The USA Rugby Men’s Eagles Sevens team will play in the 4th stop of the HSBC Sevens Series at the Sydney Sevens on February 1-3, 2019. The Team is tied for first place in the standing with Fiji after three consecutive silver medal finishes.
The United States men will play France, Kenya, and rival-Canada in Pool play and are LIVE on watch.espnplus.com.
During the New Zealand Sevens, two-time World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year Perry Baker suffered a broken jaw in the first match against Tonga. The team focused on performing well and went undefeated advancing to the Cup Championship against Fiji. The Fijians were on fire during the final and deserved to win Gold.
The team had three players selected to the Dream Team following the tournament. Folau Niua, playing in his 62nd tournament, was selected for the first time. At Sydney, he will break Zack Test’s tournament record of 62 appearances and become the most capped Eagles Sevens player of all time. Carlin Isles and Ben Pinkelman also were named to the team.
Carlin Isles scored multiple tries and Madison Hughes added 39 total points in New Zealand.
With Perry Baker out, Matai Leuta flew to Sydney to join the team. Leuta was with the Eagles Sevens for their first two silver-medal finishes and owns four total tries in 201
The Eagles will face the 12th ranked France on Friday, February 1 at 6:06 pm ET. Then they face 13th ranked Kenya, who always provide a physical battle. The team concludes Pool play against 11th ranked Canada.
All matches may be streamed LIVE on watch.espnplus.com.
Head Coach Mike Friday said that “It’s bittersweet after the last weekend. Yes, we are pleased to make three finals but are hugely disappointed we didn’t win the cup which makes us all the more determined to try and kick on.”
“Fiji was better on the night and everything stuck for them. While there are a few things we may have done differently, Fiji didn’t allow us to play and made us pay for every mistake which is how 7’s can go. That is what we did to them in Dubai so we need to stay grounded and move forward to the next challenge.”
He also commented about the Pool teams the team will face saying that this is a “Hugely tricky group this week with three very physical and tactically different teams to face who are all set up to cause us real problems. A big physical French team, a North American derby as well a traditional warrior battle when we face Kenya.”
“We will need to be at our best Day One, first and foremost physically and then also tactically smart to play the style of games that highlight our strengths in an uncompromising weather climate. Resilience and grit will be needed in bucket loads.”
Men’s Eagles Sevens Roster
| Player | Position | HSBC Tournaments |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Carlin Isles | Wing | 44 |
| 2. Ben Pinkelman | Prop/Hooker | 26 |
| 3. Danny Barrett | Prop | 44 |
| 4. Anthony Welmers | Prop | 4 |
| 5. Brett Thompson | Prop | 26 |
| 6. Kevon Williams | Halfback/Wing | 14 |
| 7. Folau Niua | Halfback | 62 |
| 8. Maceo Brown | Center | 3 |
| 9. Stephen Tomasin | Hooker | 24 |
| 10. Madison Hughes (C) | Halfback | 40 |
| 11. Matai Leuta | Prop | 29 |
| 12. Martin Iosefo | Center | 36 |
| 13. Pat Blair (injury reserve) | Hooker | 12 |
Men’s Eagles Sevens Staff
Head Coach | Mike Friday
Assistant Coach | JD Stephenson
Strength & Conditioning Coach | Jon Hood
Athletic Trainer | Brian Green
Team Manager | Scott Novack
HSBC Sydney Sevens Schedule
Pool B | Broadcast LIVE on ESPN+
vs France Fri, Feb 1 – 6:06 PM ET
vs Kenya Fri, Feb 1 – 11:34 PM ET
vs Canada Sat, Feb 2 – 3:39 AM ET
Knockout rounds for Pool B begin Sat, Feb 2 at 7 PM ET
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