After four straight second-place finishes in the HSBC Sevens World Series, the USA men's sevens team returns to the place where they last won a tournament, Las Vegas.

The action starts on Friday, March 1 as the tournament (as always) lasts three days.

The Eagles are tied in with New Zealand for 1st in the World Series, but, those four-straight silver medals can stick in the craw a bit/

It's also a bit of a talking point, witness Dallen Stanford column on Kurt Baker and how Baker mocked the Americans for not sealing the deal.

They sealed the deal in Las Vegas, and it's also worth pointing out that the USA made the final in Hamilton and in Sydney despite being without World Rugby 7s Player Of The Year Perry Baker, who is recovering from a broken jaw.

With Baker out, the Eagles have had to look to others to carry the load, and Kevon Williams—five tries in Sydney—has taken that opportunity. Carlin Isles has been a force, too, but there's reason to worry that the USA depth is an issue. Certainly the Eagles can be guilty of asking Isles to do too much.

To the fore, then, is Stephen Tomasin. Now a veteran with this team, Tomasin does the hard work and is fit, strong, and extremely versatile. He seems to pop up at crucial moments, and the USA will need his physical attacking style in Vegas.

New Faces

USA head coach Mike Friday’s 13-player squad will give two players the opportunity to earn their national team debut in starter Marcus Tupuola and injury reserve Ben Broselle. Both Tupuola (Notre Dame College) and Broselle (UCLA) came up through USA Rugby’s All-American program and have evolved their skills through developmental Falcons competitions.

“It’s exciting for Marcus who has done extremely well since he joined the program," said Friday. "He has adjusted to the training volumes amazingly and he is a ball of positive energy who is effervescent on the pitch and instinctive in attack. I am looking forward to seeing him take the next step.”

Last year, the man of the hour was Danny Barrett, and there's really no reason to believe he won't be enormously influential again on the narrow field at Sam Boyd Stadium. But Isles, who combines speed and shiftiness, has had some of his best efforts in Vegas, and Ben Pinkelman combines nicely with Barrett and Tomasin to take care of business in the trenches.

Maybe, though, the stars could be the interior attackers, from Madison Hughes and Folau Niua to, especially, Martin Iosefo. The power-running center has the potential to be the star of the tournament.

The Story In Stats

Folau Niua is now the most experienced USA 7s player of all time with 63 World Series tournaments under his belt.

Carlin Isles is 2nd in the 2018-19 World Series with 18 tries, and his 151 is tied for 13th all-time. (The most by a USA player is 179 by Baker, which is 7th all-time.)

Madison Hughes is 2nd in the 2018-19 World Series with 132 points scored, and his 1,243 all-time is good for 13th. If he scores his average for the next two tournaments he will pass the legendary Waisale Serevi for 10th.

The Eagles kick off the USA 7s in Las Vegas against longtime rival Kenya and then Argentina (2018 USA 7s finalist) on Friday. On Saturday, they take on France before moving on to the knockout rounds.

Strong performances are important, but it's also important to perform well in relation to other teams. Staying ahead of South Africa and England over the next two tournaments could help secure a Top 4 finish in the World Series, and that would mean an automatic bid to the 2020 Olympics. 

Men's Eagles Sevens Roster 

Men's Eagles Sevens Staff

Head Coach | Mike Friday

Assistant Coach | Anthony Roques

Assistant Coach | Phil Greening

Strength & Conditioning Coach | Jon Hood

Athletic Trainer | Brian Green

Team Manager | Scott Novack