USA Rugby announced Monday the 2024 U.S. Olympic men’s Rugby Sevens team ahead of the Summer Olympic Games in Paris, with match dates set for July 24-27, live in the United States on Peacock and the NBC networks.
Captain Kevon Williams leads the team, which will pursue the USA Men’s Rugby Sevens first Olympic medal since the USA won its last Olympic gold in rugby 100 years ago. The USA finished ninth and sixth at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, respectively.
The team is composed of 12 starting athletes and two traveling alternates.
Perry Baker and Madison Hughes are set to compete in their third Olympics.
Maka Unufe, a 2016 Olympian, will head to his second Olympic Games, as well as 2020 Olympians Kevon Williams and Stephen Tomasin.
Matai Leuta, a 2020 Olympian who joined the team for its high-performance camp last month, also will compete in his second Games.
Naima Fuala’au and Malacchi Esdale join the starting squad for their first Olympic selection, having traveled to Tokyo as alternates.
Aaron Cummings, Orrin Bizer, Marcus Tupuola, and Lucas Lacamp are set to make their Olympic debuts.
Traveling reserves Pita Vi and Adam Channel also will travel with the team to Paris.
Joe Schroeder, a 2020 Olympian, withdrew from eligibility for selection as he continues to recover from a knee injury sustained at Singapore SVNS.
Also a 2020 Olympian, Maceo Brown announced his retirement from rugby following a knee injury sustained in Singapore.
Head coach Mike Friday and the high performance staff selected the team according to procedures approved by USA Rugby and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee. Selection procedures are available at eagles.rugby/selection-procedures.
The team departs July 13 for Paris, where they will train at the High Performance Center ahead of their matches beginning July 24.
World Rugby announced the Olympic pools on June 23.
The USA is in Group C and will play against Fiji, France and Uruguay. Pool schedules will be announced soon.
Comments From Head Coach Mike Friday:
“It has been a rollercoaster 12 months for the squad since we started the build-up to the RAN qualifier this time last year. We have had to deal with a lot on and off the pitch.
Throughout the good and tough times, the squad showed their resilience and determination to stay in the battles in what has been an unforgiving SVNS Series and the format we had to play under. We have shown a level of consistency in our pool play, and it is our ability to show the composure to match our ability in those moments in knock-out games that we need to focus on coming into the Olympics.
The togetherness and competition within the group continued right up to selection, and they have all pushed one another. The balance and attacking threats in the squad are very exciting, and the challenge to minimize errors when in possession is the focus, together with a philosophy of ‘running our blood to water’ when we defend to give us the opportunities to physically ‘blow up’ breakdowns.
We are under no illusion how tough a group we are with the reigning Olympic Champions, Series Champions, and hosts France, but as a pack we enjoy the underdogs tag and are confident on any day that we are able to compete with any team in the world as both these opposition teams felt the last time we met in Singapore. Uruguay are also a dogged team that we met in Madrid and asserted our possession game on.
Preparation continues to be intense in Chula Vista with the non-rostered players, known as ‘Animal Patrol,’ selflessly working hard to physically push the squad against each of the opposition we will face whilst also emotionally challenging them. It’s certainly lively, and the mutual love and respect in some of the sessions as they go on are a pleasure to be a part of. Never is it more pertinent than right now that ‘the strength of the pack is the Dawg and the strength of the Dawg is the pack.’”
Credit: USA Rugby
How To Watch Rugby Matches In the United States On FloRugby
The URC will stream all its matches on FloRugby and the FloSports app in the United States. FloRugby and FloSports also are the U.S. home to:
FloRugby also is home to match archives and match replays.
Join The Rugby Conversation On FloRugby Social
Source link : https://www.florugby.com/articles/12696079-usa-7s-head-coach-mike-friday-names-12-player-squad-for-olympics
Author :
Publish date : 2024-07-01 16:03:21
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.