HSBC 7's 2015/16: ROUND 1 - DUBAI

[Highlander35]

Fundamental mistake made by the Samoans there. If you go long in 7s, you need to hit grass. Absolutely fantastic game otherwise.

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

FT NZ 24-21 Samoa, NZ's last scoring possession commenced after the siren so, yeah, it's a win but based on that you wouldn't back them to make it to the Final.

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

USA < 1min from rolling Sethfricka.

Mission accomplished. Not convinced that Senatla should've got a YC but thems the breaks & 7 Septics v 6 Seths was only ever gonna end one way.

 

[Omar Comin']

Great to see USA kick on from last season. Having them as one of the powers of Sevens will be good for rugby and especially for the Olympic tournament. Mike Friday has done a tremendous job with them. They need to find a similarly transformative coach for their 15's team.

 

[qwerty51]

I don't think they'll do anything like what they've done in 7s with the XVs side. The speed of their athletes helps suits them in 7s, won't help in XVs.

It's a joke the media let with headlines like USA stuns NZ and now RSA. Well they're the incumbent series Champions! Show some respect.

 

[lex]

Not sure if it's what qwerty meant but USA are also the incumbent XVs Olympic champions!

 

[Omar Comin']

I don't think they'll do anything like what they've done in 7s with the XVs side. The speed of their athletes helps suits them in 7s, won't help in XVs.

They have plenty of big, powerful athletes too and guys with skill. They just need greater technical nous and game management in 15's. If you compared the US 15's team to Japan's player to player, for example, I think you could argue that the US would have the higher ceiling as a team.

But Japan was coached by Eddie Jones, while the US was coached by a guy whose previous experience was at an amateur club and a high school team. Yet they still showed signs of their potential - from memory they were leading Scotland by about 7 points (a well deserved lead) at half time before falling away in the 2nd. Add a top quality coach and the benefits they should get from their new Pro league and I think the US 15's team will be a lot better in 2-3 years. Perhaps not capable of beating the top teams in the world, as they are in 7's (and 15's is a game with less variable results anyway), but maybe quite competitive.

 

[Teh Other Dave]

Bloody great that the women are doing so well. We've ignored 50% of the population for far too long, hopefully this draws more women into a happy life in rugby than that awful soccer, or worse: MMA 'ground and pound'.

 

[mxyzptlk]

They have plenty of big, powerful athletes too and guys with skill.

 

[mxyzptlk]

Bloody great that the women are doing so well. We've ignored 50% of the population for far too long, hopefully this draws more women into a happy life in rugby than that awful soccer, or worse: MMA 'ground and pound'.

Australia's women's 7s has a real game-changer in Green.

She was one of the better overall athletes on the pitch in the women's tournament.

 

[USARugger]

USA are starting to get loaded up on athletic talent (and increasingly, truly good rugby players) in the back row but there's still a lot that needs to happen for the Eagles XV (not even considering the bench players) to compete outside of the second tier on a consistent basis.

1. A test-class 9 needs to be unearthed and developed to play inside of AJ. Someone playing similar to Nick Phipps would be a fantastic complement to AJ.
2. The tight-five needs to be fully professionalized and playing regular games in top flight domestic leagues. This is probably the biggest one on the list and will be difficult to pull off (better domestic development of very young players is key) but is absolutely necessary. We carry the most amateur/second-tier professional players in our front five and it shows. Being able to play guys in the front row who are scrummaging against other internationals regularly and not having to play guys out of position to get a professional second row pairing on the field would make an enormous difference.
3. Tolkin needs to go and an international coach with experience at test level needs to be brought in and given full control of the program. Tolkin has been very out of his depth for a while and if we are, for whatever reason, restricting ourselves to domestic coaches there are already better candidates in the USA. The new coach would need to be willing and prepared to deal with the issues the come with scouting and developing talent in a geographic area as large as the USA (or we nullify one of the biggest advantages that the USA has over nearly every other rugby playing nation - population size). I think this is the most unlikely to happen.

Our back three are aging as well and we will need to find some players that can replicate the class of Scully, Wyles, and Ngwenya as soon as possible. I'm not sure that bringing Zack Test into the XVs side is really an answer to this question. Having a guy on the wing with the pace of Ngwenya would be wonderful - he's shown time and time again how much of a weapon a point of difference like that can be (I'm in no way at all advocating Isles or Baker playing for the Eagle XV - I don't think either are up for it).

A 12 or 13 with some distributing skills would also be great. Folau Niua has had issues with achieving/maintaining fitness his entire career and is a defensive liability (he'll also be 34 or 35 by the next RWC). Shalom Suniula is just too small to play center in a test match. USA doesn't really have anyone who fits this bill right now.

Ive been banging this drum for a while too but I really want to see Danny Barrett given a run in the centers. He's undersized for a test 6/8 but has all the qualities you'd want to see out of a ball-running center. I think he could do better than Seamus Kelly has, although Kelly did a few things at the RWC that shifted my previously negative opinion of him as a test player.

 

[mxyzptlk]

^^^^^^^^

Where do you see Palamo fitting in?

Right now the Eagles have a couple props getting regular pro experience (Fry and Lamositele), and a couple locks (Cam Dolan and Greg Peterson), all of whom could still be there for 2019.

Although I'd hate to see Barrett leave the 7s, of all those players, he seems like the one who'd make the switch to 15s most comfortably. Possibly Bender as well, and I guess we'll see how Durutalo goes at 15s if he is indeed joining the Sunwolves.

Another I'd hate to see leave the 7s is Madison Hughes, but he could become a handy scrum half one day. He made something like 12 out of 14 conversions in Dubai; imagine what he could do with a tee.

 

[wamberal]

Don Clarke kicked 'em from everywhere with a heavy old leather ball, without a tee.


One of my schooldays coaches could kick goals from 30 metres bare-foot, of course no tee either.