Vavao Sees Positives in U20 Task Ahead
Vavao Sees Positives in U20 Task Ahead
Perhaps the most mixed-up of the USA age-grade teams going to the Netherlands next week is the U20s.
Straddling the line between high school and college, the team has to be made into a unified whole using players of quite varied backgrounds and rugby experiences.
This year's team sports 28 players, of which only 12 are in a college program. Six are coming out of a high school season in the US, five are in school overseas, and five more are in overseas academies, MLR academies, or between rugby teams (one is on the University of Virginia football team as a walk-on).
But they are unified by the attraction of putting on a USA jersey and a common purpose.
"A lot of the guys were in the Winter Camp," said Tia'i Vavao, who built his rugby with the Eastside Lions and then moved on to Central Washington University. "Those guys are really good so I know I'm really excited for it. I am really looking forward to playing with Nic Hardrict II—he's my boy."
The USA U20s are in the Corendon Summer Tour in the Netherlands with games against Belgium U20s, Czech Republic U20s, and Netherlands U20s.
"It's good because we are seeing teams we don't see much, and that's going to be good for us to learn and grow," said Vavao. "I've never seen these teams before. What we need to do is make sure we have continuity. The coaches have been really great in stressing how we need to play well together. If we are going to play well, what we need to do is connect with each other on the field but also off it. If we come together, then we'll play as a team."
