The USA Men’s Sevens finished 10th in Cape Town at their second tournament for the 2025 SVNS series, gaining valuable experience as they head into the new year.
Head Coach Simon Amor made several changes as Porter Goodrum, Darrell Williams, and Darius Law headed home due to injuries sustained in Dubai the week before. Will Chevalier, Noah Brown, and Adam Channel were called up, bringing in some veteran Olympic experience alongside some younger talent.
The Eagles took their first win of the season against Uruguay following a tough pool circuit. They showed positive moments in their ninth place playoff against Australia, proving their grit and determination. As the team heads into a break for the holidays, they’ll reconvene with major takeaways to improve in the new year.
Head Coach Simon Amor said following the team's first tour, "We had a bad experience against France, it really exposed the weaknesses we have in our kickoff area - this is a massive area for us to improve upon. I was otherwise really pleased with the team's fight, grit and staying in the games going forward. Which is important for us as young group; growing and learning together.
We'll need to get better at our defense, our one-on-one tackles improved but our systems and how we work with each other will be a big focus going forward. There were some great instances for us on attack, we really got to use some of our strength out there. Similarly, [attack] will be a great area of improvement for us.
A big point for us, as we continue to get better as a young group, will be our connections. How we fight for each other and how we learn to love playing for each other. That will again be a massive piece for us going forward."
The Eagles met 2024 Olympic champions France for their first pool match in Cape Town. An early knock let France show their attacking prowess with the first try. But a yellow card to Les Bleues gave the USA their first big opportunity to settle into the game. Their patience showed as they offloaded the ball to David Still for the first USA try and the second at halftime, showing off a good attacking game. But France were good at finding space in USA defense, putting up quick tries off restarts. Penalties and handling errors, including a yellow card to Michael Hand, gave away tries to France in the second half, defeating the Eagles 50-12.
The Eagles kicked off their second pool match against New Zealand, another challenging opponent in this new SVNS format. The USA held up some tough defense at the start, and a knock on gave them an attacking chance. The Eagles snuck away on the short side, and Will Chevalier touched down the first try of the game. New Zealand tried to scramble the USA, but they stayed in control on attack, and some quick offloads brought Aaron Cummings over the try line. The Eagles kept control of the game up until past the halftime whistle, when the All Blacks broke away for their first points of the game. The Eagles saw one more try from Peter Sio Jr. at the end, but New Zealand kept more control in the second half, taking the win 17-19.
Looking to turn around their tournament, the USA headed into the ninth place semifinal against Uruguay. It was scoreless for the first few minutes, and a yellow card to David Still worked against the Eagles and gave the first score to Uruguay five minutes into the first half. But an error at the restart gave the Eagles their best shot for a scoring opportunity before halftime, and the squad worked hard to get down the field, with major offloads getting Lucas Lacamp over the try line. It was the confidence boost they needed, as Lacamp turned around for more USA points at the start of the second half. Uruguay responded with a breakaway try, but the Eagles struck back, and Lucas Lacamp scored his hat trick try, with some big physical support by Still, who got his own try a few minutes after. The Eagles didn’t give up the fight as the clock ticked down, and they took away their first win of the season, 26-14.
The Eagles had one more chance in Cape Town, with a ninth place playoff against Australia. The majority of the first half was a grind for the teams until Australia took the first points nearly four minutes in. The USA stayed strong, fighting for the ball and fighting to keep it. Faitala Talapusi took the USA all the way to the try zone, getting the first USA points. Lucas Lacamp found his way across the try line as well, but Australia were the more dominant team, taking the win 12-19.
The Eagles head back to Chula Vista, where the team will break for the holidays and return ahead of Perth SVNS, kicking off January 24-26, 2025.
| Name | SVNS Tournaments |
|---|---|
| 1. Aaron Cummings (C) | 24 |
| 4. Will Chevalier | 4 |
| 5. Adam Channel | 14 |
| 6. David Still III | 20 |
| 8. Lance Williams | 8 |
| 10. Faitala Talapusi (C) | 21 |
| 12. Lucas Lacamp | 22 |
| 13. Jack Wendling | 7 |
| 15. Michael Hand | 2 |
| 25. Pita Vi | 11 |
| 27. Marcus Tupuola | 34 |
| 88. Noah Brown | 2 |
Simon Amor | Head Coach
Ben Pinkelman | Assistant Coach
Perry Baker | Assistant Coach
Josh Schnell | Strength & Conditioning
Colby Thompson | Athletic Trainer
Liz Strohecker | Head of Operations - Sevens
Pool D
v FRA | 50-12 (L)
TRIES | D. Still (2)
CONV | L. Lacamp
v NZL | 17-19 (L)
TRIES | W. Chevalier, A. Cummings, P. Sio
CONV | P. Sio
Knockouts
9th Place Semifinal v URU | 26-14 (W)
TRIES | L. Lacamp (3), D. Still
CONV | L. Lacamp (3)
9th Place Playoff v AUS | 19-12 (L)
TRIES | F. Talapusi, L. Lacamp
CONV | F. Talapusi
