USA Men's Eagles Sevens 2020 Hamilton Sevens Squad

The third tournament of the HSBC Sevens Series will take place in Hamilton, New Zeland on January 24-26 ET and will be broadcast on NBC Sports Gold.

Head Coach Mike Friday has made three changes from the Cape Town tournament with Ben Pinkelman, Martin Iosefo, and Marcus Tupuola returning to the group.

Both Pinkelman and Iosefo were rested after competing in Rugby World Cup Japan 2019. Tupuola will be an injury reserve with all three players preparing for their first tournament of the season.

In a USA milestone, captain Madison Hughes will play in his 50th World Series event. Hughes is the highest overall points scorer in team history with1,450 points and has served as Captain for the Olympic Games Rio 2016 and Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018.

The USA Men’s Sevens will face Scotland, New Zealand and Wales with new adjustments to the competition structure for Hamilton and then Sydney.

No Cup Quarterfinals will be held and teams who finish first in their respective pools will advance directly to the Cup Semifinals.
The two highest-ranked teams remaining will face one another in the 5th Place playoff while the two highest-ranked teams after them will face one another in the 7th Place playoff. This sequence continues for the 9th place, 11th place, 13th place, and 15th place rounds, respectively.

The Eagles 7s will play Scotland, currently in 13th place, first on Friday, Jan 24 at 8:09 PM ET. No. 1 New Zealand will be next and the team will conclude pool play against No. 15 Wales.

HEAD COACH MIKE FRIDAY

“We have hugely reflected as a group since returning to training at the start of 2020. We were unhappy with some of our moments in the first two legs which were in our control and we continue to work hard as a group to be better at taking those moments.”

“On the pitch, we have had a huge focus on our basics where we felt our pass and catch let us down together with the fundamentals of our lineout and kick off execution. Physically we still have a lot more to give and impose in terms of speed and power as well as a repeated effort.

“It’s great for the squad to have Martin and Ben rested and now sevens ready for these two legs and their ability and experience will be a huge positive to the squad. This is going to be another extremely difficult group to progress from due to the enforced changes to format which means we have to win our pool.”

“It is great to see Madison reach his 50th tournament. He has been not only a great player for the Dawgs but an immense leader who is balanced, measured and passionate in everything he does. To have been Captain for 46 of that 50 epitomizes him as Captain America. We are very fortunate to have him.”

Squad & Staff

USA Men’s Eagles 7s: 1 Carlin Isles (wing, 53) 2 Ben Pinnkelman (prop/hooker, 33) 3 Danny Barrett (prop, 50) 4 Matei Leuta (prop, 38) 5 Naima Fua’laau (halfback, 4) 6 Kevon Williams (halfback/wing, 23) 7 Ben Broselle (wing/prop, 5) 8 Maka Unufe (center, 39) 9 Stephen Tomasin (hooker, 33) 10 Madison Hughes (C) (halfback, 49) 11 Perry Baker (wing, 43) 12 Martin Iosefo (center, 42) 13 Marcus Tupuola (wing, 4) #=tournaments to date

Head Coach Mike Friday, Assistant Coach Anthony Roques, Strength & Conditioning John Hood, Athletic Trainer Brian Green, Team Manager Scott Novack

VIEW LIVE POOL DRAW HERE

HAMILTON SCHEDULE

vs Scotland Friday, Jan 24 – 8:09 PM ET
vs New Zealand Saturday, Jan 25 – 2:33 AM ET
vs Wales Saturday, Jan 25 – 7:19 PM ET

Knockout rounds begin at 10:20 PM ET on Saturday, Jan 25

LA Sevens

Following the tournament stops in Hamilton and in Sydney, the USA Men’s Sevens will return to home soil for the fifth round of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series in Los Angeles, California from February 29 to March 1, 2020.

The USA Sevens was reviously held in Las Vegas but has moved to Dignity Health Sports Park in Los Angeles. The Eagles Sevens aim to win their third straight gold in front of a home crowd. Tickets and event information for HSBC LA Sevens 2020 are available now at lasevensrugby.com.