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| Perry Baker getting ready for the weekend. |
With two tournaments already gone the Eagles stand at a point in the season where they can either make a push and put themselves into the top half of the table with repeat Cup appearances or they can continue to be a Bowl team. If you talk to any of the players and coaching staff there is a strong sense that the team is headed in a positive direction under head coach Mike Friday, but even with his reputation he was never going to come in and immediately turn things arounds. Instead, he and fans were looking for positive steps each time out. The Bowl win in the Gold Coast was a good sign but last week's performance in Dubai was definitely a step backward.
That step backward means that there is going to be increased pressure on the team this weekend in Port Elizabeth. Their season won't be over if they fail to make the Cup round but it will almost certainly signal the end of the honeymoon period for Friday. The good news for the Eagles is that they have shown positive signs this year and they have earned a very favorable draw. They will have to play South Africa but their other pool matches against Wales and Kenya are winnable and must be won. If not, questions will continue to surround the team and the risk of losing momentum heading into the New Year is real.
Take the jump to read more.
The tournament will be streamed at Univeralsports.com.
The Team
There are no changes to the team from Dubai. Questions surrounded the healthy of Zack Test, Perry Baker, and Garrett Bender earlier in the week after they missed all or most of day two in Dubai but Friday was able to confirm with TIAR earlier in the week that they will all be ready to play. That's great news for the Eagles. Both Test and Baker are key parts of the team. Test didn't have his best week last week and was selfish at times, but a week of instruction and reflection will almost certainly see him coming out strong this week. Baker's speed and size causes a lot of problems of the defense and one of the things the Eagles didn't do well last week was find their wings earlier. With Baker healthy and Carlin Isles playing well the team should have that option at full strength.
The biggest breakout player from last week was Martin Iosefo. He made great runs, is a powerful tackler, and overall made smart decisions. That said, he's still new and sometimes consistency is the harder thing for new players to pick up. It will be interesting to see how much he and Aladdin Schirmer have an impact this week.
If the team is going to have success in Port Elizabeth they are going to need big weekends from Andrew Durutalo, Madison Hughes, Folau Niua, and Danny Barrett. All had down weekends in Dubai and if they are on they give the U.S. dynamism they lacked last week. Barrett and Durutalo are big runners and strong at the breakdown, an area in which the U.S. with uncharacteristically poor in Dubai. Hughes and Niua are needed for their playmaking and kicking.
Squad: Andrew Durutalo, Zack Test, Madison Hughes, Folau Niua, Aladdin Schirmer, Danny Barrett, Garrett Bender, Pat Blair, Carlin Isles, Maka Unufe, Perry Baker, Martin Iosefo
The Opponents
South Africa (5:42 a.m. et/2:42 a.m. pt): South Africa are not only the home side but they are also coming off a big win in Dubai where they looked nearly unstoppable. They only had seven points scored on them in day two while scoring 80. On day one they had a differential of +55. They finished fourth in the Gold Coast and are only two points back of the top of the table. The team is loaded with 7s stars including Seabelo Senatla, Cecil Afrika, Kyle Brown, Frankie Horn, etc., etc. They had a close 12-7 result against Wales last weekend but a U.S. win is a long-shot.
Wales (9:20 a.m. et/6:20 a.m. pt): Wales made the Cup quarterfinals last week but in hardly convincing fashion with losses to South Africa and Canada and a tight win over Portugal. They advanced only on point differential and on day two were drummed out of the competition after two matches. That said, they also made the Cup round in the Gold Coast. Wales is a team the U.S. could and should beat if they want to rise in the rankings but that is easier said than done. They physically match up well against Wales but Wales will punish mistakes.
Kenya (12:36 p.m. et/9:36 a.m. pt): The U.S. beat Kenya last week in pool play 26-17. If it weren't for a couple of late tries from Kenya, which no doubt Friday is upset about, the margin would have been even bigger. Kenya also have to adjust to the fact that Paul Treu is resigning from the team after this weekend. That can either mean his players want to give it their all for him or they are going to come out with a lack of energy. Either way, this should be a match the Eagles win.
Keys to the Tournament
Unselfish Play: Whether it was confidence gained from their performance in Dubai or a simple lack of mental preparations the Eagles played a lot of selfish 7s in Dubai. They didn't pass the ball when they needed to and they didn't help out when the situation arose. That's not a universal trait for all players but for the core players it was true. If the U.S. wants to see any success this weekend they must make smart decisions and share the ball.
Kicking: After the Gold Coast we were almost thinking about taking this off our list (since it's ALWAYS here) but after Dubai it's firmly back near the top. The Eagles let opportunities slip by by both not making their restarts as accurate as need be and by missing far too many conversions. Some of those missed conversions come down to not getting breakaway tries that put them under the posts.
Get Nasty: This doesn't mean become dirty players, but it means showing more attitude and passion. No one should doubt that these players are passionate but they need to ensure that it's coming out on the field. Play hard and celebrate hard.
Find the Wings: Isles had a fine tournament in Dubai while Baker was excellent in the Gold Coast. If the two of them could both have fantastic tournaments at the same time it would be lights out. Much of their ability to beat opponents comes from teammates getting them the ball early and often.
Full 14 Minutes: For whatever reason the Eagles still haven't been able to put together a full 14 minute game this season. They've come close a couple of times but if they want to beat Wales and Kenya they need to be on for the whole match.
The Takeaway
The Eagles aren't going to finish in the top four and they may still finish in the bottom half of the table. That's fine as long as they are showing improvement week in and week out. Beating Canada sometime next summer is the only match that is relevant in the long run and although Canada has had a down couple of weeks they have a proven track record of being better than the Eagles over the last few years. The U.S. needs to show that they can consistently make it into the Cup quarterfinals and that they are a real threat to beat Canada. That begins this weekend with wins over Wales and Kenya. Nothing less will be acceptable.