Every now and then a USA age-grade team puts in a performance and you get the feeling that, hey, maybe we’re not crazy.
Of late the USA U20 and U18 teams on the men/boys and women/girls sides have both had their moments, and certainly for the U18 boys, the Global Youth 7s was one of those moments.
The Americans finished with the Plate, losing just one match while going 6-1. They beat Cook Islands, Waterboys, TBR, NZ Cavaliers, NZ Fijians, and North Harbour, while losing a very close one to the Australian Cavaliers side.
These are very high-level teams. They are made up of teams that are thinking about professional and national team looks in New Zealand and Australia. The Cook Islands team was their national U18 team.
TBR was Tonga Barbarians Rugby, a select side of New Zealand-based Tongas.
Aside from going 6-1, the USA team had, in Gavin Holder, the top try-scorer and top points-scorer. Holder also won the Best & Fairest points chase, but, shockingly, did not make the all-tournament team. Holder, who is on the Next Phase Rugby app and currently within the Crusaders Global Academy system, is a combo New Zealand-USA athlete with a huge upside.
But he wasn’t the only standout. The players also had the option of running in a 100-meter race, and Reese Reiter won that.
“These are Eagles in the making,” enthused USA U18 Head Coach David Fee, who was a 15s and 7s Eagle himself.
