USA Men’s Sevens Find Positive Takeaways Out of a Tough Weekend at Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens

The USA Men’s Sevens squad finished with 10 points at Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens, where the squad had positive takeaways over a challenging weekend, including finishing at the top in pool play. The team will look to zero in on improvements heading into the second leg of their Asia tour in Singapore next week. 

The USA looked strong in defense this weekend, which helped them win two of their three pool matches to finish at the top of Pool C for another quarterfinal qualification. A tough finals day saw two losses for the squad, and Head Coach Mike Friday will lead the team to refocus efforts heading into Singapore Sevens next week. 

The Dawgs commenced their Hong Kong tour on Friday evening against Spain. Playing under the stadium lights in misty conditions, the setting amped up the anticipation for the Dawgs, who needed every win they could get this weekend. The slippery ball managed to fall through both teams hands, and Spain tried to keep possession early on but kept getting pushed back to their territory. The Dawgs’ defense was strong at the start, forcing Spain to be patient in recycles but a knock gave the USA a scrum. Opportunities were lost on both sides, as the slippery, muddy field made for scrappy play. 

Spain’s patience began to pay off as they made their way into USA territory, but Lucas Lacamp proved he was lethal on return to the pitch with a big sprint and try-saving tackle on the side. Heading into halftime, the score remained 0-0. At the restart, Spain proved to be lethal on attack with the opening try of the second half, so it was up to the USA to find a way to the try line. Spain’s defense was good at keeping the team back, and they put the pressure on for a knock on, ending the game 0-7. 

Determined to show what they’re capable of, the USA went into their next pool match against Japan with a refocused outlook. At the start, Japan’s kickoff didn’t go 10 meters, giving the USA center scrum and easy opportunity for Marcus Tupuola to run right around Japan for the first try of the game. The Dawgs kept up strong defense and put the pressure on Japan to keep stealing back possession. Another USA scrum gave Perry Baker the space to run on the wing and try on the side. Steve Tomasin, who notched three conversions throughout the game, hooked the ball perfectly for the extra points. Japan earned their first real opportunity with ball in hand, but the USA defense pushed them back further into their own territory. Eye on the ball, Perry Baker pulled a stunning interception for a try through the middle. 

The Dawgs’ strong communication in passes and offloads got David Still over the try line at the start of the second half. Japan finally found space to gain ground to enter USA territory, but Malacchi Esdale took down the runner before capitalizing, giving the ball back to the Dawgs. Esdale showed off more strong moments by skipping out of Japan defense for the final USA try, notching a win 31-0. 

Pita Vi ran on the field in the Japan match for the first time this weekend, earning his first USA Sevens international debut. 

Heading into their final pool match, the USA knew they needed a big win against Australia to earn a spot to the quarterfinals. Australia was lethal at the start, running wide to get the first try of the match. That would be the last time they saw the try zone, though, as the USA put on a face of determination the rest of the match. The USA were strong at the restart, and several Australia errors gave the USA opportunities for set pieces. As they inched closer to the try line, Australia got a yellow card for an intentional knock on. The group kept up solid recycles and communication to get the ball to David Still, who dove over the try line on the side. Australia was quick on their attack and near-impossible to get through on the breakdowns, but the Dawgs kept up a strong wall to tire out their opponents, who kicked the ball out to end the first half for a rest. 

The second half restart by Australia didn’t go ten meters, giving the USA a center scrum. Staying focused to get the ball wide to Perry, who swept under the posts for a USA try. The restart went out to an Australia line out, but the USA quickly took the ball back and into Lucas Lacamp’s hand, who reminded everyone of his quick feet to gain ground. A pass to Perry Baker brought the ball back into the try zone, widening the score gap. Australia finally found a way to break away, but a failed pass turned to a knock on. On USA attack, Malacchi Esdale found an opportunity to pick and run for one more USA try, helping the USA win the game 24-5, punching a ticket to the quarterfinals. 

In the men’s quarterfinals, Great Britain proved to be a challenging opponent from the start, as they evaded USA attempts to force an error. They ran away for the early first try, but the USA showed their opportunities on attack with a textbook line out and patient offloads to get the ball wide. Great Britain was just as lethal on defense, and turned over the ball. As they ran down to USA territory, both sides struggled to hold on as a loose ball slipped out of multiple hands. On defense, the Dawgs didn’t put up enough physicality, letting Great Britain slip through for more points. The Dawgs kept up a good fight, though, and were able to gain ground through several breaks and passes, into Marcus Tupuola’s hands, who dove over the try line on the wing to end the first half. 

Heading into the second half, a USA line out gave more attacking opportunity, but they failed to capitalize, giving the ball back to Great Britain, who pushed through for more points. The Dawgs worked to reorganize themselves and steal the ball back, and the work finally paid off with Joe Schroeder earning five more points for the USA. The remainder of the game was a tough fight from both sides, but neither teams were able to make anything happen, ending the game 10-21, sending the USA to the fifth place semifinal against South Africa. 

Fatigue from the weekend was evident heading into the final match for the Dawgs, but they needed to recover quickly for a physical game against South Africa. They were quick to run, but Faitala Talapusi’s speed was on full display as he ran to tackle the line breaker. South Africa still managed to score, but Steve Tomasin was quick to respond, catching the ball at the restart and evading tackles. A pass to Lucas Lacamp gave way for a USA try. South Africa continued to find defensive holes and tested USA limits to score another try. The USA built up momentum, when Faitala Talapusi passed long to David Still and over to the other wing to Marcus Tupuola, but South Africa pulled him out of bounds for halftime. 

The second half was a dominant effort by South Africa, who took every USA error as an opportunity to slip past to the try line. Their physicality on both sides of the ball tired the group quickly, but they held up their defenses as much as they could. A final South Africa score ended the game for their win, 7-38. 

Following the South Africa match, David Still was cited for head to head contact and suspended for four matches. 

“There were some huge positives. Our defensive work over the weekend was exceptional. We made some real moves forward there. There were little inconsistencies in our attacking play, and we need to make the small details right. There were small mistakes at critical times and that cost us, and that was the story Friday night in the game against Spain. I thought we rallied well on Saturday and put ourselves in a decent position on both sides of the ball. In that quarterfinal against Great Britain, there was a little bit of frustration, small errors were the difference between winning and losing. That’s where we are as a team at the moment. We’re growing, we’re showing signs and putting in some great performances, but that inconsistency because we’re still growing as a group is causing us to ride this rollercoaster. I fully understand and appreciate that it’s frustrating for everybody. I was particularly pleased with the defensive improvements. That last game against South Africa was a tight old affair, and we forced things in the last two minutes and gave up two tries, which made the score line very unflattering. 

Pool play was a tough couple of days. Friday night against Spain was in horrible weather conditions, and we defended fantastically but attacking wise made silly mistakes at critical moments. We always realized it was going to come down to that game against Australia. We still remained calm and knew we were in control of our own destiny. We put out a decent game against Japan and attacked well, but still made little mistakes. That win gave us the springboard and ambition to get after it in the Australia game. We attacked superbly well and held onto the ball, continuing to work well defensively in control of the game from start to finish. 

It’s really difficult to take some positives when you’ve lost two games. We have to reflect and recognize that those little moments and details that cost us today are things we need to focus on getting right next weekend. Some of our speed of threes wasn’t on point in the games against Great Britain and South Africa which allowed for us to get turned over. We need to fully commit to our physicality at all times, and there were times where we drifted in and out of our physicality. We can hang with anybody, but the challenge is that we play to our potential game after game. That will be the challenge next weekend, which will be an insanely tough tournament. We’ll need a really big weekend this weekend to get ourselves back into top four, top five recognition.”

Head Coach | Mike Friday

Performance Analyst | Dave Gardner

Strength & Conditioning | Josh Schnell

Athletic Trainer | Bobby Gragston

Team Manager | Scott Novack

v. Spain | 0-7 (L)

v. Japan | 31-0 (W)

v. Australia | 24-5 (W)

v. Great Britain (QF) | 10-21 (L)

v. South Africa (5th Place SF) | 38-7 (L)

Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens Results >>