USA Rugby announced Wednesday the Men’s Eagles Sevens Olympic Residency squads for 2014 at the Olympic Training Center.
Forty-three players have accepted contracts to train at the OTC full-time and utilize the high performance facilities offered by the United States Olympic Committee.
“As we head towards the Pan Am Games in 2015 and Olympic qualification we are continuing to develop the USA Rugby/USOC residency program at the Olympic Training Center in San Diego,” USA Rugby Chief Executive Officer and President of Rugby Operations Nigel Melville said. “We appreciate the support that the USOC are providing for us and will continue to build competitive men’s and women’s Eagles Sevens teams during the next 12 months. There are lots of new faces and increased athleticism and skillful players across the squads. The environment is positive, supportive and increasingly competitive.”
The USA will kick off 2014 on home soil Jan. 24-26 at USA Sevens in Las Vegas, Nev.
“We have a squad list of 25, which is great for us,” said USA 7s Men's Head Coach Matt Hawkins. “Normally we would have 15 guys. To have an extra 10 is phenomenal and it’s been a great effort from the administration to get that together. For all of the new guys, we’re expecting the same thing we expected from the guys who joined us four months ago. You’ve got to come in, get comfortable with the system, get to know what’s going on and start proving yourselves. We need to see where you are and what you can do as soon as possible. There’s no time to sit around and wait. Essentially, we’re looking to understand who you are and make you a complete rugby player in the sevens sense.”
The list of players includes five from the military's World Class Athlete Program (WCAP). Not included are Miles Craigwell, who played in the first three rounds of the series, and Nate Augspurger, who was not renewed. Also absent is Dave Williams, the longtime USA assistant. Williams is apparently back in Colorado pursuing other duties.
USA Men's 7s Team 2014 Residency Squad
Player - Most Recent Team
Danny Barrett - Cal
Garrett Bender - YoungBloodz
Pat Blair - Central Washington
Carlin Isles
Eric Deuchele - WCAP - Belmont Shore/Tiger
Andrew Durutalo - Seattle-OPSB
Nick Edwards - NYAC
Tai Enosa - Belmont Shore/Tiger
Pono Haitsuka - Oregon State University
Jack Halalilo - East Palo Alto
Madison Hughes - Dartmouth College
Ben Leatigaga - WCAP - West Point
Andrew Locke - WCAP - US Army
Ryan Matyas - University of Arizona
Ben Nicholls - San Diego Old Aztecs
Folau Niua - SFGG/East Palo Alto
Nu'u Punimata - WCAP - US Army
Marcus Satavu - WCAP - US Army
Shalom Suniula - Belmont Shore/Tiger
Mike Teo - Belmont Shore/Tiger
Zack Test - University of Oregon
Brett Thompson - University of Arizona
Stephen Tomasin - San Diego State
Chris Turori - OMBAC
Michael Ziegler - Bowling Green University
Men's Eagles Sevens | Coaching Staff
Matt Hawkins - Head Coach
Thomas Wagner - Manager
Brian Green - Medical
Paul Goulding - Analyst
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Men's 7s Residency List Released
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