Does it all come down to just 14 minutes?
All the hard work this summer seems like it does. Back in 2015 when the USA men’s 7s team had to play in an Olympic Qualifier, it, predictably, came down to a rather contentious final against Canada. That tournament actually came down to 20 minutes, because back then the final of a major 7s tournament was always 10-minute halves (until someone realized that was stupid).
That game started with three blistering tries from the USA before Folau Niua was yellow-carded for stepping too aggressively into a tackle. The tone of that game changed, with Canada scoring in the second half. But the USA hung on doggedly and won 21-5. It seemed a lot closer than that.
This time around USA Head Coach Mike Friday repeatedly talked about that final 14 minutes. Certainly the USA is expected to make the final comfortably, and the same goes for Canada.
“We have a full-fit squad for the first time in a lone time,” Friday told GRR. “We have focused primarily on us and on being as fit as we can be.”
For the first half of this summer the players were working remotely, getting their conditioning right. That conditioning was crucial, said Friday, because the next half was going to be all about little decision-making things, little skills, and execution.
“All of this so we can get down to two teams, one referee, and 14 minutes,” he said.
As the team heads up to Langford, BC for the RAN Qualifier (with the roster being named tomorrow), all of that hard work is expected to pay off.
“We’re feeling really good as a team,” said captain Kevon Williams (the only player we will divulge as expected to be on that qualifier squad of 13. “Through the work we’ve done we’ve done to some really dark places and in the midst of it heads were down. But now we’re all on the other side of it we’re reaping the benefits.”
The Eagles invited Japan in to California to scrimmage and in those sessions they were able to work on some tactical aspects of the game. But in the end, it’s all about a mindset.
