After a month hiatus at the conclusion of the World Rugby Sevens Series, the USA Men’s Sevens return to Chula Vista next week in preparation for the 2023 Rugby Americas North Sevens, and goal of Paris 2024 qualification.
The USA Men’s Sevens enjoyed a short break following a challenging World Rugby Sevens Series, allowing personal time to rest, reflect and rejuvenate for an all-important summer. Back on the ground at the Elite Athlete Training Center, the Dawgs are now refocusing efforts toward booking their ticket to next summer’s Olympics.
The team will continue to look at what went right and wrong during this past season, with a number of highs and lows that ultimately resulted below the expectations of the players and coachings staff themselves. Looking ahead at the RAN Sevens in August, where a tournament win ensures a spot at the 2024 Summer Olympics, the USA will look to leverage the extended prep time and different field of opposition into a solid two-day outing on the sevens pitch.
With support from USA Rugby Member Insurance provider, USI, and the Prentice Family, USA Eagle Alum Shalom Suniula will be joining the team this summer as a mentor providing educational support to young rugby athletes. The former sevens captain will be working on restart techniques with several kickers as well as acting as a support for aspiring Polynesian athletes and their families, mentoring them on how they can unlock their potential to become leaders in the USA Rugby community.
"The message to the boys at the end of the Series was that we need them to get away from the daily grind of the training center, reconnect with family and friends in their hometowns across the country, and decompress. However, the players had to commit to the remote training program to ensure when we come back together on June 26, we are physically in a strong place as a group. The group has tough targets to hit as we focus on building a strong physical foundation as a group.
The group feels we have significant physical gains that we can put in place in this block to build our robustness and high intensity repeated efforts. We can then play at a high speed and physical level continuously, something which we have only shown in periods within games or tournaments. We believe this foundation will allow us as a group to mitigate a lot of the small basic errors which hindered us in the latter stages of the Series and eroded confidence in those moments within games. When we play our game effectively, we have already shown throughout the season we can beat any team and we continue to evolve and develop. There is a non-negotiable approach on this mentality by the squad as we are set to return to a practically fully fit squad, something we have not been since Cape Town.
The boys are both angry and focused that we are in this situation. That collective unity to get the mission done at RAN no doubt will make the next eight weeks intense and passionate. It’s an opportunity for the boys to build a collective chemistry and siege mentality as we head to Canada’s home training venue to compete in August.”
"For me, mentally the break has been a reset to let the body and mind relax so we can dig in and tackle the journey that's ahead. The mission is to win RAN Sevens and qualify for the Olympics. Anything that contradicts that or is not in alliance with that, we have a zero tolerance for. We're focusing on fitness and studying the playbook to make sure we know our opponents inside and out."
Coming off a challenging 2023 HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, where this relatively young squad squared up against an improved field of opposition on the global stage, the USA find themselves analyzing the past year as a blueprint for improvement going forward. With seven new players on debut through the 11-stop season, a further nine players with just a season under their belt and 26 players used in total, the experience, pressure and regiments of an international tour have been seeded into the up and coming talent. All on time and in the lead up to RAN Sevens, where the team and staff are fully aligned with the expectation of securing qualification.
The USA will play Cayman Islands and Barbados in Pool A, and a spot to the knockout stages will bring them closer to their goal. 2023 Rugby Americas North Sevens kicks off August 19 in Langford, British Columbia. Tickets can be purchased via rugby.ca with live streaming details to be confirmed shortly.
