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USA 7s Head Coach Mike Friday has announced his training camp squad ahead of the Pan Am Games which is set to take place July 11-12th in Toronto, Canada. With five key USA 7s players in camp with the Eagles vying for spots on the Rugby World Cup side and Madison Hughes tied up with school commitments, the squad will have their work cut out for them if they are to bring home Gold.
Rugby was added to the Pan Am Games lineup in 2011 with the USA bringing home Bronze with a win over Uruguay. To bring home Gold from Toronto, the USA will have to dispatch pool opponents Mexico, Chile, and Uruguay before setting aim on the knockout stage where Argentina and Canada await. Canada has brought a solid team into camp ahead of the Pan Am Games looking for a Gold Medal run at home.
While there are still many solid performers in camp, Friday will be hard pressed to replace difference makers like Hughes, Barrett, Niua, and Test. There is plenty of finishing firepower in camp with both Perry Baker and Carlin Isles available. With some able forward performers like Garrett Bender and Brett Thompson capable of stepping up, the real pressure will fall on the playmakers to fill the shoes of Hughes and Niua.
Nate Augspurger and Maka Unufe return as key playmakers for the USA and will be looked upon to create the spaces needed for the USA to be successful. Augspurger played a larger role at the recent NACRA Championship and will be tested further at the Pan Am Games.
Friday should be able to field an experienced starting lineup, but the team’s depth will be tested.
With seven roster spots likely going to players that have been with the team most of the season, that leaves five spots for players looking to break into the mix and perhaps put their hands up for the Olympics in 2016. Quite a few of the players in question have had a taste of the World Series, but have been unable to stick.
The battle for those roster spots should be ferocious as the Eagles enter a very important period for the team. With Olympic qualification out of the way, the team now turns towards fine tuning and raising their level of play heading into the 2015/2016 World Series season. The USA brings a 13-game and two tournament winning streak into the Pan Am Games.
USA 7s Training Camp Roster
Nate Augspurger, Perry Baker, Garrett Bender, Pat Blair, Nic Edwards, Will Holder, Martin Iosefo, Carlin Isles, Ben Leatigaga, Kingsley McGowan, Aladdin Schirmer, Mattie Tago, Mike Te’o, Brett Thompson, Stephen Tomasin, Chris Turori, Maka Unufe
