October 29, 2015
USA Rugby Hawks & Falcons Rosters – Halloween 7s
Photo: Halloween 7s
Doug Coil
The Halloween 7s provides another opportunity for the Eagles 7s residency squad, the Hawks and the younger Falcons to gain high performance rugby 7s competition prior to the HSBC World Series. Other Elite 7s program athletes will also gain exposure through this event. They hope to have the opportunity to play in the Series and be in contention for the Rio Olympics squad.
The Halloween 7s is being played October 31 and November 1 at Al Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg, Florida.
USA Men’s Eagles 7s Head Coach Mike Friday will coach the USA Hawks. They have more than 130 combined Series caps. Eagles 7s Assistant Coach Chris Brown will coach the Falcons team, consisting of many players who are younger except for veterans Andrew Durutalo and Kevin Swiryn.
The Falcons team will include AIG Men’s Collegiate All-American Sevens team members from August, such as, Kutztown University’s Alex Faison-Donahoe and Seth Halliman of Central Washington University. Other collegiate athletes include Tua Laei (Brigham Young University), Peter Malcolm (Wheeling Jesuit University), and Ben Pinkelman (Colorado State University).
“The Falcons squad are less experienced but equally hungry to make a statement as a group and try to be a part of the Olympic squad that we are building,” Friday said. “We are looking to increase the depth of the pool without compromising quality and these boys are looking to make that step up.” (USA Rugby)
Both Argentina and Canada will field nearly full teams of players who played at the World Series. How players perform against these teams, as well as the Domestic ones, provides a measuring stick to assess player development.
Most of Halloween Rugby 7s will be streamed live online on USA Rugby TV both Saturday and Sunday, featuring commentary from ESPN analyst and former Eagle Dan Power. Following Saturday’s pool play, the eight teams will be seeded in Sunday’s Bowl and Cup Semifinals before the Bowl, Plate, and Cup Finals to conclude the inaugural invitational.
USA Falcons | Halloween Rugby 7s
Coaches: Chris Brown, Brian Finn and Jon Hood Players: 1. Colton Cariaga 2. Alex Faison-Donahoe 3. Seth Halliman 4. Tua Leai 5. Will Holder 6. Peter Malcolm 7. Ben Pinkelman 8. ConRoy Smith 9. Joey Sok 10. Kevin Swiryn 11. Andrew Durutalo 12. Alex Elkins
USA Hawks | Halloween Rugby 7s
Coaches: Mike Friday, Brian Green and Nick Tricarico Players: 1. Ben Leatigaga 2. Pat Blair 3. Matai Leuta 4. Madison Hughes 5. Garrett Bender 6. Peter Tiberio 7. Nic Edwards 8. Carlin Isles 9. Nate Augspurger 10. Maka Unufe 11. Perry Baker 12. Martin Iosefo
