Rio or Bust for USA

Since the historic day when it was announced that rugby would return to the Olympics, the pressure has mounted on the USA to not only reach the Olympics, but to perform well. Pressure that came from fans, pundits, and even the US Olympic Committee. At times in recent years, the thought of medaling at Olympics seemed a far off dream and merely qualifying would be seen as a victory. As we get closer and closer to the main event in 2016, the pressure has reached a crescendo.

The Women’s program has never really been in jeopardy of not qualifying, but there have been questions as to whether they have enough firepower to medal. After finishing 5th on the Women’s World Series this season, the USA Women have shown that they are in the conversation when it comes to medaling in Rio in 2016. They have tough competition to overcome, but are right on the cusp.

The Men, on the other hand, struggled for the past few years and seemed a long shot to qualify, let alone take home any sort of medal. That is, until their breakout season in 2014/2015 that not only saw them finish in 6th place on the HSBC World Series, but also claim their first tournament win.

Tomorrow morning, both the USA Men’s and Women’s sevens teams begin play in the NACRA Championships. After years of ups and down, both programs have the opportunity to secure their places at the 2016 Olympics. Not qualifying has never really been an option for either side as USA Rugby has employed a marketing strategy that has focused heavily on the USA defending their Gold Medals from the last time rugby was played in the Olympics.

The goal has always been Rio or bust. Both teams are well aware of it as funding from the US Olympic Committee and from sponsors is heavily reliant on the team’s ability to medal at the Olympics.

Eagles’ Women NACRA Preview

The Eagles Women side should have little difficulty in navigating their bracket as Canada has already qualified based on their 2nd place World Series finish. The Women are tasked with facing off against Caribbean nations that pale in comparison, but nothing is guaranteed. Head Coach Ric Suggitt has brought in some young and inexperienced players to the side. He is also without leading scorer Victoria Folayan who finished 3rd on the Women’s World Series with 160 points scored. She was also the team’s leading try scorer with 32. Also missing is the team’s 4th leading scorer Bui Baravilaia who scored 87 points this season.

There is still plenty of firepower and experience in the roster as Lauren Doyle (105 pts, 21 tries), Alev Kelter (99 pts, 11 tries) and Kristen Thomas (14 tries) will be relied upon heavily to carry the offensive load.

The USA Women take on Jamaica, Barbados, and the Cayman Islands tomorrow. Three sides that are largely unknown and therefore wild cards even for the most seasoned sides. The Eagles will need to set the tone in each match early and avoid being drawn into scrappy play. Patience and execution should see the Eagles easily through to the Championship. In the knockout rounds they could see Mexico, Trinidad & Tobago, Bahamas, or Guyana. All of which should be respected, but not true threats.

Verdict: It is incredibly difficult to see any scenario where the Women do not qualify for the Olympics this weekend. They are head and shoulders the most experienced side in the competition, even with some new blood on the roster.

Eagles’ Men NACRA Preview

Things aren’t as certain for the men when it comes to the title match, but pool play and the early knockout stages shouldn’t present any problem for a side that is peaking at the right time. Playmaker Madison Hughes finished 2nd on the HSBC World Series with 296 points this season. He’s the man in charge to lead the team to the Olympics. He has a bevy of talented performers behind him, all with their own unique capabilities.

The finishers Perry Baker (28 tries this season) and Carlin Isles (32 tries) should see plenty of room to run as the playmakers Hughes, Maka Unufe (22 tries), and Folau Niua create space for them. In the forwards, Zach Test (23 tries) returns to the fold from injury. Bruising forwards Danny Barrett (18 tries), Garrett Bender, and Andrew Durutalo round out a physical pack.

The addition of Chris Wyles from Saracens should serve as excellent cover for Hughes as Head Coach Mike Friday may look to spread around the minutes to keep everyone fresh for the knockout stages and inevitable battle against Canada.

The USA open up Day 1 against pool opponents St. Vincent, Barbados, and Mexico. As with the Women, the Eagles are light years ahead of all of these sides. Mexico should serve as their toughest pool opponent, but should not pose any threat to the USA. Playing their game plan will be of the utmost importance as everything leads up to Sunday’s Championship. Plays that the Eagles may get away with and score against the likes of St. Vincent or Barbados will not have the same result against Canada.

Barring some sort of major upset early in the knockout stage, the USA is on a crash course to face Canada in the finals. Bitter, but respected rivals, it will be one final matchup for a trip to Rio in  2016. The Eagles head into the NACRA event with recent results on their side. The two teams met five times on the World Series this season with the USA winning four of those. The lone Canadian win came with a shocking 40-0 victory in Scotland.

Regardless of recent results, the two teams are evenly matched. Canada has also bolstered their side for the NACRA event. At first glance, there should be worries about adding players for just this tournament, but all were already seasoned sevens players that should make Canada even more competitive.

Verdict: It’s all going to come down to Day 2 in the Finals. Hard to see the USA and Canada not being in the Championship game. They are both well drilled and strong sides. Both teams will have plenty of games to gel before seeing each other in the Finals. Anything can happen in the short format that is sevens and it will all come down to who has the momentum. Right now, the USA has that in their favor and they’ll have the home fans to spur them on.