A USA Falcons men’s 7s team finished 4th in the Punta del Este 7s in Uruguay this weekend, giving some much-needed international experience for some up-and-comers. 

The team itself included several players with significant high-level college and high school experience. JP Eloff, the former Davenport University All American, captained the team, which also included Kutztown University All American Alex Faison-Donahoe. Former Delaware University captain and club president Chris Mattina and former Central Washington and All American captain Aladdin Schirmer also suited up for the Falcons.

Cody Jerabek (Wyoming), Walt Elder (Kansas State), Tua Laei (BYU), Joey Sok (Davenport), Anthony Welmers (Davenport), and Matt Hughston (East Carolina) were also players who showed their stuff in college rugby before moving on. Havea Unufe is the younger brother of USA 7s star Maka Unufe and played on the All American 7s team as a teenager. He is bigger than Maka and played with the University of Utah. 

Alex Elkins didn’t play much rugby in college, as he played football for Oklahoma State. But football was his second sport, as he was a rugby player all through high school, leading alliance to a state title in 2009.

Sok was a star for West Ottawa in Michigan, while Welmers was an in-state rival at Grandville HS in the Wolverine State. Mattina was a Higgins Scholarship winner at Xavier HS in New York, Hughston played HS rugby in the Charlotte, NC area, and Schirmer was a national age-grade player for the Eastside Lions in Washington state. So this is a group that got plenty of development at a relatively young age, which has been helpful to Coach Paul Holmes as he tries to get them prepared for life on the international stage.

In Puna del Este, the Falcons got off to a decent start, beating Uruguay 26-5 and Brazil 17-10 before losing to Argentina 38-0. That was still good enough for them to finish 2nd in the pool.

On Sunday, the Falcons edged Colombia 14-12 - a game they had relatively in hand before the Colombians scored at the death. But the final two games were rough ones, as Fiji slammed the Americans 43-0 in the semis, and Chile handed the Falcons a 17-7 loss to take 3rd - the Americans 4th.

Holmes tweeted some observations on the games, saying his team’s loss to Argentina included “too many forced errors, too many missed tackles.” He called the win over Brazil not clinical, but showed some fight, and the semifinal loss to Fiji one that brought plenty of lessons.

The tough news at the end of the tournament was that Elkins was lost for the rest of the tour due to injury. 

“Has been a great growing and learning experience,” Holmes tweeted. “Sad to have the injury.”

Next the Falcons got to the Seven Vina in Chile, where they have drawn Argentina, Chile, and Canada in their pool. This will be a huge test for the team, but, as Holmes said, it's all about learning and getting experience at the highest possible level.