GRR: National Teams
Champions from last week, the USA Women's 7s team will go into this week's tournament in Seville without their all-world player Ilona Maher.
Out due to COVID protocols, Maher will be tough to replace, as he unique combination of power, speed, size, and work rate helped drive the Eagles to the title in Málaga.
Sui A'Au comes in to replace her.
The USA Men's 7s team looks forward to Seville after an up-and-down performance in Málaga last week.
They battled to hold off Spain, exploding for three solid tries in the first half and gritting their teeth through the second. They took apart Jamaica in a game that started in a worrying way, with the Jamaicans controlling possession. But the Eagles were patient, and then explosive.
The USA women’s 7s team won the Malaga 7s and in doing so showed how team play beats relying on individuals every time.
While it’s fair to say that Ilona Maher was one of the stars of the tournament and deserved to be Player of the Final, she got that nod because of how she worked with her teammates. Everyone contributed.
It was all about the wins for the USA teams in Málaga, Spain Friday in the first leg of two Sevens World Series events on the Iberian peninsula.
Both the Eagle Women and the Eagle Men ended the first day unbeaten in a tournament that saw a team swoop in at the last minute and even then saw another nation have to hold back both of its teams because of COVID exposure.
CHULA VISTA, Calif.—Olympians return as USA Women's 7s Head Coach Emilie Bydwell names her side for the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series stops in Malaga and Seville, Spain, taking place Jan 21-23 and Jan 28-30.
Matches will be broadcast on NBC’s streaming platform Peacock.
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