his way into contention with the SoCal select side. Sean Dowling is a big prop from Fort Hunt (Va.), while Keanu Andrade out of Danville (NorCal) can play almost anywhere, but is being asked to play hooker for the HSAA U17s. Justus Tavai (Mira Costa, Los Angeles) is a very talented back-rower.

All of these pieces of the puzzle are undeniably strong, but that doesn’t mean they will win, or even be able to handle off the bat the pressure France will put them under. But this tour is about developing players.

“You know, we could stay home and think we’re good,” Thompson told Goff Rugby Report. “We could manage opponents like a boxing promoter. But we’re playing a Six Nations team. We’re playing at the national training center. The Ireland U19s will be coming here. The French National Women’s 7s team is here. This is a great experience for what these players are exposed to.”

The players are staying at the Centre National de Rugby, in nicely-appointed rooms and with top-notch facilities. They will mix with older international athletes, and later take a trip to see Stade Francais play, and visit USA star and former USA U19/U20 captain Scott LaValla.

“Scott, of course, was all over it,” said Thompson. “He’s such a great example of what the age-grade players can aspire to and he’s a great ambassador for our sport and American rugby.”

This trip, then, is a chance to show talented rugby players where they could be, if they kept at it. It’s an investment in each of those individuals, an investment heavily backed by Robin Reid and Aircraft Charter Solutions.

The investment isn’t necessarily paid back with wins on this trip, although that would be nice. The payback comes later.