USA Men's Sevens finish third in Madrid

The USA Men’s 7s National Team finished third in the opening weekend of Madrid Sevens. Yesterday’s 2-1 run saw the squad defeat Portugal and Spain before a physical battle with Argentina led the Pumas Sevens to claim the final win. After a harsh loss to Kenya with an injury to Perry Baker, the group recouped to defeat Spain one final time and finish with a top placing.

With Baker out, youngsters continued to shine. Jake Lachina scored a hat trick while Cody Melphy and Faitala Talapusi moved the ball with precision across the field. Veterans Kevon Williams and Brett Thompson showed their deceptive speed as the U.S. were reintroduced to the demands of international rugby.

Head Coach Mike Friday said:

“It’s been an up and down day for us. Firstly our thoughts and hopes are all with Perry and we will wait for the synopsis and what the plan is for him from here on out. We can’t hide from the fact that we were given a physicality lesson by Kenya this morning amidst a clear message on our areas of focus over the coming weeks.

“While we all hate losing, maybe that was a blessing in disguise for us to realize where our combat conditioning, repeated effort and physical intensity needs to operate. These are valuable learnings for the vast majority of the group and we will have a hard training week in the lead into next weekend’s competition as we put the required behaviors under stress again.

“We are unhappy with the weekend’s results but pleased with the learnings and what is important is our response as we build forward.”

The second weekend of Madrid Sevens takes place Feb 27-28 with a LIVE stream on florugby.com. Schedule will be announced by event organizers later this week.

Perry Baker’s return to play timeline will be communicated following a comprehensive evaluation from medical personnel. Fans should expect him to remain out next weekend.

USA vs Kenya | 38-7 (L)

After Kenya scored on the opening kick off, Perry Baker broke open on the wing to even it up. The USA reclaimed the ball on the restart but a turnover allowed Kenya to build a 7-12 lead. From there, the Kenyans continued to stay ahead, moving quickly, converting most U.S. mistakes to points as the Eagles Sevens struggled to execute on attack. Baker was removed from the field with a leg injury in the second half, shifting energy in an already intense battle. Kenya fired at every outset en route to the victory.

TRIES | Perry Baker
CONS | Cody Melphy

USA vs Spain | 24-17 (W)

Jake Lachina’s lightning speed was again on show against Spain. After building a 12-0 lead, Spain caught the U.S. off guard twice to tie it up. It took some time to get back in after halftime until Marcus Tupuola won some space and drew in defenders for Kevon Williams to dart through the middle before anyone could spot him with the ball. Spain did a good job moving around the U.S. defense but the Eagles Sevens stayed vigalent in moving the ball around the field and keeping support players in the right positions. It was a hard-fought win with very promising moments to build on.

TRIES | Jake Lachina (3), Kevon Williams
CONS | Cody Melphy, Faitala Talapusi

USA Men’s Sevens Roster

PLAYER NAME	POSITION	HSBC TOURNAMENTS
Malon Al-Jiboori	Forward	10
Perry Baker	Wing	47
Maceo Brown	Utility	14
Christian Dyer	Utility	uncapped
Martin Iosefo (C)	Center	46
Jake Lachina	Utility	uncapped
Matai Leuta	Forward	40
Cody Melphy	Halfback	6
Ben Pinkelman	Forward	37
Joe Schroeder	Forward	12
Faitala Talapusi	Halfback	3
Brett Thompson	Forward	32
Marcus Tupuola	Center/Wing	8
Maka Unufe	Halfback/Center	43
Harley Wheeler	Utility	1
Kevon Williams (VC)	Halfback/Wing	27

USA Men’s Sevens Traveling Staff

Madrid Sevens Men’s Schedule (for USA)

Feb 20
vs Portugal | 38-17 (W)
vs Spain | 35-5 (W)
vs Argentina | 17-24 (L)
Feb 21
vs Kenya | 38-7 (L)
3rd Place | 24-17 (W)

Watch LIVE on florugby.com