Put it together and the Eagles must deliver this weekend in Wellington. Like in Vegas they have been given a pool in which they can advance. They nearly beat Argentina in Vegas, have played Canada well in the past (although Canada played extremely well in Vegas), and can beat Scotland. With most of their players also returning and hopefully learning from their experience in Vegas anything short of a Cup quarterfinal will be disappointing.
Take the jump to read more.
The Team
Head coach Matt Hawkins has elected to make only two changes to his team from Vegas and both of those changes were forced by injury. Steve Tomasin hurt his ACL in Vegas while Nu'u Punimata also injured himself. Replacing them on the roster are Madison Hughes and Garrett Bender. Both Hughes and Bender were extremely impressive on the Falcons at the LVI. Hughes is a bulldog on both offense and defense. In the breakdown he's hard to move. Defensively he makes solid tackles and on offense he can read the field like few players. That said, Wellington will be the first time that they has had a chance to experience this speed of play. He will need time to adjust.
Bender was one of the first players to be contracted by the Eagles and even played on the Series. However, it was mutually decided that he needed to take a break from the OTC and move back to Minnesota to work on his game. As his play at the LVI showed, the break worked. He was the Falcons best player on offense and could be a player that makes a big impact this weekend.
Of the returning players Pono Haitsuka and Danny Barrett were two young players that made an impact in Vegas. Haitsuka continues to improve tournament by tournament and proved in Vegas that he is a legitimate starter. While those two players may be improving it will still be up to the veteran core to step up. Zack Test, Folau Niua, Andrew Durutalo, and Nick Edwards all had strong moments in Vegas but they need to take a further step up if the Eagles are going to have success.
Lastly, all eyes will be on Carlin Isles. He announced in Vegas that it was likely his last tournament for awhile and then he surprised everyone by showing up on the Wellington roster. He's still going to try football but it will be interesting to see what his level of motivation is this weekend.
Squad: Carlin Isles, Nick Edwards, Danny Barrett, Garrett Bender, Zack Test, Brett Thompson, Folau Niua, Andrew Durutalo, Pono Haitsuka, Shalom Suniula, Madison Hughes, Ryan Matyas
The Opponents
Argentina (7:21 p.m. et/4:21 p.m. pt): In all honesty the Eagles should have beaten Argentina in Vegas. The U.S. had a chance to win that match but let Argentina come back after the final hooter. The U.S. can match up well with the Pumas if they execute. Where Argentina were able to punish the U.S. was when they committed turnovers. First game of a tournament can be rough for the Eagles so they need to clean up their play or will face another loss.
Canada (9:48 p.m. et/6:48 p.m. pt): Canada were massively impressive in Vegas and will be bolstered by the return of Sean Duke, Nathan Hirayama, and Ciaran Hearn. Canada had success in Vegas because players stuck to their roles and excelled in them. Physically they are pretty even with the Eagles but they execute better. Phil Mack is a tremendous player and has been an Eagle killer in the past. That said, the U.S. has had success against Canada in the past and with a few exceptions most games have been close. This will be a great referendum on where the U.S. and Canada stand against each other in a direct match-up.
Scotland (12:56 a.m. et (Friday)/9:56 p.m. pt): Of all the teams in this pool the Eagles will have beat Scotland in order for the tournament to be considered even a mild success. The Scots are roughly in the same position as the Eagles in many regards. A loss would be yet another set back. This is a must win, especially if the Eagles have Cup quarterfinals hopes.
Keys to the Tournament
Score: It sounds simple but the Eagles have found it hard to do at times. Their production in Vegas was pretty good but that was also aided by a few blowouts. Against the likes of their pool opponents they need to be scoring at least three tries a game. That has been difficult to do.
Kicking: Every tournament we talk about kicking for a reason. Even one missed kick can be the difference between a win and a loss. Folau Niua has been strong as a kicker but will need to up his game even more.
Restarts: In particular we are talking about using tall players to win the ball back. It was a strength of the team last year and needs to be again. Kicking on restarts is a big part of it as well.
Build on Momentum: It wasn't the trophy they wanted to win in Vegas but the Eagles need to build off the momentum of their Shield win. It took them two straight wins to get to that point and if they can beat Argentina in their first match that will be three straight. They did a lot of things well in Vegas but need to ad to that.
Figure Out Isles: Many out there have been urging the Eagles to start Carlin Isles. There is no doubt that when he is on the pitch he can score tries out of nothing. However, he also tends to give up tries when he is on the field as well. Sure, he can chase down breakaway players but he is often easily fended off. At the end of last season he regularly came off the bench and was productive. That can happen again if he has the right players around him.
Concentration: The losses in Las Vegas were a direct result of the team not concentrating for an entire match. 7s is a cruel game and simple mistakes will hurt you.
The Takeaway
As we pointed out in our intro if the Eagles want to have a repeat of last season's results they need to start making the Cup quarterfinals now. Once again they have been given a pool in which they have a good chance to advance but they need to execute. Although the path to World Cup qualifying was laid out today it is by no means a guarantee for the team. 2015 is rapidly approaching and need to start to see improvements in their program now. They have the players to do it and all it will take is one positive tournament to turn their season around.