The USA Men's Falcons Sevens saw significant improvement after competing in the two-stage EAAST 7's Series held in France.
The tournament that took place first in Cognac (May 31 - June 1) and then in Haguenau (June 7-8), provided critical team training and competition opportunities and high class international exposure designed to develop and challenge up and coming USA Sevens talent.
Men’s Head Coach, Ben Pinkleman commented: “We were able to compete against many different styles of rugby and adapt them into our own game. The team came away playing a more free flowing form of rugby focused on continuity and connection. The players also learned the daily professionalism it takes to compete for an Olympic medal.
“We saw some big improvement from week 1 to week 2, losing by 40 the New Zealand development players week 1, and then only losing in the last play in the Cup Final just one week later. Tactically, the players showed how quickly they can adopt principles of play and really came together off the field to make these strides.”
The Men's Falcons faced a challenging schedule in Cognac with fixtures against other development squads from France, China, New Zealand, and the Cook Islands. Exiting pool play with one win, the Falcons won a place in the Bowl Seminfinal where a defeat against the Cook Islands, secured their place in the Final which they went on to win against China’s development side.
- USA M Falcons vs. China Clubs (W) 19-10
- USA M Falcons vs. UBB 7s (L) 0-26
- USA M Falcons vs. New Zealand Cavaliers (L) 7-41
- Bowl Semifinal: USA M Falcons vs. Cook Islands (W) 53-0
- Bowl Final: USA M Falcons vs. China Clubs (W) 26-24
After taking advantage of time to digest learnings from the previous stage and apply tactics in practice, the squad moved to Haguenau for the second leg of the EAAST 7's series.
The Men's Falcons' schedule for the Haguenau stage of the tournament included 5 pool matches that culminated in qualification for the Cup Final against the New Zealand Cavaliers where the Falcons were unable to hold off a familiar thorn, albeit narrowing margins significantly from the previous week’s fixtures.
- USA M Falcons vs. New Zealand Cavaliers (L) 19-27
- USA M Falcons vs. Cook Islands (W) 43-5
- USA M Falcons vs. Alsace All Stars (FRA) (W) 43-0
- USA M Falcons vs. Tropics 7s (W) 36-5
- USA M Falcons vs. Pacific Toa (W) 38-12
- Cup Final: USA M Falcons vs. New Zealand Cavaliers (L) 14-29
After a successful series, Pinkleton is enthusiastic about the players continued improvement:
“Once we return, players' focus will be on getting healthy and bringing everything they learned to their club sevens team over the summer. As a staff we will continue watching club sevens and MLR looking to build the Falcons team that will compete in Rugbytown in August.
This exposure from the EAAST 7s has been fantastic and is fundamental to the long-term development pathway for USA Rugby's sevens programs.”
| Name | Club |
|---|---|
| Jake Broselle | USA Sevens |
| Jackson Evarts | College of Holy Cross |
| Aaron Faison | LIfe University |
| Porter Goodrum | USA Sevens |
| Nathan Gould | Army West Point |
| Paul Habeeb | University of San Diego |
| Donovan Law | Life University |
| John LeFevre | DC Old Glory |
| Peter Sio Jr. | USA Sevens |
| Oscar Treacy | Central Washington University |
| Tucker Trickey | Socal Griffins |
| Nahuel Wingord | Life University |
| Uluamu Niutupuivaha | USA Sevens |
Ben Pinkelman | Head Coach
Colton Cariaga | Assistant Coach
Delaney Cassidy | Athletic Trainer
Maria Adams | Manager
