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There is no question that the Eagles are riding a wave of positive momentum after their Bowl victory in the Gold Coast. They arguably should have won their group and they stormed through day two. However, for any Eagles fan who has followed the team over the last few years knows that in the past the Eagles have shown glimmers of hope with strong runs only to turn around an put in a poor performance. For head coach Mike Friday, Zack Test, and the rest of the team they need to show in Dubai that the performance in the Gold Coast was not a one off tournament but the start of fundamental change for the program.
There are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the team. It wasn't just that they played better in the Gold Coast but they showed improvement in a lot of the areas that have dogged them over the past few years. They were able to score tries when they needed, their tackling rate was much improved, and most importantly, their tactical awareness seemed ten times higher than it was last season. That's important as the season progresses. While finishing in the top four would be nice it's not realistic. What is realistic and what should be their goal is continuing to improve and show that they should be favorites when they meet Canada in Olympic qualifying next year. All of that comes with a Cup round showing in Dubai.
Take the jump to read more.
The Team
Friday has only made two changes to the team from the Gold Coast with Aladdin Schirmer and Martin Iosefo coming in for Nick Edwards and Peter Tiberio. That continuity should serve them well, especially as they find each other for the offload, something that was an improvement in the Gold Coast. Madison Hughes will once again captain the team and will be depended on to do a lot of the kicking along with Folau Niua. Hughes has become an integral part of the team mostly because he has the best tactical awareness on the team.
Zack Test was phenomenal in the Gold Coast leading to his Dream Team selection. At this point teams no what Test is about but they haven't found a way to stop him. Look for the Eagles to once again have a heavy dose of Test. Danny Barrett has recovered from his injury suffered agains the All Blacks so fatigue shouldn't be an issue. That might not be the case for Niua who was a big part of the Eagles November tour. Still, both of those players, along with Andrew Durutalo and Garrett Bender were excellent in the Gold Coast and are expected to be again.
Arguably the biggest key to the Eagles success in the Gold Coast was the play of Perry Baker. Unlike Test, he's a new entity for opponents on the Series so it will be interesting to see how he adapts to their adaptations. That could open up holes from Carlin Isles to come on and make an impact. It's also safe to say that based on the Gold Coast Pat Blair, Iosefo, and Schirmer should see regular time.
Aside from Isles (16), Durutalo (22), Niua (22), and Test (46) no other player on the team has more than eight appearances on the Sevens World Series. That wasn't a problem in Australia and is probably a good sign that an inexperienced team played so well.
Squad: Andrew Durutalo, Zach Test, Madison Hughes, Folau Niua, Aladdin Schirmer, Danny Barrett, Garrett Bender, Pat Blair, Carlin Isles, Maka Unufe, Perry Baker, Martin Iosefo
The Opponents
England (2:14 a.m. et/11:14 p.m. pt): England are coming off a third place finish in the Gold Coast where they looked solid and even pulled off upset wins over New Zealand and South Africa. The U.S. played England in the pool stage in the Gold Coast and probably should have won in a 14-7 loss. Tom Mitchell has returned from injury while the likes of James Rodwell, Dan Norton, and Dan Bibby can cause plenty of problems. The U.S. had success by starving England of the ball and they will need to do that once again.
Australia (5:36 a.m. et/2:36 a.m. pt): Australia finished in the Plate semi-finals at the Gold Coast but that was a bit of a let down for the team. Led by Cameron Clark, Ed Jenkins, and Greg Jeloudev the Wallabies are legitimate contenders for the top four this year. They are athletic, have great skill, and now how to punish mistakes. The knock on Australia is that they can wander in and out of tournaments playing a fantastic match followed by an absolutely stinker. If the U.S. wants to get into the Cup round they will have to beat either Australia or England.
Kenya (11:09 a.m. et/8:09 a.m. pt): With turmoil at the Kenya Rugby Union Paul Treu has a difficult task of getting his team ready to play in Dubai. They finished as Shield runners-up in the Gold Coast and were hardly impressive. Once again they will take a team light on experience with only Patrice Agunda, Oscar Ayodi, and Andrew Amonde having more than six caps. More than half of their squad has either one or no appearances on the Series. This is a match the U.S. must win and win convincingly.
Keys to the Tournament
Aggression: One of the biggest positives from the Gold Coast was that the Eagles showed and aggression and confidence in attacking we haven't seen for a long time. They were confident that a teammate would be in support and weren't afraid to take small risks that would pay off big. They can't loose that swagger this go around.
Fight Through Adversity: Although it would be nice it's not likely that the U.S. is going to beat both England and Australia and it's entirely possible they lose both matches. If they do they need to lose close and not lose confidence. The last thing the team needs is to let their head hang, put in a poor performance against Kenya, and then put themselves in a bad position on day two.
Defense: The U.S. defense was vastly improved in the Gold Coast and they did a great job of limiting opponents scores. The biggest score they gave up all weekend was 26 points and on day two they only gave up 20 total points.
Possession: The biggest key to the Eagles success in the Gold Coast was their ability to starve teams of possession. It's simple, if you don't have the ball you can't score. England and Australia will be tough tests to keep possession but the Eagles can do it.
Kicking: It's always one of our keys but the U.S. saw a lot of success when they were able to make key conversions. Scoring uncontested tries helps but the fact that the U.S. is now more likely to pick up an extra two points than to leave it hanging is a big positive.
Use Baker: The game plan is simple: give Perry Baker the ball!
The Takeaway
Even though they played more positively in the Gold Coast than they have in a long time the Eagles still only finished with the Bowl. Their goal is to finish in the Cup competition each time and give themselves a chance to let something crazy happen on day two. They can't accept anything less in Dubai. Yes they are in a tough pool with England and Australia but the U.S. can't be afraid of the names of the opposing teams. There is no reason why the U.S. can't be regularly beating England or Australia. There is no better time to start than now. We think that Friday has them playing very well and they will knock off at least one of those teams, as well as beat Kenya, and head to the Cup.