USA RUGBY – Following their first gold medal at home — second ever in consecutive tournaments — the USA Women’s National Team 7s haS been named for the second round of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series in Dubai, December 5-7, LIVE on NBC Sports Gold.
LAST TOURNAMENT | GOLD IN GLENDALE
The Eagles Sevens won their second ever gold medal in Glendale, making it consecutive first place finishes when added to the title victory in Biarritz to conclude the 2018-19 season.
A pair of picture perfect starts paved the way for victories against Brazil (27-0) and Ireland (45-7) before the United States met and fell to unbeaten pool opponent France (14-24). Where the U.S. were behind by only three points in the final minutes, Les Blues Sevens came in on the last play to score and claim a narrow victory.
Down but never out, the Eagles Sevens set their sights on the next two contests, beating the Canadians 29-26 and then New Zealand 19-17 with tries on the final play of each game.
Then in the Cup Final, Australia stood no chance as the United States skillfully ran away with a 26-7 title victory.
THE SQUADHead Coach Chris Brown makes only two changes from Glendale with Kris Thomas and Kayla Canett rejoining the squad.
Thomas was unavailable for the previous tournament due to injury and will serve as Co-Captain alongside Abby Gustaitis. Kayla Canett last suited up for Biarritz Sevens where the United States women won their first gold.
In a big opening weekend of the new season, Alev Kelter made strides; reaching the top five in three statistical categories including first in runs made, third in restarts and fifth in points scored.
Heroic finishers in Cheta Emba and Lauren Doyle were on form as well, scoring tries on the final play against Canada and New Zealand to lift the U.S. to the Cup Final. Collectively, the group’s individual talents worked in harmony through various points of the tournament to grind out wins in five of six competitive games.
The squad headed for Dubai owns 173 appearances in the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series.
USA 7s @ DUBAI
Player (# HSBC Tournaments)
1. Cheta Emba (13)
2. Ilona Maher (8)
3. Abby Gustaitis, co-cpt (9)
4. Nicole Heavirland (20)
5. Alev Kelter (30)
6. Lauren Doyle (26)
7. Naya Tapper (18)
8. Jordan Matyas (11)
9. Fane Haungatau (1)
10. Kayla Canett (7)
11. Kris Thomas, co-cpt (22)
12. Kristi Kirshe (5)
STAFF
Head Coach | Chris Brown
Assistant Coach | Warren Abrahams
Strength & Conditioning | Matt Long
Athletic Trainer | Nicole Titmas
Sports Psychologist | Peter Haberl
Team Manager | Liz Strohecker
THE COMPETITION
The United States will face Canada, Russia and Brazil in Pool A. Brazil will be up first, entering the tournament ranked 12th after finishing last in Glendale. Russia will be next, ranked seventh, after which a rematch with Canada will determine the final placings for the knockout stages.
Matches between the Canadians and the USA are always close, fiercely contested and highly entertaining battles from end to end. As each team looks to solidify its own platform heading into the Olympic season, much can still be written in Dubai.
HEAR IT FROM HEAD COACH CHRIS BROWN
“For us, it’s huge that we stick to the process and enjoy the moments along the way. If we have this mindset, we recognize that every day we have the opportunity to grow and make some little wins that will be of great value later in the season.
“We saw significant progress in our general attack in Glendale however we were a long way off our defensive best. With a mindset of controlling what we can control, we are looking for a more consistent all round performance during the second and third leg of the series. And with such a strong pool we will need to step up to the next level.
“It’s been a solid block where we’ve had a decent amount of time to make a few enhancement both sides of the ball. Warren Abrahams has had a big effect on expanding our attack understanding and what options we have available and as a group we are continuing to make big steps in decision making and how we solve problems.”
TO SUM IT UPWinning gold two tournaments in a row has certainly lit a momentous fire around the USA Women’s Sevens. But to continue that success and have it serve as a catapult to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 still yields a long road ahead. Brazil and Russia will certainly challenge the U.S. consistency, but with a rematch against Canada that is sure to be hotly contested, the United States will need to feed into its unbreakable mentality to deliver another strong result.
WHERE TO WATCH
The HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2020 is broadcast LIVE and on-demand on NBC Sports Gold’s Rugby Pass. Live updates are also posted across USA Rugby’s twitter channels with match recaps published within 90 minutes of full time. For more information about NBC Sports Gold’s rugby pass, click here.
DUBAI SCHEDULE vs Brazil | Dec 5 – 6:58 AM ET
vs Russia | Dec 6 – 1:06 AM ET
vs Canada | Dec 6 – 6:18 AM ET
• Cup Quarterfinals begin on Saturday, Dec 7 at 12:44 AM ET
• 11th Place Playoffs begin on Saturday, Dec 7 at 12 AM ET