Head Coach Mike Friday has selected his 13-player traveling squad for Singapore Sevens on April 9-10, and the rescheduled Vancouver Sevens kicking off April 16-17. Matches will be broadcast live on NBC’s streaming platform Peacock. Match schedules have yet to be finalized but will be shared when available on USA Rugby social media.
Highlights
- Lucas Lacamp and Folau Niua return to line up for first time since Dubai in December 2021
- Malacchi Esdale and Ben Broselle back from injury and named to the squad for the first time this season.
- D'Montae Noble to make his HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series debut
- Hailing from Kutztown, Noble came up through the USA Rugby pathway, most recently competing with the Men's U23 7s at Rugby Town 7s in 2019.
Last Tournament | Malaga and Seville, January 2022
The HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series hosted tournaments in Spain for the first time, with consecutive stops in Malaga and Seville. The Men’s Sevens finished in sixth and fifth place respectively across the two tournaments, and currently sit fourth on the 2022 series standings. Having made the Cup Quarterfinals at each stop, the USA was bounced from the knockout rounds by Australia on both occasions. As the Aussies sit just above the USA in third place by an 11-point margin, the Men’s Sevens will look to recapture momentum and close the gap. Newcomers Aaron Cummings of the Chicago Lions and Life University alum Chase Haskin both made their sevens series debuts during the Spain stops as Friday and staff continue to introduce new talent to the player pool.
Singapore Matchups
The Singapore World Series stop comes following a longer than expected hiatus, after home tournaments Los Angeles and Vancouver Sevens were postponed. With LA Sevens now slated for August 27-28 and Vancouver moved to just after Singapore, the upcoming fixtures see the Men’s side of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series competing for the first time since late January. The USA are drawn in Pool A with South Africa, Kenya and rival Canada. Through four series stops, the USA are undefeated against Canada, 2-1 against Kenya and in search of their first win over South Africa. The most notable matchup with the Blitzboks came in the series opener where the USA lost in the Cup Final to secure the silver medal. South Africa currently leads the 2022 standings having won gold in all four tournaments to date. With Singapore marking the midway point of this year’s series, the USA look to remain in the hunt for a podium finish at the final stop in Los Angeles.
Head Coach Mike Friday said:
“We are pleased with the application in this last extended physical block, following what was a disappointing couple of legs in Spain. We felt we didn't showcase at the important times, and on a consistent basis the behaviors and accuracy we expect of ourselves.
“It is fantastic that we have a far healthier squad for these two tournaments, with some further players set to return in the forthcoming legs. I am particularly excited by the balance of speed and power this squad has and am looking forward to seeing us execute with ball in hand, as well as apply an attitude to defend with intensity.
“We’ll have to show up for the physical challenge of this pool in Singapore, as we all know how ruthless South Africa competes and the dangerous confrontational play that Kenya deploys. Canada continues to improve and any North American derby is always a highly charged affair.
“We will embrace the opportunity as we continue to evolve as a new group. We’re looking to impose our repeated effort, tenacity and physicality in defense together with an accuracy of execution to allow us to unleash the exciting mixture of power and pace we have across this squad.”
USA MEN’S EAGLES SEVENS ROSTER
| Player Name | Position | HSBC Tournaments (To date) |
| 1. Marcus Tupuola | Wing/10/Center | 12 |
| 2. Ben Broselle | Forward/Wing | 7 |
| 3. Gavan D’Amore | Forward | 6 |
| 4. David Still | Wing/Forward | 4 |
| 5. Joe Schroeder | Forward | 18 |
| 6. Kevon Williams (C) | Halfback/Wing | 33 |
| 7. Folau Niua | Halfback | 71 |
| 8. Malacchi Esdale | Center/Wing | 2 |
| 10. Faitala Talapusi | Halfback | 5 |
| 11. Perry Baker | Wing/Center | 51 |
| 12. Lucas Lacamp | 10/Center/Wing | 2 |
| 13. Maceo Brown | Utility | 16 |
| D'Montae Noble | Utility | Debut |
USA Men’s Sevens Traveling Staff
Head Coach | Mike Friday
Performance Analyst | Dave Gardner
Strength & Conditioning | Josh Schnell
Athletic Trainer | Bobby Gragston
Team Manager | Scott Novack
USA Men’s Sevens Schedule | Singapore
April 9-10, 2022 | MATCH TIMES TBC
POOL A | USA, South Africa, Canada, Kenya
Singapore Sevens Match Centre »
