The USA Men’s Under-23 side had a difficult start at RugbyTown 7s, falling 0-3 to experienced sides in SoCal Griffins, Sabercats and DBlock Santa Rosa. Tomorrow holds one more opportunity for USA Rugby’s Junior National Team to earn a place in the knockout rounds with a battle against the Oregon Sharks at 2:20 PM MT, LIVE on RugbyTown7s.com.
As a High Performance Pathways program, the coaches use the tournament to see how players adapt and perform against elite level competition to consider athletes for additional junior and senior national team assemblies. While the losses were disappointing for all, development of the next generation remains the top priority coming out of the weekend.
“Overall, we got better in one way or another every game,” said Head Coach Colton Cariaga.
“The results, however, were pretty unforgiving, given the effort these men put in. Our key lesson through the day is that critical mistakes, or lapses in discipline can be fatal. The challenge now is to keep up the tenacity in defense while upholding a high standard of discipline and seizing opportunities as we create them.”
UCLA’s Lucas LaCamp and Colorado XOs David Still had strong performances through the day. LaCamp scored three tries including a pair of kicks to maneuver a loose ball away from the opposition, reclaim it and dot down with finesse. Still proved to be a weapon on the wing, scoring two tries including one that went pitch-length to show off his stride.
The U23s claimed a number of yellow cards in each game which gave easy tries away to the opposition and left them scrambling to cover the space. As tomorrow presents another opportunity to compete, Coach Cariaga’s squad can use today’s learnings to make a strong showing in tomorrow’s Pool B finale.
With the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series looming in September, the match tomorrow will give players another hit out to impress national team coaches watching scouting performances through the weekend.
USA Men’s U23 Day One Results
vs SoCal Griffins | 12-26 (L)
Tries | Lucas LaCamp (2), Sam Walsh
vs SaberCats | 12-28 (L)
Tries | Nick Hardrict, David Still
Cons | Eric Naposki-Abdalah
vs DBlock Santa Rosa | 12-26 (L)
Tries | Lucas LaCamp, David Still
Cons | Coleson Warner
USA Men’s U23 Roster
| PLAYER NAME | POSITION | CLUB |
| Orrin Bizer | Prop | Life University |
| Shawn Clark | Prop | Colorado XOs |
| Nick Hardrict | Wing | Lindenwood University |
| Donovan Law | Hooker | Life University |
| Lucas Lacamp | Center | UCLA |
| Mike Matarazzo | Prop | Rugby ATL |
| Eric Naposki-Abdalah | Halfback | UCLA |
| Ryan Santos | Prop | Harvard University |
| David Still | Wing | Colorado XOs |
| Peyton Wall | Hooker | Indiana University |
| Sam Walsh | Flyhalf | University of California - Berkeley |
| Coleson Warner | Flyhalf | Lindenwood University |
| Jack Wendling | Center/Prop | Central Washington University |
USA Men’s U23 Staff
Men’s HP Pathways Manager | Brendan Keane
Head Coach | Colton Cariaga
Strength & Conditioning | Lucas Baistrocchi
Athletic Trainer | Anna Unnasch
