The USA Men’s Eagles Sevens showed grit in Valladolid Spain for the second stop of the HSBC SVNS World Championships series.
Taking 2 bonus points in pool play and a golden try in overtime to clinch their playoff standing, the USA Men’s Eagles defeated Germany in their 9th place play off.
Head Coach Zack Test commented,
“I'm really proud of the boys for how we've continued to grow and refine ourselves throughout the weekend. We showed our values and behaviors, especially in these last two games, and we’ll drive that moving forward.”
“It was disappointing in pool play that we were so close to getting to where he wanted to in the quarterfinals, but it's about fine margins here at World Championships. We focused on seizing the moments coming into day two and three and we did.”
“We've now got good momentum coming out of this week. We've got good resiliency and brotherhood, so we capture these moments and the growth we’ve had as a team, and really cement down those details now, so next week we can seize big moments and put ourselves in a position to maximize points, and put ourselves in a position to have back to back performances we are really proud of.”
Opening against the home team, the USA got underway in Valladolid against Spain staying in touch distance to secure a losing bonus point. Trading tries with Spain across the first half, Orrin Bizer touched down first, before responding again only to see Spain run one in to level 14-all at half time. Spain opened on the restart with Lucas Lacamp responding ot level but the home team managed to snipe in one more just after the buzzer to take the win 26-21.
In their second match of Pool Play, Fiji clinched the first try, but a chip off the boot of Captain Stephen Tomasin and chase down from Bizer again to slap it down for the try leveled the teams 7-7 at half time. A close USA try gets turned over just before the line and Fiji run away to touch down, and follow up with another to secure the win 19-7.
David Still III opened proceedings in what would be another tight finish for the USA taking on France as Les Bleus countered with 2 tries before the half. They came out firing on the restart and clinched their third, but the Eagles put in a fight to the finish with Jack Wendling adding to secure the bonus point and add strength to their table position with Rand Santos making his USA Eagles Sevens debut.
In a dramatic Semi-Final comeback, the USA took on Great Britain clawing back from 0-14 to the Brits at half time. Bizer set the tone for the second half with Tomasin and Lacamp following up go ahead. In the final minute Great Britain held possession to run in a try and force the overtime play. Securing the golden try, Captain Tomasin took command and secured the win for the USA advancing them to the 9th place play offs.
The USA took on Germany for their final play off and came out strong with Lacamp showing pure speed to run the team’s first followed by Bizer, finding space and adding another to his weekend tally. Germany countered, but Lacamp took a full run of the pitch on the return to lead 21-7 at halftime. Germany was first in but subsequent tries from Still and conversions for Lacamp secured the teams second win of the weekend and a 9th place tournament finish.
The USA Eagles Sevens travel to Bordeaux, France to get set for their final stop of the season this weekend kicking off June 5th-7th. All matches will be streamed live on Paramount+. Fans can also follow along the journey on the USA Eagles new dedicated instagram account @USAEagles7s
| Player Number | Player |
|---|---|
| 1 | Aaron (AC) Cummings |
| 2 | Ben Broselle |
| 3 | Orrin Bizer |
| 4 | Adam Channel |
| 5 | Will Chevalier |
| 6 | David Still III |
| 8 | Ryan Santos |
| 9 | Stephen Tomasin © |
| 12 | Lucas Lacamp |
| 13 | Jack Wendling |
| 27 | Marcus Tupuola |
| 28 | Tucker Trickey |
| 88 | Aaron Faison |
| 99 | Rand Santos |
USA v Spain (L) 21-26
Tries: Orrin Bizer (2), Lucas Lacamp
Conv: Stephen Tomasin (2), Lucas Lacamp
USA v Fiji (L) 7-19
Tries: Orrin Bizer
Conv: Stephen Tomasin
USA v France (L) 14-19
Tries: David Still III,, Jack Wendling
Conv: Stephen Tomasin, Lucas Lacamp
USA v Great Britain (W) 26-21
Tries: Orrin Bizer, Stephen Tomasin (2), Lucas Lacamp
Conv: Lucas Lacamp (3)
9th Place Play off: USA v Germany (W) 28-21
Tries: Lucas Lacamp (2), Orrin Bizer, David Still
Conv: Stephen Tomasin, Lucas Lacamp (3)
April 17 - 19 | Hong Kong - 12th Place
May 29 -31 | Valladolid - 9th Place
June 5 - 7 | Bordeaux
SVNS 2:
Nairobi, Kenya - 2nd Place
Montevideo, Uruguay - 1st Place
São Paulo, Brazil - 4th Place
Zack Test | Head Coach
Nese Malifa | Assistant Coach
Josh Schnell | Head of Athletic Performance
Perry Baker | Technical Coach
Pat Blair | Technical / Analysis Coach
Julian Arteaga | Performance Analyst
Nicole Titmas | Head of Athlete Wellness
Meghan Chambers | Rehab Specialist
Meaghan Wu | Athletic Trainer
Jacque Scaramella | Dietician
Liz Strohecker | Head of Operations
Maria Adams | Operations Coordinator
JP Juarez | Videographer
