The USA Men's 7s team has got to be riding high after winning Las Vegas for the second year in a row, and taking sole possession of 1st in the Sevens World Series, but there's more to do.
FloRugby caught up with USA head coach Mike Friday following the Eagles' victory, and he had some things to say.
On winning without major stars like Danny Barrett (thumb injury) and Perry Baker (broken jaw)—this after winning last year without Madison Hughes and winning London in 2015 without Zack Test.
Friday: Let’s not forget we won Vegas last year without Tomasin and won this year without Unufe too!
There's no correlation it’s just the main group of 12-14 of them have grown so much. As rugby players and men that they are now better equipped to support one another when they are not all available.
Their ability to be flexible positionally is one of the group's strength. With that evolution, we are seeing the self-coaching and coaching of the emerging players happening not only through the coaching team but also via them in the locker room.
On players stepping into key roles, such as Matai Leuta replacing Barrett and putting in a key performance against New Zealand:
Friday: Matai Leuta has been putting performances like that in for the last 12 months. His consistency and ability to be flexible in the role we give him is a strength as the no-fuss approach to getting on with the job sometimes means he does not get the praise of the so-called "box office” players of the squad.
On how Ben Pinkelman has become a leader
Friday: Pinky is no surprise to any player or coach on the circuit and is hugely respected as one of the best forwards on the circuit. He is world-class in the contact area as a defender and what we are seeing is a growing confidence with ball in hand on attack. He is also developing his offload game more recently.
On the fact that Carlin Isles led the USA 7s in tries with eight despite the fact that conventional wisdom has big bruisers being more successful on the narrow field:
Friday: Carlin's all-around game continues to improve and you are seeing a more considered understanding on what Carlin does with ball in hand for himself as well as what he can create off the ball for others.
This is allowing Carlin to be more active at more instances on the pitch and not always just out wide. We play varying styles to ensure the flow and the rhythm of our attack is varied. That is what you are seeing at times and gives the impression that he may see more ball in one game than another.
On how tactics might shift in Vancouver:
Friday: Our tactics will change for Vancouver with a fast wide pitch it allows to play our natural fast game in the outside channels. However, we are under no illusion that our approach to working hard as a group and executing the basics of the game will be the foundation. The surface will also allow us to utilize our restart game as the pitch in Vegas gives very little bounce for the kickers.
On how Martin Iosefo always seems to play well in Vancouver:
Friday: Martin as we know with his power speed and ability to change direction making him a handful in attack to defend against found himself on the ball more on a pitch with restricted width and don’t expect that to change but in Vancouver he will be able to be more varied on whether he engages the defense with his power and footwork game or attacks holes using his speed. Martin enjoys the fast surface in Vancouver for sure.