Friday staying realistic as USA prepare for Wellington 7s

USA 7s head coach Mike Friday believes it will be tough for his players to build on their success of last year in this season’s HSBC World Sevens Series.

The Eagles finished sixth in the 2015/16 campaign which included standout performances in Dubai and London as well on home turf in Las Vegas.

Friday’s side are currently eighth in this year’s standings after finishing ninth and eighth in the first two legs of the series in Dubai and Cape Town.

“We have the capability and ability to break into the top four this season, however I would say with the current resource constraints we have on the programme, that will be a tall order for us,” Friday said ahead of the Wellington 7s which gets underway on Saturday.

“Our aim is to maintain the respect from our fellow teams and be recognised as contenders in every tournament that we play in and see where that takes us.”

The Englishman feels the first two legs of this season’s series came to quickly for the USA due to the limited rugby resources the country has, but does admit the break of just under seven weeks came at a good time for his side.

Friday, 44, also stated that the Eagles are very much in a transition phase as they head to Wellington this weekend, but believes they possess more than enough quality to compete.

He added: “It [Dubai and Cape Town] went as expected with all the disruptions and distractions we had.

“We are a country who has limited resource and financial support which may surprise most people as they associate the USA as a land of riches and opportunity.

“This season, we have had to recut our cloth accordingly. Whilst we were three years ahead of schedule in our Olympic journey, we ultimately only finished ninth in Rio, but now we must keep working and building.

“As a result of the cloth adjustments, we have a far smaller resident squad. On top of that, we had a number of players who had to double up for the XV’s post Olympics which meant we had to compromise their pre seasons and training ahead of the first two tournaments meaning we were under cooked and not in the physical condition that we are capable of being in.

“We are having to identify and develop players who hopefully will be able to step up and play on the World Sevens Series over the next two years as some players from the last two seasons are stepping away for various reasons be that financial or pursuing other things.”

The Eagles boss was keen to stress he was not looking for excuses for their performances in the first two rounds of the series as they head into this weekend looking to improve on their seventh place finish in Wellington which they achieved last year.

Captain Madison Hughes returns to Friday’s team for their trip to New Zealand following an early leave from the opening doubleheader weekends. The "Fastest Man in Rugby” Carlin Isles also makes a return from injury as does Brett Thompson.

Connor Wallace-Sims has replaced the injured Kevon Williams while the USA’s top try scorer this season and standout performer from Cape Town, Perry Barker, is also included in the squad and Friday is hoping for a positive few days in New Zealand’s capital.

“I am not surprised at how the first couple of legs have turned out, with all that has gone on with a number of the teams, “Friday added.

“Both SA and England have the most settled environments in terms of squads whilst Fiji have the largest pool of 7’s talent on the circuit and that is the most valuable resource.

“Their natural ability yet again came to the forefront in the opening two legs and they will be up there this weekend as well as at the end of the season. I would say that Wales and Scotland have benefitted as much as England from the Olympic confidence and I think favourable draws as we head into Wellington will further assist their momentum.

“In terms of us, we are keen to start to see the changes we have made have a positive impact on our performances. We have some ground to catch up on others sides ahead of us but we have the ability and work ethic to match any one in the world if we collectively apply ourselves.”

The USA have been drawn into Pool C alongside reigning Wellington 7s champions New Zealand, France and Samoa with the Eagles beginning their tournament against Les Blues on Saturday.

Elsewhere in tournament, World Sevens Series champions and Olympic gold medallists Fiji are in Pool B alongside current leaders South Africa, Australia and Japan. England have been drawn in Pool A against Kenya, Argentina and Papua New Guinea while Scotland and Wales will do battle in Pool D against Canada and Russia.