USA Rugby Release
The USA Men’s Sevens National Team have welcomed seven athletes to high performance training camp with just two weeks until the squad departs for the two opening rounds of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2022 in Dubai. Canada joins the group for a series of scrimmages this week, after which Coach Friday will review performances and make selections for the first two events of the new season.
Athletes returning to camp are as follows:
- Aaron Cummings
- Aki Raymond
- D’Montae Noble
- Lucas Lecamp
- Chase Haskin
- Logan Tago
Athletes unavailable due to injury with a targeted return in 2022:
- Jack Wendling (January)
- Adam Channel (Spring)
- Jerome Nale (Spring)
- Shawn Clark (Spring)
The following athletes have been in camp since October but are unavailable for selection due to prior commitments. This group will target an early 2022 return.
- Alex Warmer
- David Still
- Corey Jones
- Coleson Warner
As the new season commences, the USA Sevens program continues to see youngsters rising in the ranks. One of which is 18-year-old Kahanu Koi who made an impression o Coach Friday in the recent USA Pathways Academy program and got his first taste of USA Sevens camp last week. Though Koi won’t train with the group this week, he’s one of many who fill the growing pipeline from recent junior national team assemblies, Americas Pacific Challenge, club and collegiate programs.
As Coach Friday and his residency squad prepare for a difficult week ahead, the opportunity for players to prove themselves both in training and for scrimmages against Canada will heighten the competitive drive for World Series selections.
Head Coach Mike Friday said:
“We are excited to welcome back some returning players to camp as we build into a hectic week of training and matches with Canada before Dubai. Vancouver and Edmonton delivered a great platform for some youngsters to show their intent but we have also picked up a number of injuries which, while creating new opportunities for some of these other players, also forces us to adapt once again and welcome new dynamics to the senior team environment.
“The energy of these youngsters coupled with the experience of our senior boys has added new spirit to the competitive landscape of selection camp. As we encourage this inner-competition, we must also use it to be our strength in what will be a tenacious series against Canada to build us into the ruthlessness that is the World Series.
“All in all, we look forward to seeing this group rise to the challenge as we continue to track the number of other athletes identified through the pathways programs, PR Sevens, club and college competitions.”
The season ahead
The 2022 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series kicks off from November 26-28 for the first of two back-to-back weekends in Dubai. A total of 10 men’s and 7 women’s tournaments fill the new season with competition culminating in Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022 in September. For more information about the World Series, click here.
Photo Travis Prior
