Eagles land in Wellington
Mon, 01 Feb 2010 20:06
United States Sevens Coach Al Caravelli had to make some tough decisions before he announced his 12-man squad for the next leg of the International Rugby Board Sevens World Series in Wellington, New Zealand, on Friday and Saturday.
After 11 days of intense training in Fiji, the Eagles departed Suva for Wellington to prepare for its third IRB Sevens tournament of the season.
"It was a bit different having our training camp in Fiji, but it was excellent preparation for the next leg of the series in Wellington and our home tournament in Las Vegas," Caravelli said.
"We all believe this was an excellent foundation for not only this leg, but for the rest of the series. With the level of competition we experienced in the Suva Sevens Tournament and the scrimmages with Fiji this past weekend, we were able to identify our strengths and short comings and all the athletes are stronger for it."
Following their time in Fiji, the US coach was faced with a tough selection decision going forward into Wellington, narrowing the squad of 15 to 12.
Unfortunately, three had to be cut and there is little surprise that it was the ones with the least experience at this level of play. While 19-year-old Dimitri Efthimiou was impressive and continued to push others, he was one of the players sent home.
Trevor Richards sustained an injury, but continued to show his versatility and was cut from the squad as well, while Bennie Brazell, with only four days of rugby experience, was remarkable, but obviously needed a bit more experience before joining the squad full time.
All three will be invited back to the next camp, as Caravelli is intent on seeing all three wear an Eagles jersey very soon.
"I was very impressed with the 15-man squad we brought," Caravelli said.
"They all showed a level of professionalism and maturity that we need to be successful. Hopefully the athletes and staff will be able to juggle their schedules so we can stay consistent and continue to improve."
The US team that was selected for Wellington will be led by captain Kevin Swiryn. This will be Swiryn's seventh IRB tournament and there is no doubt he is looking to get back to form, scoring 23 tries last season to lead the US.
Vice-captain Matt Hawkins also comes back from injury, marking the 12th international tournament of his career and remains the most experienced player on the squad.
Also on the squad and returning to the line-up from Dubai and George are Nick Edwards (current leading US try scorer), Ata Malifa, Mile Pulu, Shalom Suniula and Leonard Peters.
Zach Test and Nese Malifa return from George (neither played in Dubai) and Mark Bokhoven who was injured in the first game in Dubai against England and looks to make his first tournament back a memorable one.
"I'm really looking forward to seeing Mark back in the line-up," Caravelli added. "For obvious reasons, he especially wants to start against England."
Marco Barnard and Paul Emerick round out the squad as previously capped US players who played in several international sevens events last season, but make their debut for the US this season in New Zealand.
"Over the next four days we will do everything possible for the players' recovery and make sure they get their legs back for the upcoming tournament," Caravelli finished.
This week the US will scrimmage New Zealand, have another field session and a couple of gym sessions before it meets England on Friday.
United States: Marco Barnard (Kutztown University), Mark Bokhoven (Denver Barbarians), Nick Edwards (New York Athletic Club), Paul Emerick (Overmach Parma), Matt Hawkins (Belmont Shore), Ata Malifa (Belmont Shore), Nese Malifa (Belmont Shore), Leonard Peters (Aspen), Mile Pulu (San Francisco Golden Gate), Shalom Suniula (Pearl City), Kevin Swiryn (Old Puget Sound Beach, captain), Zack Test (Loughborough Students).
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