Hong Kong marks the sixth stop on the 2023-24 HSBC SVNS series, and the USA Women’s 7s team is traveling to the April 5-7 tournament with 13 players. Among them is 19-year-old Kaylen Thomas, who is looking to debut on the circuit. Games will live-stream on Peacock TV. [Lead photo: Alex Ho @hoiho_photo]

RELATED: Hong Kong 7s Fixtures

The Eagles are coming off a bronze medal finish at the LA 7s, the team’s first podium appearance in 2023-24. The Eagles are fourth in the series standings, trailing Australia, New Zealand and France.

“We were really happy with our performance in LA; it built off the first four tournaments,” USA Women’s 7s head coach Emilie Bydwell told eagles.rugby. “We were playing the type of rugby we wanted to play and met a lot of the objectives we had for the first third of the year. Hong Kong and Singapore are more opportunities to build and improve on things we identified from LA.”

There have been a couple of roster changes from LA to Hong Kong. Co-captain Naya Tapper and Ari Ramsey are remaining stateside, while Jaz Gray and Kaylen Thomas are called up to the travel squad.

“We’re excited to have the opportunity [to] cap 19-year-old Kaylen Thomas, who has gotten better every month, every week, and every day to earn this selection,” Bydwell praised the youngest resident.

The Eagles will compete in Pool C alongside Canada, Japan and Spain. Games begin Friday, April 5 in Hong Kong, which is 12 hours ahead of the Eastern Time Zone.

USA Women | 2024 Hong Kong 7s