USA Eagles Sevens Hong Kong Extended Squad

HONG KONG – After winning five consecutive medals and taking fourth-place in Vancouver, the No. 1 Men’s Eagles Sevens will compete in the seventh round of their Olympic qualifying season at Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens April 5-7. Matches will be broadcast LIVE on watch.espnplus.com.

The Eagles Sevens come into the tournament ranked 1st in the world. They are in Pool D and will face 11th ranked Spain, 13th ranked Wales, and 5th ranked England. Knockout rounds for Pool D begin as early as 9:30 PM ET on Saturday, April 6.

Head Coach Mike Friday has named a traveling group of 15 players who will all be available for selection to the final match-day 12. Starting rosters will be announced closer to tournament start.

Perry Baker and Danny Barrett both are out of Hong Kong Sevens while recovering from injuries sustained this season. Both hope to return for the final two legs of the season at HSBC London or Paris Sevens.

Carlin Isles and Captain Madison Hughes remain atop the stats table with Isles the top try scorer (32 tries) and Hughes the top overall points scorer (198 points) this season. Stephen Tomasin is in fifth place for most tries scored (21) and earned his third Dream Team nomination of the season.

Cody Melphy and Pat Blair were included on the traveling squad after winning the Men’s Elite Sevens title with the Falcons at the Las Vegas Invitational. Melphy could make his first senior team selection this season, while Blair has played in both Sydney and Hamilton.

Folau Niua continues to impress. He is a playmaker and is 2nd in most retarts by a player (110). The team is 5th in restarts (138), 3rd in most points scored (836 points), and 3rd in tries scored (135 points).

Head Coach Mike Friday discussed the team’s season saying that “We are where we want to be at this point in the season, which is in control of our own destiny in trying to achieve automatic Olympic qualification and breaking new ground finishing in the Top 4. We set high standards for ourselves on and off the pitch and are always working hard for one another. It’s a key trait in our DNA we need to maintain and excel at. We must stay hungry and show humility every time we take the pitch and enjoy each and every opportunity we are given to represent the USA.”

He elaborated on pool play indicating that “We are in a very tricky pool once again with a dangerous Wales team who have strike runners throughout their squad, should they be able to control possession for sustained periods. Spain is probably the most improved team on the circuit and is both resilient in their play and relentless as they showed in Vancouver against New Zealand. They are a very dangerous team not to be taken likely. England is hugely competitive and all our games this season have grown hugely competitive and always come down to the smallest of margins. They have so much experience guile — as well as pace — which makes them immensely tough to play against and a team we have huge respect for with their ‘never say die’ attitude.”

The Eagles Sevens team has four tournament stops to hold their No. 1 ranking. They are seven points ahead of second-place New Zealand (106 pts), 12 points ahead of third-place Fiji (101 pts) and 24 points in front of fourth-place South Africa. The top four teams at the end of the final stop will automatically book their ticket for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.

Men’s Eagles Sevens Traveling Squad

Player	Position	HSBC Tournaments
Pat Blair	Hooker	13
Ben Broselle	Wing/Prop	1
Maceo Brown	Center	6
Madison Hughes (C)	Halfback	43
Martin Iosefo	Center	39
Carlin Isles	Wing	47
Matai Leuta	Prop	32
Cody Melphy	Halfback	3
Folau Niua	Halfback	65
Ben Pinkelman	Prop/Hooker	29
Joe Schroeder	Prop	6
Brett Thompson	Prop	29
Stephen Tomasin	Hooker	27
Marcus Tupuola	Wing	2
Kevon Williams	Halfback/Wing	17