Jordan Gray vs. Australia’s Alicia Quirk in Vegas / Photo: Jackie Finlan
Many thanks to Fresno State coach Amber Cluff for subbing into the USA Rugby press conference, from which the following information was gleaned.
The 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens fields an atypical competition format for a 7s tournament. There’s no pool play or standings, and a loss in game one takes the Cup off the table. So while the World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series (WSS) is obviously vital in building toward the July event in San Francisco, the World Cup format will influence the makeup of that squad.
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There are 16 women’s teams at the 7s World Cup, and unlike the WSS, where pool play determines the Cup and Bowl quarterfinalists, the results of game one make that decision. So a loss in game one derails all hopes for the Cup, and those higher stakes might call for a different roster than the one that features on the WSS.
“So these World Series [tournaments], points do matter to us. Getting into the top four of the final – that does matter to us. But we’re also looking at combinations that can go to the World Cup,” Walker said in response to Doug Coil. “At the World Cup, we need to put 12 players on the field – and no matter who we put on the field, they can get the job done. And that’s a lot different than the [WSS] because you have pools on day one of the series, so you can change combinations around, but at World Cup, you don’t have that luxury. You need to be able to take the 12 strongest players that … whether they come off the bench, should be at the caliber of being a starter, not just somebody that can come on and finish or give somebody a rest.”
On the circuit, the USA has deployed some effective impact players, like Hope Rogers, who adds a truly unique element to the team’s game. Time and again, she’s taken the pitch after halftime, launched into wrecking ball mode and stunned defenses as she continually popped to her feet after the tackle. She gets the team on the front foot while rattling opponents, and she’s unstoppable five meters out from the tryline. It’s a fantastic spark. The trade-off is speed and we’ve seen some defensive shortages in the faster 7s game.
Regardless of whether or not certain players are better suited for the four-game, single-elimination-esque World Cup, Walker is building toward what he sees as the American 7s team.
“I decided to really go with what we have in American rugby and not try to be like an Australia, not trying to be like a New Zealand. Really use a combination of our 15s players inside our 7s players,” Walker answered Pat Clifton. “Nobody quite does what we do the way use Hope. Nobody does what we do the way we use Jordan [Gray]. But we also have aerialists like Cheta [Emba], who comes from a soccer goalkeeper background, and Abby [Gustaitis], who’s quite tall and rangy, that can go and get us the ball.
“And so for us we’re trying to recreate our own 7s program that helps USA women’s [rugby],” the coach continued. “Not trying be, ‘Well, New Zealand is good at this, Australia are good at that. We need to do that to be as good as them.’ And we proved that we can beat those big nations when we use our game plans right.”
The USA Women’s 7s team will be in action next Friday, April 20 (for U.S. viewers) at the Kitakyushu 7s. To learn more about how the Eagles plan to attack each pool opponent, read this piece. For more insight into how Walker is utilizing the academy network to view more players, read this.