Marcus Tupuola will replace Cody Melphy as the USA Men’s Sevens compete in the final round of the shortened 2021 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series this Saturday, September 24 to Sunday, September 25 at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton.
Melphy continues to rehab at home in San Diego after suffering an injury last week during pool play. Tupuola owns 8 caps in the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series and will compete for the first time since Quest for Gold Sevens earlier in June.
Where to Watch
Peacock TV in the United States.
Scores, Stats and Information
Score updates are published on @USARugby’s Twitter news feed and Instagram Story in real time. Schedule, stats and tournament information is available here.
Edmonton Schedule | Pool B
vs Spain | 12:30 PM ET
vs Chile | 3:42 PM ET
vs Kenya | 7:35 PM ET
Knockouts begin 11:20 AM ET on Sunday, September 25.
USA Men’s Sevens Roster
| PLAYER NAME | POSITION | HSBC TOURNAMENTS TO DATE |
| 1. Jack Wendling | Forward | 1 |
| 2. Christian Dyer | Forward/Center | 1 |
| 3. Gavan D'Amore | Forward | 1 |
| 4. Matai Leuta | Forward | 41 |
| 5. Joe Schroeder | Forward | 13 |
| 6. Kevon Williams (C) | Halfback/Wing | 28 |
| 7. Naima Fuala'au | Halfback/Flyhalf | 9 |
| 8. David Still | Wing | 1 |
| 9. Adam Channel | Center/Forward | 1 |
| 10. Marcus Tupuola | Center/Wing | 8 |
| 11. Malacchi Esdale | Wing | 1 |
| 12. Martin Iosefo | Center/Prop | 47 |
| 13. Jerome Nale | Halfback | 1 |
USA Men’s Sevens Traveling Staff
Head Coach | Mike Friday
Strength & Conditioning | Jon Hood
Performance Analyst | Dave Gardner
Athletic Trainer | Danielle Mah
Comments from Coach Friday
“We reviewed our performances and have some clear work-ons for this week’s training to bring a better consistency and potency to our game on both sides of the ball. We will once again need to bring a bucket load of collective work ethic, energy and intent if we want to compete and go deep in this tournament. Week Two is a new challenge and experience for the newbies but there is no better way to learn than by doing.”
Vancouver Recap
The United States finished fifth in Vancouver, losing only a single match to Kenya in the Quarterfinals. Their overall record of 5-1 was impressive across the weekend, showing the energy, depth and excitement of seven new caps on the field who got their first taste of elite, international competition. Overall, the USA played well, showing powerful carries, good set piece execution and, if not for a few errors at critical times, the outlook of their final positioning would be very different.
Captain Kevon Williams was named to the HSBC Dream Team — ranking fifth overall in runs — while Malacchi Esdale made the top four overall in clean breaks. Esdale scored six times and Williams scored four times to become the squad’s leaders in tries. Williams also led the team defensively with 9 tackles while Naima Fuala’au was brilliant in retaining 18 restarts to come in fifth out of all 12 teams.
Day One Highlights | Day Two Highlights
Media Inquiries
Media inquiries can be directed to Aalina Tabani at atabani@usa.rugby.
