Eagles look to fly higher
Sat, 06 Mar 2010 14:34
Following their Bowl win in Las Vegas, the United States team is now assembling for its next two IRB Sevens World Series events - in Adelaide, Australia, and Hong Kong.
US coach Al Caravelli will bring in 19 players to the Olympic Training Center (OTC) in Chula Vista this weekend in an effort to prepare and select the squad for the two next tournaments and gauge how a few of the newer players fit into his system.
"At the start of the season one of our goals was to not have more than 21 different players play in all eight tournaments. To do that," Caravelli explained, adding: "we want to keep the core group together. I'm happy that nine of the players from Las Vegas will be back competing for their spots. Mark Bokhoven also returns from a recent injury. In addition, there will be two new players at the assembly. They are NFL converts who were spotted at the Las Vegas Invitational."
The squad assembles a week out from travel with the intent of always having the players earn their spot on the team. It also allows the program to get the entire player pool together for more training and intersquad scrimmages. The complete squad will train at the OTC until March 13, when Caravelli will name the touring side and arrange for their departure for Australia.
The US team will then train in Adelaide for two days prior to the event, with scrimmages against South Africa, New Zealand and Kenya scheduled for that Tuesday and Wednesday.
On Friday, March 19, the US will kick off its competition against England in Pool D. The Adelaide tournament runs three days and will see the US battle it out with hosts Australia and the Polynesian nation of Niue on Saturday, before the field is separated into the Cup and Bowl brackets for the final rounds, on Sunday.
Within the Cup and Bowl brackets, the losing teams can continue on in the hopes of earning hardware in either the Plate or Shield competitions, respectively. Only teams finishing among the top four of the Cup or Plate brackets and the winner of the Bowl, receive points for that tournament. At the end of the eight-nation series, the team with the most points wins the Series Championship title.
Following the IRB Australia Sevens World Series stop in Adelaide, the US Team will join 23 other nations in the biggest field of competition on the Series in Hong Kong. Most other nations only host 16 sides, but the popularity of the annual IRB Hong Kong Sevens is such that it routinely draws sell-out crowds and has increased its field to 24.
With such a large field, the draw is extended to five teams per pool, and the US will kick off its Pool C play on Friday when it faces Portugal. Saturday, the US will finish its pool rounds, facing Fiji and Thailand, before being seeded in one of the final rounds on Sunday.
"Hong Kong is the grand daddy of all sevens tournaments," Caravelli added. "Every tournament has a uniqueness, from the deserts in Dubai to the wonderful costumes in Wellington and the lights of Las Vegas. But, nothing can compare to the history, tradition and the special atmosphere that Hong Kong offers. This is the closest these athletes will be to a Super Bowl type setting."
US squad: Brian Barnard, Marco Barnard, Mark Bokhoven, Nick Edwards, Dimitri Efthimiou, Paul Emerick, Tai Enosa, Matt Hawkins, Valenese Malifa, Zach Pangelinan, Leonard Peters, Trevor Richards, Tommy Saunders, Peter Sio, Shalom Suniula, Kevin Swiryn, Tony Temple, Zach Test, Malakai Vaka.
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