Make no mistake, the U.S. are taking the Pan-Am Games extremely seriously. They were disappointed to only take home the bronze in 2011 and they want a gold medal. That said, they are going to have to do it without some key players from the previous season. Danny Barrett, Andrew Durutalo, Folau Niua, Brett Thompson, and Zach Test are all in the Eagles 50 man squad and with the Pan-Am Games coming only a week before the Eagles play Samoa in San Jose it's extremely unlikely that all of those players play in the Pan-Am Games. There may be some that head back to the 7s team but no matter what there are going to be changes.
So who does that leave? Based on the core group from the season that leaves Carlin Isles, Garrett Bender, Maka Unufe, Nate Augspurger, Madison Hughes, Perry Baker and Martin Iosefo. That said, it's not guaranteed that all of these players play either. Hughes has played a lot of rugby this year and needs to finish school (but that doesn't mean he won't play). Other players may have small injuries that they need to rehab.
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All in all it leaves roughly a half a dozen spots up for grabs. There are a few obvious candidates to fill the gaps. First and foremost is Matai Leuta. He was terrific at the London 7s and the Pan-Am Games could be his time to shine. Will Holder could be another player to finally get a good opportunity.
One of the things that Mike Friday stressed at the NACRA 7s was that it wasn't just the 12 players on the roster that helped the team to success this year but it was all the players back at the OTC. Those players include the likes of Mike Te'o, Nick Edwards, and Pat Blair. Both Edwards and Blair have been not he Series this year and they would make great fits for the Pan-Am Games. Te'o was outstanding for Belmont Shore but hasn't had much of a 7s chance this year.
Other players in contention have to be Kingsley McGowan and Aladdin Schirmer, as well as Steve Tomasin, Derek Lipscomb, Ben Pinkelman, and Ahmad Harajly. Look for Friday and company to cast the net wide in their selections and be ready for a few surprises.
In the end it's an opportunity for the program to get more players good game time. The competition from the likes of Argentina and Canada is going to be fierce. Time and time again it's been shown that tough competition improves the level of play. Now that the Eagles have sealed Olympic qualification they need and will get more opportunities like this.