Heavirland, Stockert, Foster, Emba, Tapper, Durbin, Pankey, Carlyle, Zackary, Blythe, Strasko (Photo: Oso Ramos)
The USA Falcons won the Okinawa 7s, and it’s a big deal. The Eagles’ representative side had to overcome obstacles – like a short-handed squad and a single day to recover from a 22-hour flight to Japan. But the push was worth it – not just for the extra carry-on luggage home, but for the chance to test depth in an international competition and to sustain the momentum built on Sydney 7s.
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If any team was going to snap the Americans’ out of their jet lag, it was Japan – the Falcons’ opening-round match. Japan, as always, showcased great footwork and attacking speed, and were able to split American defenders. The hosts were not intimidated in contact either and started the game bundling Naya Tapper into touch. In the right circumstances, however, power did prevail, and runners like Cheta Emba – who led the Falcons on tries scored with six – could buy time and space with a fend, and put points on the board.
Both of the Japan games were similar, and appropriately, ended in 19-19 draws. They were broken up by a 24-7 win over France. Tapper and captain Kate Zackary scored a brace of tries apiece, while Fallbrook High School senior Lilly Durbin proved a solid impact sub and also scored.
Throughout Day 1, one noted some vulnerabilities on defense, specifically with the communication out wide. There was a little too much running into contact and some misconnections as phases built up, but nothing crippling. One also noted people like Emba, who reiterated her presence in the air and looked more confident with ball in hand and connecting with on-rushing support. Nicole Strasko, Kelsi Stockert and Sam Pankey were strong around the ball, and Tia Blythe had that sideline offload nailed.
Day 2 began the way it needed to begin: with a big, reaffirming win. The Netherlands – which used to be one of the teams to beat before the Olympics surge – fell 33-0 to the Falcons. The Americans sent five different players across for tries: Blythe, Zackary, Emba, Megan Foster and Nicole Heavirland, who led all point-scorers with 45 (3 tries, 15 conversions).
Arguably the most impressive performance occurred in game five against Australia. Akin to the final, Australia scored the opening try and would go on to score two more. But on all three occasions, the Falcons returned the try immediately. Durbin put Tapper away down the sideline; Emba scooped up a dropped ball for a long-range try and then added a second-half score; and Blythe got the touchline pass off to the knee-pumping Stockert for the try.
That game was a willful message that the Falcons had a lot of fight in them.
So when Australia took the first lead of the final, there was little panic. Ryan Carlyle and Stockert took solo runs through the defense to get their team into Australia’s end. The support was slow, so there was a turnover, but then Australia buckled under the pressure, surrendered its scrum, and the Americans moved the ball wide to Tapper for the try.
Tapper went on a near-comical run down the sideline as she stomped through what seemed like the entire Australian team. When she went down, the ball moved wide quickly and eventually found Emba for the try. Heavirland hit the two-pointer, 12-5, and the Falcons led from that point on.
In the second half, play was getting scrappy and a passage of play saw possession change quickly. When the Falcons were finally able to move away from contact, Durbin took one look at the staggered defense and sliced through without a second thought. Australia added a try at the buzzer, but the restart was eventually kicked out, 19-12 for the trophy.
In the backdrop of all this action was healthy support in the stands, many of which are U.S. military personnel stationed overseas. Additionally, the livestream audio picked a lot of the talk on the field, so it was a unique experience for the viewer. Much like the internal momentum for the USA Women’s 7s program, the Okinawa 7s helped the viewer get pumped for the USA 7s in two weekends. See you there!
USA Falcons @ Okinawa 7s
Pool Play
Falcons 19-19 Japan
Emba 2T, Heavirland T, 2C
Falcons 29-7 France
Tapper 2T, Zackary 2T, Durbin T, Heavirland 2C
Falcons 19-19 Japan B
Zackary T, Tapper T, Heavirland T, 2C
Falcons 33-0 Netherlands
Blythe T, Zackary T, Emba T, Foster T, Heavirland T, 4C
Falcons 26-17 Australia
Emba 2T, Tapper T, Stockert T, Heavirland 3C
Final: Falcons 19-12 Australia
Tapper T, Emba T, Durbin T, Heavirland 2C
POINT SCORERS
Emba 6T (30)
Heavirland 3T, 15C (45)
Tapper 5T (25)
Zackary 4T (20)
Durbin 2T (10)
Blythe T (5)
Foster T (5)
Stockert T (5)