USA Rugby is send a women's Falcons and a men's Falcons team to the EAAST 7s series to be held in Europe.
The series features tournaments in Cognac, France this weekend, and Haguenau near the German border next weekend.
The Falcons are designed as a development program that gives newer players experience in international 7s. That is exactly what this lineup needs.
USA players who have not received a ton of time on the field in the SVNS World Series are on the roster, with former Life University Prusmack Award winner Su Adegoke, soccer crossover Jewel Boland, former UVA and ARPTC standout Summer Harris-Jones, former Life University Sorensen Award finalist Autumn LoCicero, PR7s crossover Alyssa Porter, and Dartmouth hockey crossover Hann Humphreys all on the team.
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The EAAST 7s was inspired by former All Blacks Sevens player Teddy Stanaway and the name stands for "Endure, Advance, Achieve, Succeed, Toa"—a legacy left from a New Zealand Māori pioneer battalion in France after WWI. The USA Falcons will embrace the challenge with a slate of matches against other nations' development teams, including top tiered New Zealand, Australia, and the host nation, France.
Some younger players are on the squad including CRAA Premier 7s MVP of the final Katelyn Walker of Dartmouth, 2024 Prusmack Award winner Cameron Fields (Harvard), Dartmouth youngster Annie Henrich, and Denver Onyx player Tahna Wilfley (daughter of former men's Eagle Link Wilfley), who not that long ago was playing for EIRA at the National Youth 7s.
Interestingly, newly-named USA Men's Head Coach Zack Test is coaching this women's team. That's fairly easily explained—this was all planned before the coaching switch with the USA men was announced. Instead of moving Test to the men's team, USA Rugby just kept things as planned.
"This tournament is an important part of our program, giving essential playing time to athletes who haven’t seen as much game time during the World Series," said Test. "It’s a great opportunity for our pathway players to test themselves against elite international opponents. It’s a valuable chance to assess up-and-coming talent as we look ahead to LA28. We’re eager to see how these players respond to the challenge and continue progressing within our system."
International and touring sides are in the tournament, with, notably, New Zealand sending a team for both men and women.
