Head Coach Mike Friday announced the 13 men heading to Vancouver as the USA Men’s Sevens begin their west coast tour at Vancouver SVNS as they reach the halfway point of the 2024 HSBC SVNS.
Coming off a seventh place finish in Perth, the squad will be focused on consistency through each match to capture a SVNS medal. The Dawgs squad of 13 features seasoned players captained by Kevon Williams, including Maka Unufe, who will run out for his 50th SVNS tournament in Vancouver.
HSBC VAN SVNS kicks off Friday, Feb. 23, all matches live on RugbyPass TV with semis and finals simulcast on Peacock.
“We were very disappointed with the 7th place finish in Perth as we felt we ultimately paid the ruthless price for a poor seven minutes at the wrong time. We reflected on that and as a group we need to build on our positive performances in Perth, where we showed what we are capable of on both sides of the ball and what a dangerous team we can be when we hold onto possession as well as exerting the defensive pressure and physicality that we possess as a squad.
The big challenge is we cannot afford a seven minute bubble in any game, allowing teams to get a foothold in a game which is ultimately what happened in Perth. This Men's World Series is unforgiving and brutal and we are once again in a pool where anything can happen in any game. Consistency of application is the grail this weekend as we play with confidence, speed, and accuracy.
We are focused on ourselves and ensuring that we firstly get our collective mindset in sync so we are able to play with cohesion and match that with a relentless approach to work hard and smart on both sides of the ball to fight for every point within the game as well as on the Series as we fight our way higher up the standings. Whilst we are looking forward to playing at home next week in LA, our sole focus is Vancouver and France on Friday. From there we will move forward and focus on Australia and then lastly Samoa. Every point matters!”
The Dawgs commence their weekend up north against France, who sits third in the standings. The USA won their last meeting in Dubai and will be looking for another confident win in Vancouver. The USA’s next matchup is with Australia, who avenged their pool play loss against the Dawgs with a decisive quarterfinal win in Perth.
The Eagles meet Samoa for their final pool play match on Saturday. A tight win by the USA in Cape Town, the Dawgs will want to stretch the score gap and get another W for a quarterfinal ticket.
| Name | Position | HSBC Tournaments |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Aaron Cummings | Forward | 16 |
| 5. Joe Schroeder | Forward | 32 |
| 6. Kevon Williams (C) | Halfback/Wing | 47 |
| 7. Naima Fuala’au | Halfback | 24 |
| 8. Malacchi Esdale | Wing/Center | 20 |
| 9. Stephen Tomasin | Utility | 54 |
| 11. Perry Baker | Wing | 65 |
| 12. Lucas Lacamp | Center/10 | 15 |
| 13. Orrin Bizer | Forward | 2 |
| 14. Marcus Tupuola | Halfback/Center | 26 |
| 18. Adam Channel | Utility | 12 |
| 30. Madison Hughes | Halfback | 54 |
| 77. Maka Unufe | Center/10 | 48 |
Head Coach | Mike Friday
Strength & Conditioning | Josh Schnell
Athletic Trainer | Brian Gardner
Team Manager | Scott Novack
Performance Analyst | Dave Gardner
Media Manager | Taylor Dean
Friday, Feb. 23
v France | 5:36pm ET
v Australia | 11:02pm ET
Saturday, Feb. 24
v Samoa | 4:27pm ET
Quarterfinals begin 9:22pm ET
Sunday Feb. 25
Knockouts continue
Live on RugbyPass TV; semis and finals simulcast on Peacock
